It was almost six when I heard someone pounding brutishly on the front door. I barely had a chance to turn the knob before Mara came bursting through, shoving her way past the doorway and almost knocking me over in the process.
"This has got to be the stupidest thing," she seethed, her lips set in a scowl. She looked uncomfortable in a black strapless skater dress and her signature combat boots.
"Really? I think you look nice," I told her.
"I look like an idiot."
"No, you don't. You look grea— wait, what is that?" I said, reaching out towards the sash wrapped around her waist. It was almost the same shade of pink as her hair.
"Nothing. Get your hands away from me, Wade—"
"You're bringing weapons to prom?" I whispered, pulling out the short blade she had stashed in her dress. "Are you completely out of your mind?"
She tore it out of my hands like I had taken her firstborn. "You never know when it might come in handy," she said hotly.
"Mara, give it to me!"
"Back off, unless you want to be stabbed—"
Sheila and Mary poked their heads out of my bedroom to see what the commotion was. They blinked at us curiously.
"Is something wrong?" Sheila asked, glancing between us. Her normally bouncy, dark curls were pulled straight and twisted into an elegant knot at the nape of her neck. "Mara, you look so nice!"
"I told you so." I pulled open the door to the coat closet and chucked Mara's knife inside. She wanted to argue with me, but I pointed a stern finger towards my bedroom. "Let's go. We have to finish getting ready."
"Whatever," Mara grumbled, heading down the hall. "I have two more in my boots anyway."
Of course she did.
The rest of the hour passed without any real hiccups.
At one point, I thought Mara was going to punch out the other two girls for wrestling her down so they could do her make-up, but it went surprisingly well. I could see a vein throbbing in her temple, but she sat there obediently as they worked. But just to be sure, I kept stealing glances at them from the mirror as I applied my own mascara.
"Done!" Mary said triumphantly, capping a tube of lip gloss. "You look so hot. Your date is gonna be blown away."
"Like I give a damn what he thinks," Mara muttered.
"Well, I'm happy that you asked Elijah to prom." Sheila was being kind as she said this. Mara didn't so much ask but commanded him. "Otherwise he wouldn't be able to come since he's a freshman. It's nice for the whole group to go together, don't you think?"
"Also, dating younger guys is totally a thing now. Love can't be defined by numbers, right?" Mary said. She was swaying around in front of the floor length mirror, smoothing down her hair and meticulously inspecting her make-up. Her red hair was curled into tight ringlets that framed her face. "It shouldn't matter that he's a little shorter and younger than you, Mara."
"Don't get any ideas. I only asked him as a 'thank you' for saving me from that bullet."
I nearly rammed the mascara wand into my eyeball as she said that. Both Sheila and Mary stopped what they were doing and looked over at her.
Laughing ostentatiously, I said, "Metaphorical bullet. She means, um, she dodged a metaphorical bullet when... Elijah tutored her for her pre-calculus exam!"
"Oh, well duh. What kind of other bullet would she have meant?" Mary asked before turning her attention back to the mirror. She straightened out the ends of her pale green chiffon dress. "He's so smart. He even helped you ace your chemistry exam."
"Yeah, that boy is really something."
Then Mary changed the subject and said, "It's a shame what happened with Lucy's dad. She would've been a shoo-in for Prom Queen."
"I think that's the least of her worries now," I said.
"It's so horrible what he did to your family, Rory." Sheila said quietly.
"Yeah, it was."
The story of Pennington's disappearance and a detailed description of his crimes had made the front page of the newspaper. Of course, everything about demon portals and magic were excluded. We didn't mention any of that when talking to the cops. Mom had wanted to keep our names out of it to protect me and Connor, but it wouldn't really matter. News traveled fast, and it wouldn't be long until Mary found out anyway, being the huge gossip that she is.
The one good thing that came out of it was having Dad's name cleared. At least people knew the truth and he was no longer known as the man who abandoned his entire family. Ever since the article was released, everyone has been treating me delicately, just like they did when he first disappeared.
