Forever (Epilouge)

168

Colby's POV

"Alright dude, everything is in place for next week." Sam said as I leaned back in the rolling chair I was in. "I can't believe we really did it, man." I said and clapped my hand on his shoulder.

It's been a week since Cora's dad has seen her, which means she's been away for almost 3 weeks now. Amanda has told me that Cora is starting to improve but she still has bad days.

I just can't wait until I get to see her.

"I know..we really went from being dorks to having a Netflix show. We did it." Sam said with a smile as I sighed.

"Dada!" Olivia yelled as she toddled over to me. "Hey, angel." I said then pulled her up so she could sit in my lap. "Are you hungry?" I asked as she stared at me blankly. "No?" I asked as she continued to stare. "Yes?" I asked as she giggled loudly. "Okay, yes." I said then looked at Sam. "Do you guys have anything I can feed her?" I asked as he nodded.

"Yeah, apple sauce?" He suggested as we stood up. "That's perfect." I said as we left the room. When we got to the kitchen Devyn was making brownies while listening to music.

"Hey, Dev." I said as Olivia giggled and rested her head on my shoulder. "Hey Colby, how are you?" She asked with a smile as Sam got the apple sauce for me. "I'm okay, how are you?" I asked as Olivia bounced on my lap.

"I'm good, practicing my brownie recipe for the party." She said with a smile as I started feeding Olivia. "You don't have to practice, Dev. Cora loves your brownies." I said as she smiled. "I want them to be perfect for her though." She said quietly as Sam sighed.

"What's up, brother?" I asked as he looked at his phone. "The rumors." He said then locked his phone and looked down. "Are they worse?" I asked as he nodded. "Yeah, the longer she's gone the more people talk." He mumbled as I sighed and fed Olivia some more apple sauce.

The fans have noticed Cora's been missing so they obviously are assuming we got a divorce. I couldn't exactly blame them since we haven't explained anything to them for obvious reasons.

"I don't know what to do about that." I mumbled ask wiped Olivia's mouth. "Nothing, you should just focus on Cora. The rest doesn't matter right now." Sam said as Devyn nodded.

"Yeah, you know you guys are still married, that's all that matters." Devyn said as Olivia rested her head on my shoulder. "Yeah, I guess. I just don't like them talking about her like that. I don't want her to see it when she gets out." I said and rubbed Olivia's back, trying to rock her to sleep.

"Don't worry about it, man. I'll take care of it." Sam said as my phone started ringing. I sighed then pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Hello?" I answered as Olivia fell asleep against my shoulder. "Hey, Colby. How are you?" Amanda asked. "Good..is everything okay?" I asked as my heart rate picked up. "Oh! Yeah. Cora's having a pretty good day today so we were wondering if you wanted to come see her." She said a smile bloomed on my face.

"Yes! I'll be there!" I exclaimed excited which caused Olivia to fuss. "Sorry, Livvy." I said quietly then kissed her head. "Sounds good." Amanda said with a laugh as Sam looked at me with confusion. "Just come before 6." Amanda said then hung up.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as I set my phone down and rubbed Olivia's back. "I get to see Cora. Would you be willing to watch Olivia and get Mia from school?" I asked and stood up.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so excited, man." Sam said as Devyn grabbed Olivia from me. "I really miss her." I said with a sigh as he grinned at me. "I'll get Mia from school. Go." He said as I smiled and hugged him. "Thanks, Sam. Thanks, Dev. I'll be back." I said then grabbed my keys and ran out of the house.

I got in the car and sped to the hospital. I couldn't help the smile that was on my face knowing I was going to see her and hold her. It's been so hard knowing she was hurting but having no way of comforting her. I didn't know how much longer she would be away, but seeing her today meant a lot to me.

When I got to the institution I parked the car then got out. When I got inside I was greeted by one of the nurses. "Hey, Colby?" She asked as I nodded. "I'm Anna. Let me bring you to the room." She said then led me up the stairs.

She led me to this room that had couches and beanbag chairs everywhere. "Take a seat, we'll bring her in soon." She said and gave me a warm smile then left the room.

I chose a couch and sat down, before fiddling with my rings. I was a little nervous that she would be upset to see me, but I knew that was just the anxiety of not seeing her for a while.

I waited there for a couple minutes before the door opened. I snapped my head up as two nurses guided Cora into the room.

I felt my heart fly out of my chest as she made eye contact with me. I could tell she has lost some weight, probably from the lack of eating. The color in her cheeks were gone and her under eyes were darkened showing me she had barely slept.

It didn't matter though.

She was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I stood up and opened my arms out to her as they led her over to me. "Colby." She whispered as I pulled her into my arms. "Hi, baby girl." I mumbled and held her tightly, kissing her head. "I'm so sorry." She whispered shakily as I shook my head.

"Shhh...don't do that." I said and rocked her back and forth. "I miss you." She mumbled as I pulled away slightly so I could look at her face.

"I miss you too, Cor. How are you feeling?" I asked and sat on the couch, guiding her to sit next to me. "Numb." She mumbled as I brushed her hair from her face. "I know, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you though. We all are." I said as she sniffled and brought her sleeve to her mouth.

"Are the girls okay?" She asked as I nodded. "Yeah, they miss you but they've been so brave." I said as she nodded and looked nervously towards the nurses that were watching us from the distance.

"It's okay, honey. Just focus on me. They aren't going to take you from me yet." I cooed as she ripped her gaze from them so she could look at me again. "I miss them." She said quietly as she chewed on her sleeve.

"I know, sweetheart. You'll be home before you know it. Mia has so many plans for you two to do." I said as she smiled slightly. I felt my heart skip a beat at the small smile.

I missed her smile.

"I can't wait." She said quietly as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

We sat and talked for a few minutes before the nurses came over. "Okay, Cora. It's time for therapy." Anna said as she frowned. "I don't want to leave him." She whispered which broke my heart.

"Hey, remember what I said. You're never alone, Cor. I may not be here physically but I'm here with you." I said and held her face in my hands as tears formed in her eyes. "I love you." She said as I smiled. "I love you, too." I said then kissed her.

I felt her melt against me as she brought her shaky hands to my cheeks. I never wanted to pull away because I knew when I did I would have to leave her again.

I think she felt the same way because she just melted into me more. I eventually did pull away from her though, then looked into her eyes. "Keep fighting for me, okay?" I asked quietly as she nodded. "I promise." She said as we stood up again.

I watched as the nurses started guiding her out of the room. "Wait!" I said as they stopped. Cora turned around to face me as I jogged up to her and pulled my sweatshirt off. "What are you doing?" She asked as I reached for the hem of the sweatshirt she was wearing.

"So you don't forget me." I said quietly then pulled off her sweatshirt. Once it was off I threw it over my shoulder then put the fresh sweatshirt over her head.  "I'll never forget you." She said quietly as I pulled the sweatshirt she was wearing over my head. "Good. Go kick ass." I said then kissed her forehead before letting her leave the room.

As soon as she left I let out a deep breath. It was hard seeing her so broken but I could tell she was fighting. I could tell she was improving.

I was beyond proud of her.