Epilogue

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It was the night of February eighteenth, 1988.

Bella stared in the bathroom mirror at herself. Despite being nineteen years old, she could still easily see her fourteen year old self gazing back at her. Her large, olive green eyes were still pooled to the brim with fear and trauma. Those eyes saw way more than they ever should have.

Five years before, she was rescued from Mommy's House. She couldn't believe that so much time had passed. That much time had passed since she had the blood of Rose and Steven coating her hands. That much time had passed since she had last seen Cole. She rarely saw Elliot since then, only a few times between the years.

She smoothed her dress down and ran her fingers through her waist-length hair.

"You're okay, you're okay. You're stronger than this, Bella, just breathe," she whispered to herself, inhaling sharply as she stared down at the granite countertop of the sink. She hoped that nobody was in the stalls as she spoke to herself.

She took a deep breath and quickly exited the bathroom, into the large venue where people were all over. She immediately saw James' son, Benny, talking to somebody who must have been in his family. He was about her age now, and Bella was so glad that he was finally talking to his father again.

Her eyes suddenly focused in on James, clad in a tuxedo, talking to Liv who was stunning in her ivory white dress. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on her lips.

Bella walked slowly up to them, and James looked over at her.

"Hi, Bella," he said with a smile, and Bella forced a smile towards both of them.

"It was a beautiful ceremony," Bella said, her voice nearly drowned out by the sound of people talking and Whitney Houston playing through the speakers. "Congratulations, guys, and Liv, you look stunning."

"Thank you, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Liv asked, her hand resting on Bella's shoulder as Bella swallowed and nodded.

"Uh, great, actually. I just wanted to let you guys know how happy I am for you," she told them.

Bella felt a tug on the skirt of her dress, and she looked down to find their nearly four year old daughter, Annie, staring up at her with a big smile. Her brown hair was tied in two pig-tails on the sides of her head, and she was dressed in a tiny pink dress.

"Bella!" the little girl exclaimed.

"Hi, Annie!" Bella cooed, kneeling down to smile at the little girl.

"She was asking all about you before," James said, bending down to pick Annie up.

A woman approached Liv, and Liv looked at her before she turned to Bella. "I'm going to go off for a second, but Bella, I'm going to talk to you later. Okay?" she asked, her fingers resting on Bella's arm.

Bella nodded, knowing that James and Liv could see right through her act. They always could. She could tell by the way James was looking at her.

Liv walked away, and Bella looked at James. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "This is stupid, I'm so... selfish," she said with a breathy laugh, trying to remain calm.

"Don't apologize, Bella. This is a really hard day for you, I'm so glad that you're here right now. That's all that matters to me," James assured her, and she immediately felt calmed by his presence.

Bella leaned in and wrapped her arms around James and Annie, her head resting on James' shoulder as she took a shaky breath.

"You know Elliot's here, right?" James said, pulling away from her after a minute. "I invited him and his mother, surprisingly, they came. I also invited Cole, but I don't even know if he received my invitation or not."

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Her heart dropped at the mention of Cole. She hadn't seen Elliot, because she basically refused to look up the entire time she was there. She swallowed and looked around at all the people dancing and having a good time, where she almost immediately locked eyes with the boy standing silently, a few feet away from his mother.

He was nearly unrecognizable, but Bella immediately knew who he was. He had big, honey eyes, and short blonde hair. His gaze was timid as he looked over at his mother, who wasn't paying attention, before he started walking towards her.

"Elliot, oh my God," she said as she rushed to meet him halfway, before she tossed her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her too, and she realized that he had grown to about her height. She pulled away and stared at him. She hadn't seen him in about two years.

"I'm sorry, my mom wouldn't let me see you that much. She didn't want me to talk to you today, either, but I don't care," he told her, and she noticed his voice was a bit deeper.

"It's fine, I understand why. God. How old are you now? You're so tall," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm twelve," he answered, and Bella's chest filled with warmth. She was so happy that he was alive and well.

"How's school going?" she asked.

"It's good. I'm in the seventh grade now! It's a lot harder than sixth grade," he said, and Bella rolled her eyes playfully.

"I bet," she laughed, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"My mom told me that today is the day that... you know," he said, and Bella really wished that he hadn't brought it up. Her heart started to race as she nodded.

"Yes," she choked out, and Elliot stared at her. "It was a great day," she lied. It was an awful day. "Cole and I were rescued."

"Can I tell you something?" he asked her.

Bella nodded, worried about what the child was going to say.

"I don't remember anything that happened," Elliot admitted, and Bella tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "nothing at all?"

Elliot sighed heavily. "Not really. I try to remember it, but... I mean, I remember... I remember what the woman looked like. I remember running away and being in the woods. Everything else is just blurry. My mom won't tell me about it, either. And she said that if I talked to you today, she was afraid you would bring those memories back."

"I would never do that," Bella said, her eyes large and filling with tears as she stared at him.

"Is it normal? That I don't remember," Elliot asked.

Bella nodded, and she didn't know why tears were falling from her eyes. "I, well, I mean... you're lucky," she said quietly. She was envious.

"I guess so," Elliot said, before his mother, Jasmine, called him over.

"Elliot! Come back here, please, Sweetie," his mother yelled over the music. Bella knew why his mother wouldn't want him to talk to her, so she couldn't even blame her.

"It was nice to see you," Elliot said to Bella with a smile. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry," he said, his expression filling with guilt as Jasmine came over, smiled at Bella, and politely pulled him away.

Bella brought her fingers up to her eyes and wiped the tears away, her breath shaky as she looked for James but couldn't find him. She looked around, her eyes wide as she tried desperately to find him. She needed him.

Her eyes locked on him, and he was not too far from her, hugging a man who was about his tall height. The man was dressed in a white button-up and black pants. He had his arms wrapped around James for a long time, before he pulled away and Bella was able to get a better look at him.

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