Fight For Me ✔

Epilogue

Liam has filled out even more, which I hadn't thought possible in high school, but there you have it. It's all the training and food he consumes now. He trains daily, up to six hours, and eats. A lot. It wasn't more than a year after he started going to Leroy's gym that he had his first official MMA fight. From there, it pretty much only went up, with a few setbacks here and there. He was gonna defend his Champion title later this year.

The professional fighting almost gave him the no holds barred adrenaline kick that real true fighting did. And he made do with it for me. Not that I wasn't looking forward to his eventual retirement since I was worried about all the concussions he got.

None of us had gone to college. Or rather, we had both taken on online courses whenever we had the time, me in veterinary medicine and animal psyche, and Liam in business and sports rehabilitation. Liam managed to get a degree eventually, I didn't. When Liam retired at some point in the future we had talked about buying a gym, which Liam could manage and where he could train the new generation of MMA fighters. He'd done alright in all his subjects and could probably take over his father's businesses with the proper training, but Liam simply wasn't interested in big business. Aaron didn't really get that, and his grandfather hadn't really either when he died four years ago, less than two months after his maternal grandmother passed away quietly in her sleep. Their loss had been a hard blow for all the Paines.

A soft bark announces my presence. The best dog of all, the unbelievable wonderful and ever watchful Bernie, stands from his spot by the cradle to walk over and greet me with a delightfully wagging tail. Bernie has grown big. Really, really big. And old. It stings my heart every time I think about me only having him for a few more years.

Kneeling down I rub and scratch every inch of him in greeting. In return, he rubs his head against my chest. When I look up, I'm caught in Liam's dark, loving gaze.

"Hey." He greets softly, rubbing the baby's back soothingly.

"Hi." I stand and walk to him. "Didn't hear you come back."

"No, you were pretty focused. Figured I'd drop off my bag before coming to attack you." He tips his head in the direction of the duffle bag by the door. "But the little lady here had other plans when she heard me walk by."

Reaching over I expertly pluck the baby from his shoulder and lay her to rest in the cradle of my arm. Sleepy and familiar green eyes meet mine. Isobel is one pretty baby, and sometimes I wonder if Camille made her all on her own, because I can't see her father anywhere at all.

Adam and Camille got married straight out of high school. They went to college together for as long as they could, until Adam had to move away to get a law degree. Camille had moved back home to open up her own antique store, where she also upcycled stuff she found online and on markets, an idea which had been inspired by French Collection and Antiques Road Trip. They had lived apart and had a long distance relationship for two years before Adam finally returned. Almost immediately after they had gotten pregnant with Isobel.

Jade and Jordan had dated for the last two years of high school. They split-up right after graduation, on the day Jordan had shipped out with the army. Something he hadn't told us he would do until an hour before he was scheduled to leave, where he showed up on Jade's doorstep to tell her. She had been confused, hurt and angry. She had settled for angry, the easier emotion to handle at the time and had cursed him off the property and out of her life. She'd had a bad couple of months afterward until suddenly one day she'd gone back to her usual self, though refusing to say or discuss anything regarding Jordan. The only one who heard anything from him anymore was Cade, something I half expected Jade to consider a severe betrayal. But she never said anything. Last I heard Jordan was making a career out of the army, slowly working his way up in the ranks.