[chapter_34]

This time last year, Bella wouldn't have been able to imagine that she was playing Dawn of Warcraft only a few times a week instead of every night. This isn't to say that she's less enthusiastic about the game, because she doesn't think her love for it will ever die, or anything. The simple truth of the matter is that between classes and working at Midnight Sun, her after-hours time is spoken for with studying, extra projects, and decompressing with Masen or the girls. In the time she has left, usually during the weekends, she's sure to stick to her Twitch schedule - although, for that, she's thinking about dropping the streams to once or twice a month since she isn't so pressed for cash anymore. Beyond that, her time for gaming is severely limited.

Of course, she does make the most of the time she does have. Her place in the dueling rank hasn't dropped; she still keeps up with all the new quests and patch releases; she's even working her way up on the equipment ranking as she multitasks by studying the current weapons builder interface and cross-comparing it with the plans that are being made for DOW2. Swansong hasn't lost her status as one of the best players on the NorCal server. Bella won't let that happen.

In a way, not being part of a guild has made it easier to manage her time and wring as much productivity out of her gaming as possible. Without guild meetings and mandatory sidequests to collect materials for the guild storage, Bella has more time to pursue what she wants to, even if she's only logging on three or four times a week into her main account.

And even with limited time, her love for the game hasn't waned. She doesn't think it ever will. She hopes not.

But then one day in early March, Bella logs onto her DOW account and sees a private message that has been left to her - from Relentless, of all people. She takes a moment to stare at the message, simmering in her disbelief, and then opens it, cautious of the contents. The message itself is nothing that she might have expected, in this life or the next.

Relentless: Swansong. I'm leaving this message for you because it's what you're owed. I have made mistakes that I am deeply sorry for - especially how I treated you. You were an excellent gaming partner, the best I've ever had, and I let myself be blinded by status. Later, jealousy made me do worse things, including participating in that video contest or create circumstances to pressure you in the guild. Shamefully, I even exploited the labor of an intern in an effort to get back at you. At every turn, you continued to prove what a valuable, resourceful, and agile player you are. I couldn't catch up no matter how hard I tried, not in the game and not in real life.

Bella Swan, I have treated you horribly. I objectified you, as a gamer and as a woman, and I objectified others around me. My cousin recently reminded me that a man who serves his own ego isn't worth much at all. I regret that it took me this long of being so blind to realize it. All of my actions have been misguided and fruitless. I am aware that nothing I could ever say can make up for the hurt I caused you and others, but I would still like to apologize, sincerely.

I'm leaving the game - temporarily or permanently, I don't know. What I do know is that I need to seriously think about the kind of person I want to be. In meeting you and Masen Cullen, in watching my cousin grow up, in dealing with the repercussions of my actions, I've seen how much work I need to do to be a person who can truly compete in the world. I want to be better. For now, my first step in being better is giving you the apology you deserve.

I'm sorry for everything. Goodbye.

Bella sits back in her chair, a whoosh of air leaving her lungs. That wasn't what she expected to read - not at all. Relentless, James, is really leaving the game. He's leaving the game to grow up, of all things, and from the sounds of it, it seems like he wants to grow into a better person. It's...hard to believe and to reconcile with the person she used to know, with the person she met face to face only a couple of months ago.

And yet, there the message is. And when she clicks on his handle, an indicator pops up:

Relentless [deactivated]

He's really gone. Bella shakes her head, mulling over the message again. Her face must be broadcasting her convoluted feelings about it - about the apology, about the reason why he would think to message her specifically - because as Alice walks through the common room, she does a double-take and spring-steps to Bella's side.

"Is everything okay?" Alice asks, big round eyes shining in instant, honest worry.

Bella releases a slow breath. "...I think so," she says, offering a slight smile to Alice. "Relentless left the game," she explains more clearly. "He apologized to me. He mentioned you, I think. See?"

Alice leans over her shoulder, quickly skimming through the message, her lips slanting downward. "Well, I was certainly that intern," she agrees. "Do you think he means all of that?"

Bella shrugs. "It's hard to say. Maybe. I hope he does."

Alice is quick to agree. "We should all strive to be better humans," she chirps. She pecks Bella's cheek, then prances off, seemingly unbothered by the message or the fact that she wasn't personally delivered an apology from James.

But then again, Alice is always striving to be a better human. Bella agrees with her. Everyone should strive to be better humans.