"Howard Pennington can go to hell," Mara said. "I hope the cops find him and throw his sorry ass in prison for life."
"I still can't believe he just ran off, and without his daughter too. How despicable," Sheila added.
Mary clapped her hands together suddenly, making us jump. "Okay, let's not talk about these sad things anymore. This is a happy night. We've been looking forward to Prom for months—"
"You mean only you," I said.
"—and let's not have bad feelings ruin our night. The boys will be here with the limo soon and then we can get this party started! Sheila, where are we going for the after party?"
Mara cocked an eyebrow. "After party? Oh God, there's more to this than just a dance?"
"Of course, silly girl!"
I don't think anyone had ever referred to Mara as a 'silly girl' in her entire life.
"Count me out," Mara said bluntly.
"You can't! Elijah is so excited about this."
"Nope. No way."
"You have to," Mary said, just as stubbornly.
"What exactly are we doing?" I said, stepping between the two of them. "I have a volunteering shift at the hospital tomorrow afternoon, so I can't stay out too late."
Clutching her hand to her chest, Mary said, "Are you serious? Who the heck schedules something for the morning after prom?"
"Someone who was coerced to attend by her friend who is a little too wound up about a high school dance?" I said.
Ignoring my comment, she said, "We can go bowling or figure out if anyone is hosting an after party or see a late movie or grab food—" Mary stopped talking when her phone pinged. She squealed. "That's probably Jared. They're here!"
And then seconds later, the doorbell rang.
"Let the snorefest begin," Mara said while slinging her bag over her shoulder.
I heard my mom answer the door and gush over how handsome everyone looked. Mary pushed past the rest of us and ran eagerly for the hallway while we gathered our things before following her out. Three guys stood awkwardly in the hallway as my mom snapped pictures of them.
Luke's blonde hair that normally fell messily into his eyes was swept to the side. He was dressed casually with a plain blazer and light blue dress shirt. Next to him, AJ leaned on crutches and was wearing a suit with a light yellow vest that matched Sheila's dress. Jared look uncomfortable and out of place next to the pair.
Noticing that they were short two guys, I asked, "Um, where are Seth and Elijah?"
"Something came up and they'll meet us at the dance," AJ said.
Mara growled. "Elijah is dead."
"Calm down. I'm sure it's something important," I said, even though I felt disappointed.
Mom frowned. "What a shame. I really wanted some pictures of all of you. Luke, honey, how about you take some with the two girls?"
"Yeah, sure."
Mara gave Luke a look. "This doofus? Can I get Connor instead?"
"Be nice." Then to Luke, I asked, "So, you're really going stag this year?"
He shrugged. "Lucy wasn't in the mood to face everyone after what happened with her dad. I mean, it's cool. It's just prom. But I'll probably have to steal you from Seth for a few dances, which is the least he can do since I did give him permission to take my date." He flashed me his endearing, lopsided grin.
I pretended to glare at him. "Well, if I remember correctly, you had ditched me to ask Lucy when we weren't speaking—"
"Wow, how about we take pictures now?" Luke said quickly, cutting me off before I could finish reprimanding him. He slung an arm around my shoulder. "Is the light here okay, Mrs. W?"
After a few dozen photos, my cheeks were sore from smiling. And with some coaxing from my mother, Mara finally caved and begrudgingly stood next to Luke for a couple pictures. Then my mom snapped away as Mary and Sheila exchanged the boutonnieres they'd brought with corsages from their dates.
I awkwardly held the box with Seth's boutonniere in my hand.
Mara didn't even have one. When I had asked her about it earlier, she said, "That's stupid. I'm not going to pin flowers on a guy unless I'm planning on stabbing him with it."
Eventually we were allowed to leave, but I had to take the digital camera from my mom and promise her several times that I would take at least a couple thousand pictures with Seth at the dance since he didn't make it to our little photo shoot. We all filed into the limo. I slid across the long seat cushions to let the others in.
"This is nice," I said, pointing out the colorful strobe lights and mini-bar with sparkling cider and M&M candies.
