Page 142 of The Road Less Traveled By

“I’m thankful for the family surrounding this table. It’s been a hell of a year, and I’m glad I’m here to celebrate with you all. And sorry for swearing, Tabitha.”

She reaches her hand out, and I put mine in hers. “It’s okay, honey. I’m so glad you’re here too.”

A smile and a few tears fall from my face, but I rein my emotions in so Liv can talk.

“Livvy, girl, you’re up.”

“I’m thankful I got to marry my best friend this year.” Liv turns to Tristan and leans into his body.

“I love you too, pretty girl. And we had the same answer, so Vince, it’s your turn,” Tristan tells him, and I see Vince run his hands over his pants. They’re probably clammy, and I think it’s funny how nervous he is.

He clears his throat before speaking. “I’m thankful I kept my promise to come back. After all, it led me here, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to be.”

His eyes meet mine, and my cheeks flush. I love this man more and more every single day, and I’m so fucking glad we found one another. He’s been the best part of my life for so long, and in a weird, fucked up way, I’m thankful I met him all those years ago.

“Mom, what about you?” Theo asks.

“I’m thankful that all of us are here, and I hope that, wherever your father and Tobias are, they can see us. Actually, scratch that. Iknowthey see us.” Emotions start to cloud her features. “Someday, we’ll all be together again, but until then, each sunset will remind us of them. Right, Liv?”

“Right,” Liv says, a few tears pouring from her eyes.

“Now, let’s eat before it gets cold,” Tabitha says, and for the rest of the night, we trade stories about our lives as we sit across the table from one another.

For so long, I thought I’d be alone. I thought I wasn't worthy of having people around me, but the people around this table changed that for me. I thought I was destined for meaningless relationships and never having control over my life.

But that’s not the case.

I have a family now, one that’s loud, rambunctious, a little broken, but at the end of the day, we’ll always be there, and that is all I could ever need.

Not a biological family, but a chosen one. Somewhere along the way, Liv and I found our family, and I’d take the same road again knowing it would lead us here—to the ones who chose us for who we are.

This is where we were meant to be. Every laugh, every smile, heals a tiny part of me, and soon, the cracks in my heart and mind will cease to exist.

It won’t be today, and it won’t be tomorrow, but sometime in the future, I’ll look back on this time and wish I could go back.

But I only look forward these days. And tomorrow, I’ll wake up next to Vince, and he’ll kiss me on the forehead and heal all the parts of me he didn't break in the first place.

I still get to read Liv’s books.

I still get to have lunch with Tristan, who’s officially my brother, and I call him that anytime I can because I’ve never had a brother before.

I still get to talk about books with Teags and have reading dates, even if over the phone.

I still get to love Vince how he deserves to be loved.

And I still get to love myself.

Because I survived. I’m alive. I’ve created the life I’ve always wanted, and nothing can take that away from me.

Epilogue

Three Years Later

— FOREVER BY NOAH KAHAN

I feel someone joltme awake, and before I think it’s my own body waking up from a nightmare, I realize it’s Vince.

“Angel, wake up.”

---