With that in mind, she puts her fingers to the keyboard and taps out her own message. Relentless may have deactivated his account, but when he comes back - if he ever comes back - he'll have something waiting for him. Bella isn't one to hold onto grudges and she's willing to accept his apology at face value, so there's really only one thing she wants to say.

Swansong: Thank you. And good luck.


Bella Swan ʘthelittlecygnet

People can be so surprising. #StriveToBeABetterHuman

L Clearwater ʘClearlyFilmingThis

Ayo, look at this, another vaguepost

Seth ʘchangethisquil

You can't say ayo you aren't cool enough

L Clearwater ʘClearlyFilmingThis

Someone, put me down for beating Seth's scrawny butt when I go home for break

Seth ʘchangethisquil

Hey!


"What, so he's just gone? Just like that?" Jane demands incredulously several days later. She puts her chai latte down on the tiny table between them and scoffs. "Wow, what a man. Writes a sad little letter and then fucks off. So brave."

"Jane," Bella chides. "I think he was sincere."

He seemed sincere. Best of luck to him, is all Bella can say, even if she does think Jane's criticism is a little appropriate. Jane does have a point. She usually does.

"His sincerity can kiss my ass," Jane declares loudly. "James fucking Denali is a-"

"I'm sorry, but did you just say James? James Denali?" a vaguely familiar voice cuts in, quite abruptly.

Both Jane and Bella turn to look up at the curvaceous ginger-haired woman who has stopped by their table just outside of the little corner cafe only a few blocks away from the Volturi office. It's Victoria - Queen V - and she's staring at them with genuine bafflement. And then, after she takes in their faces, her expression clears into one of realization. Victoria, still as glamorous and pretty as the day of that ill-fated and incredibly awkward Illuminating Lotus guild dinner meet-up, straightens her posture subtly, a pinch between her brows smoothing out.

"This is probably unwelcome but - could I sit with you, for a moment?" she asks, mainly directing her attention to Bella.

Bella nods, not quite hesitant but close. Across the table, Jane presses her lips together, but she keeps her opinion to herself while Victoria drags over a chair and very primly sits down, crossing her legs at the knee and setting her designer purse at her side.

Victoria clears her throat delicately. "So...I suppose you've heard about James, then?"

"He left the game," Bella answers.

"And a stupid message," Jane adds, not quite under her breath.

"An apology, of sorts," Bella clarifies at Victoria's confused glance.

At that, a derisive expression crosses her face. "Yes," she says shortly. "I got one of those too from that - that weasel."

Bella blinks at the venom in Victoria's tone.

"We broke up," Victoria explains briskly, pushing one of her vibrant curls behind her ear. "Or, actually, I broke up with him. He was a shallow creep, honestly, and I'm glad to see the back of him. Our relationship was - well, toxic, in a word. I should thank you for helping me realize it," Victoria tells Bella bluntly. "If I hadn't seen the way he looked at you, then I would have let myself be strung along like an idiot. But I'm worth more than being someone's second choice."

"Oh," Bella says dimly. She takes a nervous sip of her dark chocolate caramel latte, twisting the ceramic cup on the table. "I'm not sure what to say about that," she admits after a moment.

Victoria lifts her nose up, as regal as a queen. "There's nothing for you to say about it," she declares. "It's not like it was your fault he had wandering eyes. You have a partner that you're clearly committed to and James was too much of a spoiled rich white boy to get a clue about it. And like I said, you indirectly helped me realize what he was like before I got in too deep. So, thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Bella says, ever so polite. This is not how she thought this conversation would go. Not that she ever thought she would meet Victoria on the street one day and that Victoria would invite herself to a coffee break out of the blue to thank her for being the catalyst for James's never-ending litany of red flags. But, all the same, she's never been in this situation before. She sends Jane a slightly wide-eyed look, silently begging for help on how to navigate these odd social waters.

Jane, who likely has never met a moment she couldn't break with frank honesty, is quick to respond. "Good for you, girl," she says to Victoria. "Fuck him. You know your worth."

Victoria smiles dazzlingly. "Right?"

"But that doesn't mean you're forgiven for that God-awful video," Jane says sternly.

At that, Victoria's countenance slumps, just a bit. She turns an apologetic face to Bella. "About that...I am sorry about the video contest," she says, clearly earnest. "There's no excuse for it. I was jealous that James cared so much about what Swansong was getting up to and Cherry Lane - Lauren - she was in my head about it. It was a shitty thing to do."