"Fantastic. Time to get wrecked!" Luke said excitedly, peeling off the wrapper for the cider.
"You're such an idiot," I said, laughing a little.
"Ow, Jared!"
"Dude, stop pulling."
As Mary was climbing into the limo, one of her curls snagged on Jared's boutonniere. She tried to pull back, but it was only making it worse.
"Mary, stop tugging," Sheila said, trying to untangle her friend. "I can't get it out unless you sit still."
AJ, with a bulky cast, had finally made his way in as all this was happening. And as soon as he shut the door, the driver peeled away from the curb, sending the three of them tumbling to the floor. I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing, but it was just all too comical. Luke stifled his laughter while Mara snatched the camera out of my hand and started photogrpahing the whole fiasco.
AJ reached over to help Sheila onto the seat.
"Oh my God, the night is ruined!" Mary said dramatically as she finally detached herself from Jared's chest. She tried brushing back some of her hair but it was still a huge mess.
"Um, here let's try this." I switched seats with Luke so that I was sitting next to Mary. Grabbing all of her hair, I bunched it together into a somewhat decent bun. And after securing it with an elastic from my bag, I tugged several ringlets loose on either side of her face. "Disaster averted, yeah?"
"I guess," she huffed.
We distracted Mary from her hair by taking a bunch of pictures for the duration of the trip to the restaurant. I kept checking my phone for messages from Seth, but there were none.
"Hey Luke, do you know where they went off to?"
"Not sure. Seth called Elijah and said it was urgent, and then he came on his motorcycle and then they both disappeared."
"It better have been urgent," Mara muttered darkly.
"I wonder what it is."
"I'm going to kill them both."
"They'll meet us there. Don't worry," Luke said.
Seth and Elijah missed dinner entirely. Mara was in a foul mood, even worse than usual and I couldn't help but feel a little upset that Seth was gone for so long without so much as a text to explain what was going on. And Mary and Jared were in a heated conversation about what they should order as an appetizer since they agreed to split a dinner deal for two. AJ and Sheila seemed to be the only ones enjoying themselves, lost in their own worlds and quiet conversations.
Oh, and Luke was just happy that we were finally eating.
I perked up a little as soon as we were finally heading to the downtown plaza where the dance was being held. We entered the building after presenting our IDs and tickets. There were already a bunch of people squeezed on the dance floor. Shimmering white and blue streamers stretched across the room. And then there was a curving staircase leading to a second floor where the refreshments and seating area were located.
"Let's dance!" Mary said, dragging me and Sheila towards the dance floor.
I looked back and waved for Luke and Mara to follow us. He obliged, but Mara rolled her eyes and stalked off towards the staircase. AJ hobbled to keep up with us and Jared just looked bored the entire time. Just like in the past, when upbeat songs would play at dances, Luke took both my hands in his and we jumped and danced around like no one was watching.
I felt like the biggest idiot at the dance, but I didn't care. I hadn't felt so free in a long time. There was no worrying about demonic gates or evil businessmen trying to ruin my life. It was just me and my closest friends enjoying a high school prom, like normal teenagers.
At one point, Luke unexpectedly dipped me backwards and I yelped in surprise. He grinned like the lovable dork that he was and I couldn't help but laugh loudly at how much fun I was having.
And then that song ended and faded into a slow song, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned and felt my breath hitch.
"Mind if I cut in?"
Seth was finally here. And he looked so unbelievably handsome in his black and white tux, I felt my breath catch in my throat. He was smiling coyly at me as he held out one hand, waiting for me to take it.
I did.
"And there's my cue. I'm going to go help Elijah look for Mara," Luke said before disappearing into the crowd.
"Sorry I'm late." He held my hand gingerly while slipping a corsage with three red roses encircled by a ring of baby's breath and silver ribbon onto my wrist.
"This is so pretty. Thank you." Then I hit myself on the forehead. "I'm such an idiot! I accidentally left your boutonniere in the limo. I set it down when I was helping Mary with her hair—"
"It's okay," he said. "Don't worry about it."
