I realize that I'm the worst and I totally forgot to post this after I said that I would. You can thank iambeagle (again) for remiding me lmfao. Also, you should go check out her story The Way I Wanted. I binged all 30-something chapters in an afternoon and spammed her flailing about it a ton, so, yeah. Dooo it. And while you're at it check out hotteaforme's new story too, This Is Where It Ends. Also amazing, also makes me flail LOL.
I'll meet you at the bottom. Warning - this is a short short epilogue, but don't lynch me, there is a FD part 2 of sorts in the works, mostly written, needs editing and finishing. Give me another week or so to get Banks fully off the ground and then I'll see about starting to post. In the meantime, I'll post the banner and summary in my reader group CiaraShayee's Dreamers on FB!
As always, huge thanks and loads of love to maplestyle and hotteaforme for their support with this one! All mistakes are mine tho, I tinkered.
fever dream
18
"So we're having Christmas at Nana and Papa's house…" Fi says, voice full of trepidation.
"Yes," I tell her—for the millionth time, it feels like.
"With Uncle Edward, and Dad?"
Edward offers me a quick grin, reaching over to squeeze my knee before hitting the indicator. The roads are pretty clear, so the drive to Carlisle and Esme's isn't taking long. We have Jameson and Fi in the back, along with all the gifts for everyone that we didn't finish wrapping until last night. The rest we dropped off earlier in the week.
"Yes, baby. Uncle Em, Aunt Rose, and Henry and Vera are coming over, too."
Fi sighs, frowning out of the window as we turn onto Carlisle and Esme's street. "This is gonna be so weird."
"It doesn't have to be. We could just all have a nice day and enjoy Christmas as a family."
I don't get a response to that other than Jameson's excited squeal at my mention of it being his favorite day of the year—Christmas.
As soon as we pull up beside Esme's sedan, Jameson is whining to be freed from his carseat. Fi unbuckles him so that when I open the truck door he's out like a rocket and up the steps before I can warn him that the sidewalk is slippery.
While Edward rushes after him, following him into the house, I drape an arm around Fi's shoulders and give myself a mental high-five when she doesn't immediately shrug me off.
"Hey, wait a sec, piccolina."
She's obviously uncomfortable, but Fi looks up at me when I stop and gently tug her to a stop with me.
"I know you're finding this really difficult, and I'm so sorry, piccolina. You're my baby girl and I never want to hurt you."
Before she can interject her new favorite saying—that if I didn't want to hurt her, I 'wouldn't have shacked up with her uncle'—I rush to continue.
"But I'm really grateful that you're making an effort. It means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to Uncle Edward, too."
Frowning, she runs a hand through her hair; the gesture makes me smile, because whether she likes him at the moment or not, that's a habit she's picked up from Edward.
When she opens and closes her mouth a few times before speaking, it's the first time I've seen her looking less than self-assured in a while. "I don't...I don't like it. I hate that you and Uncle Edward broke Dad's heart. He loves us so much, and now...now he's all on his own and you've got Uncle Edward, like, right away."
Her words...they're like a punch to the gut.
"Fi…"
"No, I don't…I don't want to hear you say you're sorry again or whatever." Shaking her head, she looks up at the sky before looking back at me. It might be the first time she's looked me in the eye in weeks and not accompanied it with a scowl. "I know you're sorry, okay? You've said it loads, and Uncle Edward has said it a billion times…"
She purses her lips to stifle a smile when a laugh busts out of me, because the girl's not wrong. I've lost count of the times Edward has tried to apologize, to make nice with her.
He won't give up.
"I'm… trying," Fi finally admits, breath visible in the chilly morning air. "I'm really trying. Mostly because Dad said he'd get me a cat if I made an effort, but also because even though I'm really, really mad at you and Uncle Edward for what you did to Dad, I'm thirteen...I'm not an idiot. I can see you're happier now."
"Oh, baby," I breathe, pulling her into a hard hug. I probably need it more than she does, but she doesn't fight me.
"That doesn't mean I'm gonna be okay with you kissing and being all gross and stuff," she warns, pulling back just enough to try out a stern look. "You can be in love in an orderly fashion, capisce?"
"Capisce," I laugh, squeezing her to me again, my second round of tears of the day making an appearance.
I didn't expect her to open up to me like that, but the relief of hearing her say those things, that she knows we're sorry for hurting her and that she's trying to accept me being with Edward now, is better than any gift I'll find under the tree inside.
The rumble of an engine distracts me for a second, and it's chased by the thud of the door opening behind me.
"Mama!" Jameson calls, stamping his feet to get my attention, but when I turn to tell him we're just coming, he's flying down the steps toward me.
"Whoa, slow your roll, baby."
He blows right by us and I'm just about to holler at him for taking off when he shouts, "Dada!"
Riley flashes him a quick grin as he gets out, crouching to catch him before he makes it into the road, and I realize it was his car I heard before. "Hey, Jamie. Careful there, you'll fall over."
Jameson couldn't care less about Riley's warning because he's spotted the gifts piled in the back of the car. Pointing, he wiggles, trying to get down, and it's only when I laugh and follow his gaze that I realize one of Fi's worries might soon be a non-issue.
Riley hasn't come alone.
Dun dun dun!
Sorry, couldn't help myself! Come join me in my reader group to see the banner for part 2 of this story, as well as some teasers while I get it set up to post.
Thank you so, so much for all your love and patience with this one. I'm not sure why I got so stuck with it but here we go, a natural 'ending' of sorts to tide you over 3