Bella's brows lift. The video contest honestly isn't something that she thinks about anymore. It had hurt in the moment and had been humiliating in its own way, but Bella and Masen and their friends had turned it around in their favor. Bella got her tigers from it and, according to Jane, had started to make her name known within Volturi because of it. How can she be mad about something she turned into an advantage?

"It's alright," she says, a touch awkward. "I'm over it. But thank you for apologizing. I appreciate it."

Victoria softens, smiling ever-so-slightly. "You're really too good, Swansong."

"Bella," she corrects.

"Bella, then," Victoria says with a nod. She casts a glance at Jane and their coffees, and then reaches for her purse, standing with a sigh. "Well, I should go, I guess. I'm sorry for butting in like this but - well, the opportunity was there and these things are better in person, aren't they?"

"You could join us?" Bella offers.

But Victoria shakes her head good-naturedly. "No, that's okay. I have an appointment, anyway." She pauses after shouldering her tote, staring at Bella with some bemusement. "You know, in my letter, he told me that he was going abroad to better himself. James, I mean. He said he lost to a worthy opponent and, what was it? That he wanted to become a worthy man. I don't know if it's true or if it will happen, but if it does, then good for him, right?"

Bella smiles. "Yeah, good for him," she agrees, and Victoria smiles again, and then she trots off down the sidewalk, her head held high.

Jane follows after Victoria with her eyes, eyes alight with interest. "You know," she says after a few moments, still following Victoria's progress down the sidewalk. "I think she was too good for him."

Bella can't help but agree. People can be so surprising and show so much growth.

Later, when Bella and Masen are on the highway back to Palo Alto, holding hands over the console, Bella relays her impromptu meeting with Victoria and her news about James. She says, "The worthy opponent must be you, I think."

Masen just hums and says, "Good."

Bella tries not to laugh at his smug expression. It's a losing battle.


Role Model Esme

Bella I need your help

Future Sis in Law

What is it?

Are you in trouble?"

Role Model Esme

Oh I am in so much trouble

As your in-law by proxy it's your duty to get me out of this

Future Sis in Law

I'm lost now

Role Model Esme

I'm talking about wedding planning!

OMG

It's a nightmare!

I thought working with interior designers was hard

But this is next level

Future Sis in Law
Oh boy

Role Model Esme
Kebi is no help
She's out of the country and also laughing at me
I don't have anyone else to turn to
Asking my mother for advice is out of the question

Future Sis in Law
Well
I don't know that I'm the best option either
I love and appreciate you but I don't know anything about weddings

Role Model Esme
Damn really?

Future Sis in Law
But!
But I have friends who can help!

Role Model Esme
You're a lifesaver

Future Sis in Law
I'll arrange a lunch or something?

Role Model Esme
My place is open for whenever
Just let me know when

Future Sis in Law
Roger that!


It's right before the spring quarter midterms that Bella manages to arrange a gathering that works with everyone's schedule. For the sake of convenience, Esme offers her apartment to host and orders enough Greek food to feed a small army on the Saturday that Bella, Alice, and Rose turn up at her door. Esme greets them with no small amount of relief, ushering them inside even as hasty introductions are made and she pulls Bella into a grateful hug.

Alice, upon hearing that she may be able to help plan a wedding, had taken the time to gather what she calls "necessary materials", which to Bella's discerning eye was a frightening collection of wedding magazines, cloth samples, and God knows what else she has tucked into the heavy powder blue duffle bag the three of them lug into Esme's living room.

Not much has changed since the last time Bella was here. She stops by the aquarium to smile at the fish and then tunes into Alice's rambling explanation. She's just in time to see the overwhelmed expression on Esme's face as Alice unloads the bag onto the floor in front of the coffee table.

"Alice is a planner," Rose offers dryly.

Esme laughs. "I'll say."

Alice smiles cheerily at them all. "There's nothing wrong with being prepared. And I love weddings. They're so beautiful."

Bella hums in agreement. The only wedding she has been to was her dad and Sue's, but that had been a small beach-side affair during the summer and it had ended in a barbeque. It was beautiful, of course, and she was happy for her family that day - but she also hadn't been involved in the planning beyond picking her own bridesmaid dress. Sue had taken care of everything about two weeks before the wedding date.

Esme, she thinks, probably has more than twenty guests to invite, which is probably why she's so overwhelmed. Bella can sympathize.

