The Girl in the Hoodie

50 {Epilogue}

Mila's smiles softly. "Thank you for being my annoying niece."

Nevaeh chuckles tiredly, not even realising what she's saying now. "I'm going to take a nap. I love you, mum."

Mila gasps, her eyes spilling over with tears as she hears that word.

Mum.

'She thinks of me as a mother', Mila thinks to herself.

"I love you so much, my sweet girl." Mila whispers as she presses a kiss to Nevaeh's cold forehead just as Tanya, Danny, Megan, Max and Dylan quietly make their way into the room.

*~*

"Can you guys stop being so quiet and sad?" Nevaeh bursts after a half hour of awkward silence. "Be happy. Eat some Eggos. Slap Max. Just stop being stressy and depressy."

All everyone does is stare at her, not saying anything as they hope for a miracle.

She sighs and speaks again. "Okay, look, when I was thirteen, I got fouled during a basketball game and dislocated my shoulder."

Dylan furrows his eyebrows when she doesn't say anything else. "Is that all? What's the point of your story?"

Nevaeh rolls her blue eyes. "It got better."

Everyone stares at her yet again.

She sighs dramatically. "My point is, shit happens. But it always gets better."

"But what if things don't actually get better?" Noah starts, making everyone's attention turn to him. "What if we just get used to it?"

Everyone stays silent for a moment as they look down.

"Wow, great job, Pebble." Nevaeh claps sarcastically. "Way to make everyone more depressed."

*~*

The doctor had just come in and told everyone it was probably best to say goodbye now.

"Hey, guys?" Nevaeh croaks, making everyone snap their attention to her. She pats the bed next to her. "Danny, get up here."

He climbs up and snuggles into her side as she wraps an arm around him.

"Nevaeh?" Megan asks, a pit in her stomach. "What's up?"

"Okay, first of all," she points to Noah with her free hand. "I can't believe you haven't let go of my hand all day today."

"You proposed to me, remember?" He gives her a smile, his dimple showing as he holds up his pinky which has the ring pop on it. "I'm your husband now, I wasn't going to let go of your hand."

No one even questions it.

Nevaeh gives him a peck on the lips before turning back to everyone else and smiling sadly. "I'm tired and I'm going to go to sleep now."

Everyone's faces immediately drop.

"No." Max whispers, his eyes welling up.

Nevaeh smiles softly. "I never got to say goodbye to my sisters, and it sucks not getting to say goodbye."

"Carter—" Noah starts.

"Shut it, King." Nevaeh points a finger at him, cutting him off. "I want you to know how grateful I am for all of you and I love you. So, so much."

"We love you, too, Vaeh." Everyone choruses.

"One more thing," she pipes up, making everyone look at her. "I want everyone to wear yellow at my funeral. It's the colour of the sun, and it's a happy colour and it's not appreciated enough."

"Nevaeh..." Dylan trails off and she smiles at him.

"I swear to god, if I see anyone wearing black, I'm going to come back from my grave and haunt all of you." She threatens, earning a laugh from everyone.

"Don't worry, Vaeh." Danny snuggles into her more, his head resting on her chest.

"We'll make sure no one wears black." Tanya places a kiss on her head.

"Yeah, we'll make it looks like the sun threw up on everyone!" Max chirps, making them all chuckle.

Nevaeh's eyes start getting heavy and her breathing starts slowing down.

"I'm going to go be with Heaven and Lucy now." Nevaeh whispers.

"I love you, Carter." Noah mumbles.

"And I love you, Pebble." She gives everybody one last dimpled smile before her eyes shut completely and her hand goes limp in Noah's as the heart monitor starts beeping. "Goodnight."

Danny's lifts his head off Nevaeh's chest as the heart monitor flat-lines and stares at everyone with wide eyes and tears streaming down his face. "I-I heard her heart s-stop."

Tanya grabs her youngest son in a tight hug as she starts sobbing along with Mila as doctors and nurses start rushing into the room.

Megan gasps and buries her head in Max's chest as they both start sobbing.

Dylan stares blankly down at Nevaeh's body before a loud sob suddenly leaves his lips and Tanya wraps him in the hug with Danny.

Noah doesn't do anything. He just just stares down at her, not letting go of her hand, not reacting, not doing anything.

He suddenly lets go of her hand and abruptly stands up, storming out of the room.

He kicks over a table of medical supplies and punches the wall, cursing loudly.

He knows what Nevaeh would say.

'What the hell did those medical supplies ever do to you, Pebble?'

Mila runs out of the room and wraps him in a hug.

"Calm down. Calm down." She shushes him, feeling his arms slowly wrap around her as he starts sobbing.

"She said I was the love of her life." Noah cries, burying his face in Mila's shoulder. "And now she's gone."

"I know, baby. I know." Mila soothes with tears running down her face as she rubs Noah's back.

*~*

Noah walks into his dorm, seeing Dylan sitting at the island and Max curled up on the couch, his arms around a sniffling Megan.

He walks into his room, kicking his door shut behind him.

He walks over to his desk and sits down before opening his drawer and pulling out an envelope with his name neatly scrawled on the front.

He takes a deep breath before opening it, his eyes carefully focusing on each word as he reads it, chuckling at certain parts.

"Yeah, you're right, Carter, I do want to punch you in the face right now." He mumbles at a paragraph before he keeps reading. "hippopoto—what?" He keeps reading and cringes. "Daddy?"

"Well, fuck you, too, Carter." He mumbles as he nears the end of the letter. "But I'm in love with you, too."

THE END