Seth guided my arms so they twined around his neck, then rested his hands on my hips. We swayed to the music.
"You look very beautiful," he whispered.
"You look great, too."
"I'm really sorry I'm so late."
"Where did you guys go?" I asked, looking up. We locked eyes and I felt butterflies crashing against my rib cage.
"I've been checking something out with Eli. If it works, I'll let you know. And if not, then it's probably better if I don't mention it."
"What is it?"
"We made a breakthrough tonight, but we're not exactly sure if it's gonna work. He's going to keep testing it tomorrow, so we should know soon..."
Once the song ended and we pulled apart, I instantly missed the feeling of his arms around me.
"Hey, you made it!" Sheila chirped excitedly, her arms wrapped around AJ's. She looked so happy, like she was glowing from the inside, even brighter than when we prepare to crash a dream. "Have you guys seen Mary?"
"No, but where is everyone?" I asked.
"They're probably upstairs. Let's go get something to drink. It's so hot here." Seth tugged at the cute little bowtie around his neck. "Want us to bring you something?" he asked, glancing at AJ's cast and knowing how difficult it'd be for him to climb those stairs.
"Nah, I'm okay."
Sheila eagerly dragged him to the dance floor as a hip-hop song blasted.
"C'mon." Seth took my hand and led me up the spiraling staircase.
We immediately saw Mara with her pink hair. She was sitting on a sofa and examining her fingernails as Elijah sat next to her awkwardly with a bouquet of roses in his lap.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"She's giving me the cold shoulder," he replied simply.
"Ah. What are the flowers for?"
He shrugged. "I don't know the protocol for these sorts of things. I never watched T.V. or read much about teenage customs. So, I know there was something about bringing flowers to exchange, but I didn't realize it was a corsage and not this."
"There's actually something in this world that I'm more knowledgeable about than you?" I joked.
"Mara, it wasn't his fault. He was helping me out with something. He wasn't standing you up," Seth said.
"You guys are bigger morons than I thought if you think I'm pissed off because you were late," she said coolly.
"Then what?" Elijah said exasperatedly.
"I thought you're supposed to be so intuitive," she said sarcastically.
My eyes widened as Elijah took Mara's chin between his fingers and turned her face so they were staring at each other. I watched her narrow her eyes at him and try to push his hand away, but he held on tightly.
"You're mad because...we didn't take you with us?" he asked, eyes roaming her face. "Because we didn't tell you what we've been doing?"
"Um, maybe we shouldn't be here," I said awkwardly to Seth.
"We're just trying to figure something out," Seth explained to her. "Don't feel like you're left out of the loop. It's not a big deal and it's not dangerous."
"We're a team. Even if it's not a big deal, we figure it out, as a team," she said, glaring at the two of them.
"Wait, hold on. You're the one who's always impulsively running off without us and abandoning the team, so I don't get--"
I saw Mara's eyes narrow and remembered the knives stashed in her boots. The last thing that I needed was having to explain a Dream Crasher brawl in the middle of prom, so I pulled Seth towards the punch bowl before he could say anything else. "They should talk this out on their own. Let's get something to drink."
We found Mary and Luke lounging around the refreshment table.
"Where's Jared?"
"This dance blows," Mary huffed. "Jared sucks. He left because he wasn't having any fun. He called his mom to come pick him up."
"You forgot to mention that he thought you were a psycho."
"Shut up, Luke," Mary said.
"What happened?" I asked incredulously.
Luke didn't say anything, but pointed at the huge red stain on Mary's dress.
"Did he throw his drink at you?" I asked in disbelief.
"He crashed into me," she said, grimacing. "And then I may have overreacted and told him he ruined what's supposed to be the best night of my life."
Looking at Luke with a raised eyebrow, I said, "And why the hell do you look so happy?"
"Am I selfish if I'm glad I'm not the ninth wheel anymore?" If looks could kill, Luke would've dropped dead from the glare Mary was giving him. It was almost as scary as Mara's. "What? I can be your date for the rest of the dance."