"So, when are you thinking? Do you have a date?" Alice asks, flipping through a binder labeled Wedding Ideas.

"May 22nd," Esme answers promptly.

Alice drops the binder. "So soon?" she squeaks, looking over her collection of planning materials.

Bella's brows lift. "That is kind of soon."

"Three months," Rose confirms. She eyes Emse speculatively. "Is there a reason…?"

Esme laughs. "No, no," she says, waving her hands in denial. "I'm not pregnant. I just want to be married sooner rather than later. Carlisle is the one. Why should we wait?"

"Fair enough," Rose concedes. She turns a cool eye to Alice, who is chewing on her lip. "You okay, Ali?"

"I thought there would be longer to plan things," she admits slowly. Her normal optimism is quick to reappear. "But three months is plenty of time! Do you have somewhere reserved? Do you know how many people you're inviting?"

Esme startles at the prompts. "Well," she hedges. "Carlisle had a few places in mind. Neither of us is religious, so we don't need to book a church. We do have a lot of people to invite. Between the two of us, there's at least seventy-five."

"If anyone can help you get this arranged, it's Alice," Bella says confidently.

Alice beams and Esme relaxes a fraction more - and then Alice goes on to prove Bella right. The Greek food Esme ordered for lunch is devoured in the course of the planning, and so is the pizza that is ordered for dinner. Bella, with some concern, asks if they should take a break, but Alice is on a roll and Esme really wants to get the bulk of the planning out of the way. For the most part, Rose and Bella share the duty of taking notes, searching up businesses, and sending email inquiries for various services. It isn't until nearly nine at night that Alice and Esme start to flag, and by then, the living room is a mess of take-out containers and wedding planning paraphernalia.

"I'm getting married at city hall," Rose declares, slumping into the couch. She rubs her forehead. "This is too much planning. We can just celebrate with, like, a dinner at a nice restaurant and be done with it."

"Are you marrying someone soon?" Bella teases. "Who is this we?"

Rose throws a napkin at her. "Oh, shut up."

"Well, my wedding is going to be big," Alice says grandly. "I'd like it at my hometown church in the spring, with tulips and white ribbons, and an old-style big band playing for the reception."

"That sounds nice," Esme says, lazily bundling up the wedding planning mess. Then, mischievous, Esme pauses and looks up at Bella. "And what about you, hm?"

"Oh," Bella starts, a bit flustered. Somehow, the question catches her off-guard. She takes a moment to think about it, to think about a wedding, and comes to the instant realization that she wouldn't want a wedding at all unless she was marrying Masen - because he's the only person she could ever imagine marrying. But, in all honesty, she hasn't ever thought about a potential wedding because there's never been any reason to until Masen. So all she can say is a rather lame, "I don't know."

Alice reaches up to pat her knee. "That's okay. You don't need to know now. Take your time."

"And," Rose adds wryly. "Take a note from your future in-law over here. Smaller weddings are better."

Esme snorts, shaking her head. "Oh, please. We thought that seventy-five was small. Originally, Carlisle had insisted that he alone needed to invite over a hundred people - the entire Cullen clan and everyone he's ever met, by the sounds of it. I talked him down from the second and third cousins."

"Like I said," Rose sighs. "Smaller weddings are better."

Looking at all the effort just the initial planning stages and decision making took, Bella thinks that Rose is probably right.

Bella twists the bracelet around her wrists and considers the future.

A small wedding would be nice.


Dawn of Warcraft -Nor Cal Server - General Forum

Holy Mother of Mothra Did You Hear About Relentless?
Anon

So like idk if any of you have been breathing this week or if you're living under a rock, but in case you haven't heard about it! Relentless! Is! Gone!

YEs, THAT Relentless. Relentless, aka one of the top players on the server. Relentless, aka former spouse of Swansong and, apparently, also now Queen V? THAT Relentless has fucked off and is no longer with us. LIke, not to be morbid about it, but what gamer REALLY leaves unless they're legit dying?

I can't believe this. Like, I've seen the rise and fall of the Nor Cal server and Relentless was one of our top players for a reason. This strikes such a blow!

Comments

NoddIfYouHearMe
Disagree. Dude was an asshole and I'm glad he's gone. I heard he was involved in that fiasco with Illuminating Lotus. Literally one of the best guilds on the server is on the verge of disbanding because of his antics - he cost them Swansong. I say good riddance.

KaliTechnic
I mean, his rep was kind of shitty wasn't it? Are we really going to miss him? Plus, he was dropping in the rankings lately.

