A/N Alright alright, turns out this epilogue's gonna be a fucking looong one, because I'm already at 2600 words when I didn't mean to. Gonna be cutting into chunks with minor titles before the stories. (Excuse any mistakes, edits will be made later.)
This one is going to be interesting.
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Epilogue - [1/5]
Dexter's Ending Meets
Stephanie's Closure
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Meredith Tanner (Age: 25)
"Meredith Tanner! Can we ask you a quick question?"
"Excuse me— we want to interview you!"
"We won't take much of your time!"
Blinking at the cameras and microphones shoved into my face, I took a step back, trying not to suffocate. Mom came up from behind me, and a stern glare crossed her eyes as she said aloud, "Meredith is preoccupied right now! If you could kindly leave without any problem, that would be great!" She stepped in front of me, whispering, "Go on. I'll stall them."
"Thanks, Mom," I told her with a smile, disappearing through the door of the police station.
I sighed heavily, relieved that I didn't have to answer questions.
Thank god Mom came with me.
After graduating college, receiving attention from my whole vigilante career was leaving me irritated and exhausted beyond anything I've ever felt. It was like I was cursed to live such a popular and attention-feeding future, which— by all means— I didn't deserve nor ask for. My parents helped me by pushing away the paparazzi, but sometimes they weren't enough to fend them off. A small giggle escaped my mouth at the thought of Papa raging over the hoards of men coming after me.
In the eight years since my life changed for the best, I became the world's first titled vigilante. It was a lot of work because it wasn't easy to save people and manage a life of my own at the same time. With the additional casualties from natural disasters reoccurring way more than we needed or wanted, I, and others who decided to become vigilantes as well, promised to be there as fast as we could.
However, right now wasn't one of those situation.
I was here at the police station to wish Dexter off as today was the day he was being released from his finished sentence. The police force working here asked me to, and I accepted for the sole reason of wanting to see him go off with his parents. I heard that he was determined to go home to them and make up for the lost time they could've had together, and I couldn't not come to see him off.
As I walked up to the front desk, my eyes widened when I saw Stephanie standing there, talking to the chief. "Steph?"
The raven turned to look up at me, just as surprised. "Meredith?" As she took a step towards me, she asked, "What're you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that," I joked, giving her a small smile. "I'm here to see Dexter leave for Canada with his family. His sentence was finished just earlier."
Stephanie surprisingly didn't flinch at the mention of his name, and she hid her face in her scarf, looking off to the side with an unsure expression. "O-Oh. I know that."
"Yeah." It was silent for a while as I thought of what to say. How did she know? I wasn't aware she was kept up to date on this. Gesturing to her, I put a hand on my hip. "What about you? Why're you here?"
"Car accident issue," she responded, smiling nervously. "A guy swerved into my car after someone turned the road to ice. We're working it out right now."
I cocked my head, looking over at Chief Morgan as he stood against the front desk. "Heya, chief!" He glanced over, and I grinned. "How's it going?"
The old man tipped his hat at me. "The usual."
"That's good to hear," I said. Looking around, I peered at him and asked, "Can I borrow her for a few?"
Stephanie flinched at my question, though the chief nodded. I grabbed her hand, and before she could protest, I was dragging her off. "W-Wait, where are we going?" She asked, walking faster to catch up with my longer strides. We walked out the back of the station, standing in the parking lot.
"You came to see Dexter off, right?" I asked for clarification.
Her eyes widened, and she looked up at me. I didn't move, staring at the sky as I waited for her response. Putting her head low, she mumbled, "Kind of... I just wanted to see that he was alright before going home."
"Does Ryan know you're here?"
"N-No. He's with his friends, somewhere at a bar or something."
I noticed the small fidget to her figure, as if she was nervous or maybe even embarrassed. My eyes glanced at her as I smirked, catching her attention. "Don't worry— I'm not going to rat you out to your brother."
"That's relieving," she replied, a short laughter in her voice. Her hands hid behind her back as she explained, "It's not too much of a big deal to me like it is to him. I.. wanted to catch one last glance at him, I guess." The wind howled down at us, and her eyes become blank, drifting in thought. She added quietly, "See him leave, for good."
