Before Altswood Can Cry (The Altswood Saga #4)

Epilogue

Author's Note: AND WE'RE DONNNEEE! LEAVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!! <3

Epilogue

One month later

"So here's the plan," Jules began, his hands clutching the present I had painstaking wrapped in gift paper and ribbon. "If they start yelling, we claim innocence. We say we didn't label it until last week—"

"Jules," I interrupted. "It's us. Do you think they're going to buy that?"

Jules made an offended noise, as if he had been falsely accused of something. "They might—"

"You label your kitchen cupboards," I cut in. "Again, I ask, do you think they're going to believe you chose not to label us?"

"Fine," Jules grumbled. "Alternative plan: the truth. We say that we were being considerate human beings who wanted to take into account how my ex-girlfriends might feel because I'm a human trashbag and a serial dater. We got so caught up with keeping it a secret from our college classmates that it extended to them as well. Yes?"

It was the truth but it also still wasn't a very good excuse. Honestly, I didn't even know why we kept it from them for so long. It could have come up at any time in the group chat or during our four-way phone calls, but somehow it just didn't feel right to drop the bomb (figuratively) so casually. I also wondered if it was weird that a four-person friend group had split off into romantic pairs, but Jules told me I was being ridiculous. I told him we were a cliché.

"We'll play it by ear," I sighed. When he pouted, unhappy that I had stomped on all of his genius plans, I stole a quick kiss, the one-stop-shop to cheering him up. "Ring the bell."

Jules rung the bell to the apartment door we had been plotting in front of for ten minutes now. As soon as the chime rang through, I heard stomping, and "I'll get it, I'll get it!"

Luca swung the door open. "Welcome!"

Gabriel appeared behind her, biting back his laugh. "Babe, I wasn't racing you to the door, you didn't have to run."

"I was excited to get the door," Luca insisted. She waved us in, then waved at the shoe rack to the left of the door. "Shoes off. I refuse to sweep the floor more than once a month."

"Luca," Jules said, kicking off his sneakers. "That's unhygienic."

"She'll sweep once a month but I'll sweep every two days," Gabriel interjected. "Just like how I'll do all the cooking and she needs to stay out of the kitchen before she burns it down."

"It was one fire alarm," Luca groaned. "The cookie fell off the tray. How was I to know it would explode?"

Jules and I exchanged a worried glance. Luca caught it.

"I saw that," she said, pointing her finger at us. "We had just moved in! I didn't know how to operate the oven!"

Gabriel snorted. He pressed a kiss to the side of Luca's head and changed the topic before she could transform into a living being of rage.

"Did you find this place okay?"

"It only took a train, two subways, and a taxi driver who had me convinced he was once a suicidal race car operator," I replied. As I beelined for the couch and plopped down, I gestured to the view outside, of steel buildings and skyscrapers and the scaffolds of projects that were about to become another glittering point in the sky. "I mean, really? Manhattan? Of all places?"

"I was fearing for my life," Jules added. He passed Gabriel the wrapped present. "You think I'm kidding but I'm really not."

Gabriel only snorted again, then looked at the gift in his hands. "Guys, you didn't have to."

"You called it a housewarming party," I said. "Housewarmings require housewarmer gifts."

"That was just an excuse to invite you two over so we could finally see you," Luca corrected.

Graduation had been hectic, and then adult life had been hectic. We kept in touch everyday, but we hadn't seen each other for weeks. I had had no idea that Gabriel's tan had faded or that Luca's hair was three shades darker.

"Aw, you two are so cute," Jules said to Luca and Gabriel, dropping onto their couch too. On instinct, he then turned sideways to rest his head on my lap, his legs kicked up. I froze, but Luca and Gabriel didn't react. They continued on as normal, with Luca pulling at the ribbon on the wrapped present and wondering what was inside, while Gabriel shook it at her and guessed it to be a fish tank.

Now, Jules mouthed from my lap. Tell them.

"Listen—" I started.

At that moment, Gabriel ripped off the final layer of wrapping. "Is this a plate?"

"A fancy plate," I corrected immediately, losing my nerve. "Every adult household needs a fancy plate."

Luca leaned over, balancing her weight on Gabriel's knee as she examined the plate. For some reason I couldn't comprehend, her grin turned wicked.

"This is perfect."

Jules blinked. "I mean, I thought I did a pretty good job with picking it out too—"

"I'll be right back," Luca said.

She snatched the plate and darted off into the kitchen. I turned to Gabriel, my brows furrowed. "Why is she so excited?"
Gabriel shrugged, feigning nonchalance. But we had known him for far too long to buy it. He was two seconds away from full-blown laughter.

"We ordered cake," he said simply. "The plate is perfect. I hope you're hungry."

Luca came back with, as promised, a cake balanced on the plate. It was clearly professionally made, with white icing on its single tier and little stars embedded along the sides. I reminded me of the sort of thing you would find at a sophisticated thirteen year old's birthday, but also at an office party where everybody went just to crowd around the dessert table.

I didn't understand why Luca and Gabriel were watching us intently, smirking, until she set the cake down on the coffee table in front of the couch, and Jules and I leaned in to read the letters looped in black icing on the surface.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST FALSE ACCUSAL FOR SERIOUS CRIME!

I blinked. Once, then twice.

"You little—"

Luca broke off into a peal of laughter as Jules narrowly stopped me from lunging for the cake and throwing it at her. Gabriel was on the floor guffawing. Even Jules looked amused.
"Really?" I demanded. I struggled to hold back the twitch threatening against my mouth. "Really?"

"I'll go get the knife so we can eat," Gabriel managed. He clambered to his feet and escaped to the kitchen, where I suspected he would only laugh some more.

"Wait for me, I'll grab napkins," Luca called after him, disappearing through the door too.

With just me and Jules left in the lounge, upright on the couch and staring at the cake, we had no words, truly. We exchanged a glance.

"Are we still telling them?" I asked. I jabbed a thumb at the cake. "After this heinous crime?"

Jules grinned, wicked.

"You know what?" he decided. "They'll get what they deserve. We can tell them next month with a Facebook post."

FIN.