IAmTodd
Not sorry to see him go. Hope he isn't dying though.

ChaChaChuu
You guys are all assholes. We lost a huge gamer and you're all here just saying he was a dick?

EATme
He was a dick.

View More Comments


It's a few days later when Rose tumbles into the common room with a dreamy, pink-cheeked expression. It's late enough that Bella, Leah, and Alice have given up on studying for the day and are instead spread out over bean bag chairs to watch a Korean drama on Netflix. Bella looks away from the screen just in time to see Rose grin down at her phone, unfettered and unrestrained in her happiness.

She smiles, reaching over to tap the spacebar to pause the show. "Hey, you. Did you have a good date with Emmett?"

Rose pockets her phone and shrugs out of a jacket that is definitely two sizes too big to be hers and looks distinctly like something Emmett wears when he's trying to look serious. "It was fine," she says breezily. She tip-toes around them to collapse onto her own bean bag and then says, with a vaguely dazed expression, "His dick is so big."

"Okay!" Leah says loudly. "That's enough! You can stop right there!"

"How...nice," Bella manages. She wrinkles her nose. "I didn't need to know that about my coworker, though."

"How big?" Alice asks shamelessly, leaning over Bella's knees.

Rose lights up. "I'm glad you asked," she says, pulling out her phone. "I managed to snap his dick print when he wore sweats the other day. See?" Rose tilts her phone at Alice, who makes the appropriate cooing noises.

Bella and Leah exchange a grimace, albeit for entirely different reasons. When Rose offers her phone to Bella, she just shakes her head and reminds herself that Emmett thinks fart jokes are absolutely hilarious.

Bella clears her throat. "Would he want you showing this to us?"

Rose lifts her brows. "Are you saying he should be ashamed? He's packing more than any man I've ever been with," she brags. "Absolutely nothing to be ashamed about."

"I just meant, isn't that kind of...private?" Bella asks.

Rose snorts. "Are we not in private?"

"You're being obtuse on purpose!" Bella says, growing flustered.

"She's goading you," Leah announces. "Just ignore her."

"Just for that," Rose says. "I'm going to send you this picture."

Leah blanches. "Oh, God. No. Please don't. I don't want to burn my phone!"

Alice giggles into her hands and Rose, it seems, desists on her threat, although Bella doesn't put it past her to follow through if Leah annoys her. Bella sighs, her shoulders relaxing as a contented smile crosses her face.

This is what it should be like, she thinks. Even when everything changes, this should stay the same.

Alice catches her subtly satisfied expression and twists around, pillowing her head on Bella's thighs so she can grin up at her. Alice pokes her cheek, probably right where there is a cluster of freckles. "Why are you so smiley?"

Bella shrugs. "Did you ever think we would be here? Like, a year ago, I mean? This close to our senior year, each of us with stable relationships, more or less financially secure?"

Bella, for her part, certainly never even dreamed of it. It wasn't even a fantasy. She had been perfectly content to live in the moment, to quietly reach her goals, to buckle down and work as hard as she had to. But everything that has happened, everything that has bloomed, has been so organic - and yet, it seems, so right. She's so happy. She didn't think she would ever be this happy.

"Not really, no. I mean, especially about the relationship thing…" Leah admits, nibbling on a garlic pita chip.

"Or financial security," Alice adds thoughtfully. "Do you think we'll still be known as the scholarship dorm?"

"With the chunk of change Bella is worth? Never again," Rose says.

"Is it weird that I still want my scholarship? It's kind of an accomplishment, right?" Leah wonders, tilting her head in thought.

The same thought had crossed Bella's mind, of course. "I don't know," she says. "I feel like it would be morally wrong to apply now, all things considered…"

"I mean, maybe. But isn't one of your scholarships just a tuition discount?" Rose points out. "How is that going to hurt anyone other than this university, which is raking in truly staggering amounts of money thanks to the current costs of higher education?"

"Oh, here we go," Leah mutters, rolling her eyes. She crunches on a handful of chips.

Rose throws the nearest thing, which happens to be the sock fresh from her foot, at Leah's face. It falls just short of hitting her. "Yeah, here we go," she snarks. "Can I not be pissed off that, like, 40 years ago it cost basically nothing to get a degree and support a family? Like, our generation got so fucked it's not even funny. I'm bitter about it, and I'm extra bitter that getting a job in almost every industry requires, at minimum, a bachelor's degree. Can't I be pissed about that?"