"For good doesn't mean forever," I pointed out, putting my hands in my pockets.
"I know." A small smile grew on her face, and she whispered again, "I know." Stephanie turned to look at me. "I'm not ready to forgive him— and I probably never will— but I know that I'm ready to finally look at him face-to-face. It's been almost ten years, after all."
I gave her a concerned stare. "You don't have to force yourself."
"I'm not. I genuinely know I'm ready."
"Are you—" My phone pinged in my pocket, interrupting our conversation, and I pulled it out. Reading the message that popped up on the screen, I grumbled under my breath as I shoved it back in place. Those brats said to meet at the back! Are you actually kidding me? Grabbing Stephanie's hand once again, I said, "Well, you better still be ready for the next minute or two, because we're gonna go see him off now."
"W-Wait, now?!"
"Don't tell me that you've suddenly lost all your confidence!"
"I-It was just way sooner.. than I thought!"
As we passed by the front desk, Chief Morgan tried to ask if he could have Stephanie back, but I nervously laughed in his direction, my hand up to excuse myself. "Sorry, sorry! Just another few minutes!"
There wasn't time to hear a response from him. I pushed the doors open, letting Stephanie follow behind me. At the very front of the parking lot, Mom was talking with Dexter's parents, who were in a small red Jeep piled with luggage. As far as I could tell, Dexter was standing off to the side with a policeman talking to him. I walked in his direction, inhaling shakily while I tightened Stephanie's hand in mind. It still hurts looking at him. Dexter noticed me as I stopped a few yards away from him. It was a distance protocol that the police force preferred between the two of us.
I put up a small smile. "Hey." He waved blankly, barely conveying any emotion. My head nodded over to the Jeep beside him, and I asked, "Headed out to Canada with your parents now, huh?"
"Yeah," he responded, his eyes swirling excitedly at the mention of his parents. "It's gonna be great once I'm there. My mom's been telling me about all the places we'd go together, so you can almost imagine my excitement." His gaze shifted suddenly, moving onto Stephanie. The smile on his face disappeared instantly as soon as their eyes met. The two of them froze for a second, and I saw the horrified expression on his face. Dexter was quick to turn back to me, his eyes wide as he inquired quickly, "W-Why is she here?" With an incredulous tone, he stammered, "Did you— Did you invite her?"
"Sorta like that," I replied, thinking. It's more like I just stole her from Chief Morgan. Sliding over, I let Stephanie make a full entrance, peering down at her. She shrunk. "Wanna say something, Steph?" She shook her head, gripping her scarf.
"You shouldn't have done that, Meredith," Dexter whispered wearily. When I looked at him, guilt was quickly washing over his face. He pulled his hood over his head, attempting to mask himself. "I-I don't want her to see me. She's not ready yet. She... she never will be."
Stephanie took a hesitant step towards him, trying to peek under his hood. "I-I came here myself—"
"Don't!"
She flinched visibly when Dexter raised his voice at her, and a small squeak escaped her mouth. I grabbed her arms, letting her know I was right there, and pulled her just a few steps back. I eyed him carefully, gripping Stephanie's shoulders. When he glanced at us for just a second, he closed his eyes and breathed in.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, a short pain in his voice as he apologized, "I didn't mean to yell at you."
"I-It's okay!" She exclaimed quickly, repeating herself in a slower breath, "It's okay."
I saw the way his hands clenched the hood of his jacket, as if he truly wanted to shield his face from her eyes that bad. Is he... protecting her? From traumatic thoughts? Giving the two a little time to get used to standing in front of each other after so long, he suddenly started glowing, and a forcefield appeared around him and him only.
"Oi, what's that for?" I questioned cautiously, just as puzzled as Stephanie.
Dexter's head nodded up, and he let his eyes show for a moment. "I don't... want her to feel unsafe with me. So I thought I'd put something around myself..." The girl beside me inhaled quickly when he turned to look at her again. Pain and guilt were prominent in his eyes when she flinched under his gaze. "Why did you come?" He asked her quietly. Shaking his head, he added, "The last person I wanted to see today was you."
"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down at her boots. "I'm sorry."
