One year after dawn
They passed their final exams with flying colors. They both applied to the same four-year university a couple hours away and received their acceptance letters at the same time. Mike was going to pursue a degree in criminal justice, and Sam decided on nursing.
Mike and Sam got out of their contract with Dr. Hill after what happened to Mike. They found a counselor that could actually help them. Sam started taking anxiety medicine for the days when it got really bad. Mike took antidepressants daily, but stopped the sleeping medicine all together.
Slowly, color had returned to their faces. The bags under their eyes faded. They started to gain back the weight they'd lost in those first few months. Mike got used to life with only eight fingers. Sam's pain of losing her best friend dulled. It hadn't gone away fully; she didn't ever think it would. But it was bearable with Mike by her side. She decided Josh would want her to be happy. That's all he'd ever wanted when it came to her.
Sam and Mike moved into a small one-bedroom apartment twenty minutes from their university. It was pretty shitty, but Sam finally had place to call her home. Mike became a bartender, and Sam worked at a gym and tanning salon, but they still struggled with rent sometimes. Sam refused any money from her parents.
Sam talked to Emily regularly on the phone. At least once a month one of them would make the four-hour drive to see the other until Emily announced that she was graduating in August and had received an internship at a fashion magazine in New York.
Eventually, Ashley and Chris started dating. Sam and Mike didn't know until Ashley posted a picture of her engagement ring on Instagram that Christmas. Sam texted them a congratulations but didn't receive a response. Jess was doing well according to Facebook. She and Matt were closer than they'd ever been before. She was due to start college in the fall. She didn't ever try to reach out to Sam or Mike, but they respected her decision.
The first anniversary of the night on the mountain was hard on both of them. Sam stayed in bed most of the day, skipping class and calling in sick to work. Mike had to work a double shift that day, but it was in the back of his mind. He brought Sam her favorite flowers that night and they slow danced to Elvis in the living room, with Wolfie circling in between their legs the entire time.
Two years after dawn
Mike bought Sam a used piano for her birthday so she could start to play again. She had briefly mentioned how much she missed it, but didn't think much of it. Sam rediscovered her love for writing music. Sometimes Mike would just sit next to her as she played and watched her fingers fly across the keys. It was one of his favorite things to do.
They were 21 now and mature beyond their years. They stopped talking about the past as much. It became such a distant memory, such a dream. It was easier to live in the present. Mike's nightmares were fewer and further between as were Sam's panic attacks.
A shitty TV movie was made about the investigations of Blackwood Mountain and aired on Lifetime. Emily was in town visiting Sam and slept on their couch. All three of them got drunk and watched it, finding humor in just how ridiculous it was and ignoring the parts they got right. The guy who played Josh in the movie was the only one who had a semi successful career after that train wreck of a movie.
Ashley and Chris broke off their engagement that year. Ashley graduated and moved away. She seemed happy though. Chris started making indie video games with his college roommate. One of the apps he created made it to the most popular page.
Matt and Jess finally changed their Facebook status to 'in a relationship' and Sam 'liked' both of their statuses. Jess's scars were still prominent. Emily told Sam that Jess's parents offered to pay for plastic surgery but Jess refused. She wore them like a trophy. Her eyes just dared for someone to challenge her on them. She still took selfies constantly.
Sam admired that.
Three years after dawn
They graduated that year. Sam and Mike had saved up enough money to take a vacation after graduation. They went to Colorado. Sam had always wanted to go because of all the good hiking and climbing spots.
He proposed to her that weekend. It wasn't really planned. He didn't even have a ring. They were in bed one morning. Mike was absentmindedly playing with her hair and watching the news while she slept.
It was raining outside. "If I had known," he said, more to himself than Sam. He thought she was asleep. "If I had known how important you were going to be to me, I would have grabbed you and kissed you the first day Josh introduced you to me, right there in front of everyone. You would've punched me, but it would've been worth it. You were dating some asshole whose name neither of us can remember and I was dating Em. God, how long ago was that? 7 years? I never knew 22 would feel this old. But I guess we've lived through a lot, huh? I'm going to marry the fuck out of you one day."
Sam squeaked. Mike jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. "What'd you say?" She sat up slightly, to look him in the eyes.
"I thought you were asleep."
Sam giggled. "Yeah, I was. Until you started talking to me."
"Oh, sorry," he said. He felt his face get hot.
"Finish what you were saying," she said, her green eyes boring a hole through him.
"That was it really," he stammered. He didn't ever really get nervous, but he was now. "I just love you and I want to marry you. If that's cool?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said softly, setting her head down on his chest again. "Yeah, that's cool."
He laughed slightly. "Sorry," he said. "That was kind of a shitty way to do that. I can try again later."
"No, don't. It was you. And it was perfect," Sam said, kissing his nose. He smiled.
They made love and ordered champagne and strawberries from room service.
Four years after dawn
Mike had applied to a few different law schools and got accepted to one in California. It was a big move, but they were ready for it. They were tired of the snow and the cold after so many years and were looking forward to the sunshine.
They were on opposite schedules. Sam started working the graveyard shift at a hospital so when Mike was getting up in the morning for class, Sam was just getting home from her shift.
They both had lots of student debt. It just didn't make sense to try to pay for a wedding while Mike was still in school. The wedding was put on the back burner.
They looked back on this as the hardest time in their relationship.
Matt and Jessica got married that year. Emily was one of her bridesmaids. Sam cried during the ceremony and Mike held her hand. They sat in the back row. Jess made for the most beautiful bride. Matt looked at her like she was his entire world.
Emily got a little too drunk at the reception and Sam had to hold her hair back while she threw up in the bathroom and mumbled about being happy and sad at the same time.
Five years after dawn
They became parents that year. It was a girl. She had Sam's eyes. They named her Ana Elizabeth Munroe. It was a tribute to the two friends they had lost so long ago, but it hurt to much to name her directly after them. They decided they didn't want those names to hang over their daughter for her entire life. They ended up calling her by her middle name most of the time.
They would explain everything that happened to them when they were teenagers eventually. They hadn't figured out exactly how to do it yet, but they had plenty of time to figure it out.
The friends drifted apart as the years went on. Most friends from high school do. It was natural. And no one wanted to dredge up the past again.
Things weren't ever perfect. For any of them. Mike and Sam still hadn't officially gotten married yet. Sometimes they thought about just driving to the courthouse and getting it over with, but part of Sam still wanted to do something right.
Mike and Sam had always done things backwards. They had moved in together before they even started officially dating. They slept in the same bed before they ever had sex. They had a child before they got married. Sam at least wanted a traditional wedding with all her friends.
They rarely talked about that night . Sometimes Mike would still scream in his sleep until Sam woke him up and sometimes when Sam went hiking she suddenly felt like she was being watched and have to leave immediately because of the intense flashbacks. Sometimes they still talked about it in hushed tones under the covers because it would never be something they could completely forget. It was always going to be there in the back of their minds.
They got recognized every once and a while, but it was rare. It was a long process, but eventually they found peace with what had happened to them. And everything was okay. Not all the time. But everything was okay.