Leah considers this. "Fair enough."

"Not to mention the job requirements!" Rose continues passionately.

"I literally saw an application today that asked for ten years of experience with a program that was only released five years ago," Bella admits. "And it's like, come on. It's pretty bullshit, I think."

"We're lucky though, aren't we?" Alice points out, ever eager to play to the better angels of their nature. "I mean, we did manage to get internships this year and work experience. Leah even had a debut as a documentary filmmaker. That's huge."

"We did get ahead of the curve this year," Bella agrees.

"If only the curve wasn't so steep," Rose sighs, disgruntled. "But, yeah. We got lucky."

"The future is looking up," Leah muses. She hesitates for a moment before she stuffs another chip into her mouth.

It's that hesitation, that one brief moment, that has Bella at her heels the moment they're alone in their dorm room. She waits until they've both gone through their nighttime routines before she prompts her sister. "So, what was that out there? About the future? You didn't sound as enthusiastic as the rest of us."

Leah makes a face. "It's nothing," she says.

"Lee Lee."

"Bell Bell."

"It's obviously something," Bella insists. "Are you...I mean…"

Leah huffs and sits down on her bed. "It's really nothing. I'm being stupid. It's just - like, all these changes, you know?"

Bella crosses the room and sits next to Leah, wrapping her in a loose hug. "Everything is changing," she agrees, nodding against Leah's shoulder. "But these are good changes."

"I know they are," Leah says, still sounding disgruntled. "It's just. Everything is changing so much. It feels fast, even when I can see the change coming."

Bella hums, a tone she has outright stolen from Masen because she feels it conveys the right amount of acknowledgment. "Well," she says at length, squeezing her sister more tightly. "Even if everything else changes, I won't. We won't change, okay? We're always going to be like this."

"Even if I insist on filming you until you're old and grey?" Leah prods.

Bella laughs. "Even then," she says, and holds out her pinky.

Leah's pinky curls around her own, maybe a bit too tight. "Even then," she promises.

Always, Bella thinks privately. Even when everything else changes, some things never will. And that is a good way to live a life.

It's a thought that stays with her for the next few weeks - all through midterms and her Volturi projects and sleepovers at Masen's on the weekends. A good way to live a life is to find the balance between the things that change and the things that stay the same. Some things, like the love she has for her family and her ambitions, are always going to be there, but there are also changes that have swept her off her feet, that have ushered her into a better, brighter, and more fulfilled future.

She thinks about herself a year ago, telling Relentless that she wouldn't send him a picture of herself. But things have changed - Bella has changed. Not only does she send Masen the odd morning selfie without any prompting these days, but she has also been brave enough to meet with him, brave enough to lead with her heart instead of her head because she has a gut feeling her would be there to catch her.

And he is, even now as they cuddle together on his bed, her head on his chest and his fingers tracing seamless patterns aimlessly on the bare skin of her shoulders. The sheets are pulled up around their waists, hearts still racing, sweat drying on skin. Bella is still flushed and mildly embarrassed by the way she sounded when Masen slid into her for the first time - but she's also more content than she ever thought possible. The emotional connection, the all-encompassing trust she felt as she shared her body wholly and completely, has been more satisfying than she anticipated, maybe more satisfying than the actual sex.

And she's happy. Certainly much happier than she was a year ago and, she thinks, possibly a better friend and stronger person for it.

She won't say that it's because of Masen that she has changed so much - that would be unfair to herself, since true change and evolution can only come from within. But she can admit that Masen was a catalyst, a pillar of support, and an inspiration.

She loves him so, so much.

"Do you want to come home with me over Spring Break?" she asks, voice hushed in the quiet of their aftermath.

Masen's fingers swirl over her shoulder blade. He shifts his head to gaze down at her, gray-green eyes steady and warm. "Yes," he says simply.

Bella's lips spread into a fond smile. She curls closer to him, tangling their legs together, and presses her ear against the center of his chest. His heartbeat is strong and sure, a calm metronome that comforts her immensely.

It's a sound she would happily listen to for the rest of her life.

(And so, that's exactly what she does.)


A/N: Oh, my. It's the last official chapter, folks. It's been a long journey but these kids have told their story. We'll miss them. It's been a year-long journey and holy crap, you know? For them and for us. Stay tuned for the YouTube epilogue.

Stay safe and stay smart.

~Rae