"It's not that I hate you or anything," he quickly explained, letting their eyes meet. There was a soft rumbling silence that lasted a second before he continued. "I just didn't want to see the way your face changes whenever I do anything... The way you're ready to step back if I move forward, or the way you stop to hold your breath when I look at you. That thought isn't something I want to keep noticing."
"I-I came, because I wanted to see you leave," she said, clutching her coat. "I... don't know why. I felt like I needed to."
Dexter, trying to keep the conversation running, smiled up at her weakly. I gulped the lump that configured itself in my throat, taking a few steps away from the two to let them have their moment. God, he looks so broken like this, but why..? It was like the way he saw her in his eyes changed from before, but something in those glowing orbs hinted another feeling.
"You don't know why..?" He rephrased quietly. Almost like he forgot their past, he slowly walked over to her, reaching over to hold her hands. In a split second, I saw her hands pull away from her coat, almost like she wanted him to hold them. It wasn't until a police officer intervened and forced himself between the two, reminding Dexter of who he was and what he did to her. He reacted quickly by putting his hands up. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized to the officer. He walked backwards, standing a yard away from her. "It won't happen again."
The officer grunted in response, trudging over to our parents. Stephanie's hands dropped, and she stared down at the gravel under her feet, her eyes blank. Dexter looked up, wanting to say something, but soon decided against it. Is that it? I continued watching, but it ended shortly when he walked away. As he grabbed his suitcase, I was about to pull her away to go back inside. She looked exhausted— from what, I wouldn't know.
"Wait!" We heard him exclaim from behind us. "Please!"
The two of us turned around, looking over at him. His suitcase was open now, and in his hand was a small stuffed penguin. He tossed it onto the ground in front of us, and we watched it roll around until it landed on its stomach. Stephanie walked over and picked it up, examining the penguin. I leaned over her shoulder and noticed how horribly thrown together it was, with the pink threads stitched in some of the wrong ways. What, did he just go ballistic with a sewing machine?
Stephanie didn't seem to mind it at all, and instead, looked up, asking him wide-eyed, "What's this?"
"Something I made while serving time," Dexter replied. He zipped his suitcase up, smiling solemnly at us. "It's yours now, if you want to keep it." Not a sound followed after, and I saw her eyes well up with tears as she stared at the penguin toy. Slowly, she closed her eyes and hugged it, holding it tightly. His eyes softened, and I smiled up at him. He smiled back and focused his eyes back on the young lady. "Hey, Stephanie."
She looked up in response, wiping away her tears with her hands.
"Promise me... that you'll find a nice husband," he proposed rather quietly. "One who can take care of you, and care for you." His eyes flickered to hers. "The way I couldn't, while we were dating. Can you promise me that?"
Stephanie's eyes widened at his wildly specific proposal.
When there was no response, Dexter sighed heavily and mumbled under his breath. The forcefield was taken down, and he began strolling over to the Jeep. God, their whole relationship is an entire list of sins. We looked on as my mother slapped his back to wish him away (tremendously hard, if I could add), and he slipped into the vehicle. As soon as it started up and began driving away, Stephanie tore away from my arms and ran towards the Jeep, stopping when she was a few feet away from the passenger seat. The Jeep halted quickly.
"I promise!" She exclaimed, loud enough for Dexter to hear through the glass window of the car. I heard her heavy breathing from my distant spot as tears ran down her face, and she gripped onto the stuffed penguin. "I-I promise, I will!"
Dexter's eyes widened in awe and shock by what lengths she took to say that. I couldn't help but smile wider when even his parents became a little intrigued by what Stephanie was promising. The window rolled down, and he hung his upper half out. His arm was held out to her, with his pinky finger protruding. Stephanie glanced at it, and slowly, she walked a bit closer to the Jeep. She extended her arm and, with a shaky breath, linked their pinkies together.
"It's a promise," Dexter whispered to her. I was lucky only enough to hear it because of my attribute.
With that final note, their red Jeep disappeared down the snowy road. Stephanie began walking home with the penguin plush in her arms, waving goodbye to me with a solemn and gentle smile. I waved back, and as the wind pushed past me, I sighed, looking up at the sky.
Should I tell her that I saw Dexter's penguin toy?
A smile crept onto my face, and I giggled to myself.
No— she'd definitely overthink it.