everything & the moon (everything & then some book 1)

the beginning (epilogue)

the beginning

     Simeon sat on the floor of the empty living room of the old Johnson home. It was a really nice house, set behind the gates of Evergreen Estates, and way too big for one person. He wondered if he'd ever expected to be alone in the end. What would Andre have said if he had told him his intentions?

     No doubt question his sanity.

     Some days, he did that too.

     Simeon shifted to lay flat on the tile floor, stretching out fully. The last few hours played on repeat in his head.

     They'd been having a good time, until the house. Until he'd imploded. Or exploded? He wasn't sure which, only that the results had been disastrous. She had left him anyway.

     He thought about all the time he'd spent with her. The money he'd spent. The things he'd done. Ever since realising he was in love with Sienna Johnson, he had been laser focused on a singular goal, which was to make her his.

      He'd failed, miserably.

     Failure is a sign of unworthiness, his father would say.

      In contrast, Chaeyoung would probably tell him 'failure is a lesson learned successfully'. She used to tell him little things like that to encourage him to be tenacious with all his endeavors. He decided that he liked that thought better. All of this was lessons learned, not resources wasted. What he chose to do with it would determine its true value.

     So, now what? Simeon wondered. He could try again to convince her, but the look on her face when she'd told him she was not in love with him had cut him deep because he knew it was true.

     Maybe he'd always known it.

     The damage would still have been the same, nevertheless. He would not have been able to let her go just because she said to. Simeon's tendency to latch onto ideas he felt strongly about and obsess over them was a secret he kept close. In some areas in life, it was an asset. In others, it was not. Sienna had been the longest obsession he had ever had, one that likely would not go away any time soon. For eleven years, his world had revolved around his feelings for Sienna, and his desire to be everything and more for her. Her name had been the mantra that he awoke to every morning, the song that he sang in his dreams, the fight that had kept him going.

      He couldn't imagine anything else could take its place.

      He would always be missing a vital piece of him now.

     There was a palpable ache in his chest as he thought of her even now. Wondering if she had gotten home safely, but knowing he could not call her to check. Practicing staying away from her would be a challenge. Even more so, if he stayed here.

     Simeon stood up and exited the house, flicking off the lights and locking the door securely behind him. He slid into the driver's seat of his rental and took a moment to take in the house. He imagined Sienna playing in the lawn here, using Mira as reference for how she would have looked and found himself smiling.

     His smile faded at the enormity of the task ahead.

     He needed to regroup, analyze his feelings, and chart the path forward.

      Letting her go would be the hardest part of it all, but it had to be done.

Five and a half months later...

      Willow found her mother in the sea of proud parents and launched herself at her for a hug. Chaeyoung was crying in joy as she hugged her daughter tightly. She was looking stunning, not in scrubs for once. Instead she wore a knee-length a-line dress that was dark blue in color, with a faint shimmer in its depths. She hadn't done anything fancy to her hair, simply brushing it neatly, and makeup had been lightly applied to her face.