"The dance is ruined," she sighed.
"Your expectations for prom were just too high," I said, giving her hand a small squeeze. "You should stop trying to make sure everything perfect and just have fun. I mean, my date showed up when the dance was almost over and it's still been an okay night."
"That's only cause you had me keeping you company for the majority of the time. I am great company," Luke said, receiving a hard elbow in the side from me.
"At least Sheila and AJ seem like they're having a blast, even though he can't even dance properly."
"What? What about me? I'm having a blast," Luke said.
"That's because your expectations are so low, they're almost nonexistent."
"At least I can say I'm rarely disappointed," Luke responded cheerfully, stuffing another cheese cube from the refreshment table into his mouth.
When the dance finally ended, we all agreed to meet at a diner for a late snack before heading to the bowling alley.
"Good," Elijah said. "I'm starving."
"Who asked you to be late? It's your own fault you missed dinner," Mara snapped, but she had calmed down significantly compared to earlier. Whatever Elijah said to her after we left must've appeased her because she was clutching the bouquet of flowers and he didn't appear to be bleeding out from any evident stab wounds.
"We'll meet you guys there," Seth said. I looked at him in confusion. "I have something to show Rory. We'll be a little late."
"Okay, but we're ordering without you guys if you take too long," Luke said.
"Unbelievable," I said to Seth when I was sure they couldn't hear me. "At the first sign of food, he'll just throw me away. So where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he said enigmatically.
"Wait, how are we getting there if they're taking the limo?" I asked, although I had a sneaking suspicion.
"I came here on my bike."
I gave him a look. "Seth, I'm in a dress, if you haven't noticed."
"I'm a guy. Of course I've noticed," he said. "I brought shorts for you. They're in the helmet compartment, so don't worry. I've already thought of everything."
And sure enough, he handed me both once we approached his bike. He slipped off his blazer and hung it around my shoulders. "It's gonna get chilly on the bike."
"Thank you," I said, pulling my arms through the sleeves. I climbed on behind him and hugged his waist tightly.
He sped around the line of limos and cars inching to get out of the crowded parking lot. I was vaguely aware of where we were going, and wasn't sure until he pulled out of traffic and onto a dirt path in the woods. He followed the trail until it ended near a cliff that overlooked the city. Lights were twinkling brightly, but we were high enough so they didn't wash out the splash of stars against the dark sky.
There was a worn out checkered blanket spread on the ground with a boxed cake and daisies sitting on top of it. My favorites.
"I hope you like it," he said, glancing at me nervously.
"Are you kidding? This is so pretty," I said. "Wow! Can I take pictures? My mom would love this."
"Yeah, go ahead."
I took pictures of the blanket and then the breathtaking view of the city, and finally one of Seth staring out over the edge. The breeze tousled his dark hair and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. I would've given anything to know what he was thinking at that moment.
"Come here," I said to him, sitting cross-legged on the blanket.
He sat down next to me and I held the camera up with the lens pointed at us. I tried to smile like a normal person, but I was so happy that I was sure I would look like a grinning maniac in the photo.
"I think we might be more than a little late to meet everyone else," he said.
"It's okay. Let's not rush this. I want to enjoy it," I said, leaning against him.
Seth put on some music from his phone and we ate some of the chocolate cake he had brought. Then we laid on our backs and stared up at the stars.
I'd never felt so content in my life.
"Do you think Mara and Elijah will get together after tonight?" I asked.
"Who knows? She's so unpredictable and he's so oblivious when it comes to her."
"Sheila and AJ are really cute together."
"Yeah, I'm really happy for him. He's great and deserves a nice girl to make him happy," Seth said. "Although I'm not sure how this is going to affect the dynamic of the group."
"What do you mean?"
"I already told you that I'm staying here with you, but I don't know what the rest of them are gonna do. We've always moved around, exploring new places at day and fighting demons at night. We've never settled in one place for long. We're all restless people who've never felt like we belonged in a certain place."
