Because You Love Me

Epilogue

I let out a much-needed sigh of relief as I finally unpack the last thing out of my boxes.

I stand, with my hands on my hips, and look around at my dorm room in satisfaction.

"Hey Caterpillar, all finished?" Dad asks, coming back in to the room.

I turn and look at him, smiling, "I think so, what do you think?"

He scans it before nodding, "I like it."

He then looks at me before letting out a sigh.

I let out a small laugh and go up to him, crashing him into a big hug, "Don't get all sad on me now dad."

He kisses my hair, "College is a huge step Hazel, I need to take it all in."

I let him go, "Don't worry, I'll visit on breaks."

He gives me a small but supportive smile, "I know you will."

My phone buzzes and I look to see I got a text from Mae.

"Time for me to go I guess?" Dad asks.

I nod sadly, "Unfortunately yes."

He opens his arms for one last hug and holds me for a bit.

"Remember I'm only a phone call away, alright?" He says.

I nod, "Alright." We both walk out of the room and into the hallway, "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Study hard okay?" He says with a stern look.

I laugh, "You know me dad."

He smiles at me one last time before waving and walking out to the direction of the car park.

I take in a deep breath and start walking to the courtyard.

"Hey." I smile when I see Mae.

She smiles back in excitement and pulls me into a hug, "Can you believe we're here? This is college Haz! College!"

I laugh, "Yep, we're finally on our own now."

We sit down on the grass and she soaks in the foreign Philadelphia sun, "Yep, and a good five hours away from Juelston Valley, can you believe it?"

I shake my head and look at my surroundings, the freshmen getting all their boxes and suitcases into their dorms, excitement filling the air.

Then one particular freshman stands out, heading towards us like a Greek God. I could see girls turning their heads to look at him, but his eyes were only focused on one person.

Me.

And I absolutely loved that.

Jay gets to us and holds out a hand, pulling me up and wrapping his hands around my waist.

"Here we are." He says, his deep voice rippling through me. I wrap my hands around his neck, smiling at him.

"Here we are." I nod in agreement, mimicking his words.

I hear Mae groan from below us, "Why's your boyfriend here? Where's mine?"

Jay quickly pecks my lips before we sit down again, taking my hand into his lap and lazily drawing circles around it, making me shiver a little.

He rolls his eyes at Mae, "He's taking forever to ditch his parents, they're babying him."

Mae laughs as she leans back and lies down, "I don't expect anything less knowing them."

I look at Jay, "Have you heard from Zach?"

He nods, "Yeah, he told me he's settling in good. He's pretty excited about the team they've got planned this year."

Zach had been accepted into a football college about an hour away from here, although he wasn't with us, we had already organised every Friday night to do something all together, and we'd go to his games when we could too.

I smile, "He was so happy when he got in, I bet he just loves it."

Jay nods in agreement, "He sounds like he does."

"Well look who got away." Mae suddenly says, she was sitting up again now and looking over at where Jay had come from.

Seth gets to us and sighs before collapsing next to Mae and pulling her into him, she giggles and gives him a long, passionate kiss.

Jay and I roll our eyes at each other.

"My parents will be the death of me." He says once they come back for air.

Seth and Mae were currently in the 'honeymoon' stage of the relationship. They had just gotten together after graduation, since Mae was still getting over the loss of her baby, she didn't want to rush into anything.

I'm glad they're together now though.

"Weren't they the beginning of you?" Jay asks, eyebrows raised.

Seth cringes before reaching over and giving him a playful punch, "Ew man, don't remind me."

We all laugh and I lean into Jay, taking in his scent.

"Lexi texted me yesterday, she said Uncle Steve is recovering positively from the surgery, they're hoping for the best and the results will come on Monday." I say to him.

He gives me a smile, "That's good news then."

I nod, smiling too.

Aunty Laura was mortified when she found out the truth about Uncle Steve, but soon forgave him, which was good.

"Are you happy?" Jay asks.

I look up at him, reaching up and trailing the shape of his lips with my finger.

"Entirely."

With that, he takes my hand and leans in to seal it with a sweet, amazing kiss.