I nodded in understanding. "Wanderlust. And you think AJ will want to stay with Sheila?"
"I think she'll be good for him."
"You'd really be able to stay if the three of them decide to leave though?" I asked seriously. "You're their leader."
"Then Mara will lead."
"Mara?" I was a little surprised.
"She's the most qualified. She's headstrong and can take control. And being in charge will really make her think twice about running blindly and recklessly into situations," Seth said.
"I hope none of them leave."
"Same here. Hopefully they don't leave and take Connor with them," Seth said in a serious tone.
I sat up so suddenly, I startled him. "They wouldn't dare."
"Calm down. I was kidding. Come back here," Seth said. He rolled onto his side so he was facing me. "So are you okay with me staying? I realize I never even asked you. I don't want to be presumptuous in thinking you even want me to stay behind."
I didn't answer him.
Instead, I wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him towards me until our lips met. He gasped in surprise at my sudden aggressiveness. He placed one hand next to my head to keep from falling on top of me and placed another warm hand on my cheek.
He tasted sweet from the cake.
My pulse spiked as he caught my lower lip between his teeth. My fingers clutched at his collar and tangled in his hair. I was intoxicated with his lips and his breath that mingled with mine. His chest was pressed against mine, and I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was racing. It threatened to burst from my chest, it was pounding so hard.
I hadn't realized how much I missed feeling his lips against mine.
We never made it to bowling.
We spent hours laying there, kissing and cuddling and talking. It was wonderful. It felt as though we were suspended in time, everything around us frozen, and we were all that mattered. We were washed in the twinkling lights from the city and the stars overhead. Everything seemed still except for our hands and mouths and racing hearts, and everything was perfect.
---
Stifling a yawn, I continued to push the cart full of teddy bears and flowers down the hall toward the maternity ward. Seth and I had gotten back late last night, and I couldn't sleep because I'd been thinking about our evening together. I struggled to wake up in time for my volunteering shift at the hospital.
As I passed by the coma ward, I thought I was imagining things because of my sleep deprivation.
In the room belonging to our only John Doe coma patient was a blonde teenager. He was sitting next to the bed with his back to the door and window. He seemed so familiar.
"Elijah?" I whispered, abandoning my cart and walking into the room.
He didn't turn around when I entered and I realized he was sleeping. His glasses had slipped down the bridge of his nose and were dangerously close to falling off.
Did Elijah know this man, who had been a mystery patient at the hospital for months? He had been brought to the hospital after he tried to jump to his death. The man had been in a coma ever since, with no identification and no one coming by to claim him.
I gently shook Elijah.
He woke with a jolt, his glasses sliding onto his lap. "Rory, what are you doing here?"
"I'm volunteering." I gestured to the coma patient. "Do you know this man?"
"No, not exactly," Elijah said.
"Then what are you doing here?"
He looked hesitant as he said, "Well, we wanted it to be a surprise..."
And then someone else was coming into the room. "Rory?"
"Seth?" I asked in surprise. "What's going on?"
"Elijah, why are you awake?" Seth asked.
"Um. We're busted."
"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" I asked.
And then Mara burst into the room. "Did it work? Is he awake?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Does everyone know what's going on except me? Okay, when is AJ going to come running in?"
"AJ can't run. He's on crutches. Don't be so insensitive Rory," Elijah said teasingly.
"Eli—"
"It's verified that he's gone then?" Seth said, speaking over me.
"Definitely. It's empty and accessible if David is sure he wants to go for it," Elijah answered.
"'David?' As in my dad? You're calling my dad 'David?'" I asked. "Wait, why are you guys hanging around with my dad? That's so weird."
"We didn't want to tell you until we knew whether or not this would work. We didn't want to disappoint you, but since you're already here..." Seth placed his hands on my shoulder and guided me over to the John Doe patient. "Do you remember when we were trying to wake up from the knockout gas in Pennington's underground prison? Elijah's hypothesis for accessing the conscious mind?"
"Yes," I said slowly. I vaguely recalled how they wanted to project Dream Crashing onto someone's consciousness to stop Pennington from opening the portal, but decided against it due to potentially negative consequences on mental health.
"Well, this patient has been kept on life support but he is no longer with us," Seth said. "He has no identification because he's been on the run from some bad people. He acquired a huge debt from gambling, and took his family and ran when he realized he couldn't pay it off. His family was accidentally killed when they were caught by the men. He couldn't live with the guilt so he jumped."
Goosebumps rose on my arms as Seth spoke. I felt a chill pass through me as my mind wrapped around what he was saying. "Did you guys... go into his dreams?"
Elijah nodded. "We've been scouting hospitals ever since we found out about what Pennington did to your dad, and this is probably the only candidate we'll ever have to test my theory on. We're trying to figure out whether or not your father can use his body. Normally there are endless moral dilemmas to consider, like what if he'll eventually wake up or what about giving their family false hope by waking up the body? But we don't have to worry about these things with this man."
"We've been hesitant because even though he's been on life support, he was still technically alive, but last night, he finally let go, and now we can finally try. He is at peace now."
"Which is why these two idiots were late to prom yesterday," Mara finished.
My heartbeat sped up as I finally understood what they were saying. "We're trying to bring my dad back."
Seth held up a hand. "Don't get your hopes up yet. We don't know if it'll work, which is why we didn't want to tell you yet."
I nodded. "So it could be any time now?"
"Yup. I was just telling David it was a go when you woke me," Elijah said.
I looked at the man. If this worked, this would be the face of my father. "Wait, then wouldn't the men he owes money to be after my dad then?"
"And here's the beautiful part," Elijah said excitedly. "You or your dad can change his face to his old one."
"Plastic surgery?"
Elijah gave me a look.
"Oh, you mean magically."
We all stood there for a good ten minutes, but nothing was happening. I was becoming more anxious with every passing second. Seth must've noticed because he rubbed my arm reassuringly. Mara was tapping her boot impatiently on the tile. Elijah was just muttering every single, possible outcome of this scenario under his breath.
"Should it be taking this long?"
"I don't know. I can go in and see what's happening," Elijah offered.
"Oh crap, I forgot I'm supposed to be delivering bears to the newborns and flowers to the mothers," I said suddenly.
"You should go," Seth said. "Take your mind off this. I'll text you if anything happens."
"Okay." And then I touched John Doe's arm. "Come on, Dad."
I headed towards the door and back to my cart. It was hard, but I suppressed the waves of disappointment hitting me. Elijah's theory seemed to make so much sense, but of course there was no evidence. I was just about to wheel it away when I saw Elijah jump off the side of the bed, almost causing his glasses to fall off again. Seth immediately whipped around to make sure I wasn't gone yet.
Excitement flared in my veins and I rushed into the room. "What? Is he awake?" I said.
And there it was. Almost unperceivable, but it was something.
His finger was twitching.
---
A/N: This epilogue was really difficult for me to write for some reason. I guess it was hard to finally end it since I've been writing it for so long, but I hope this was a decent ending. I was asked to write a long epilogue, so some things might be dragged out lol. I only had two events planned (prom and hospital scene), so I just added a bunch of random antics to make it longer.
I am going to go through and revise the whole story since it's now finished. If there was anything I missed, any plot holes you found, or any suggestions you have for the story please let me know! I would really appreciate some feedback so I can improve the story.
Some of you have asked, but there is no sequel planned for this story. I like open endings so that's why everything isn't explicitly stated. It's implied what's happened. I don't have enough ideas for a second book, and I appreciate all the suggestions people have left, but I'm more interested in writing new stories, not a sequel.
And I know I say this at the end of every chapter, but I really do appreciate you guys more than you'll ever know. Thank you for all the tremendous support I've received for the story. You guys have made writing TDC so much more enjoyable with all your love and delightful comments. I love you all tremendously!
Please vote and comment for this if you enjoyed the story :)
This chapter is dedicated to Lyla10123 for the lovely comments.
- Kay