Epilogue
Bianca watched as AJ disappeared and knew that he was in a better
place. She was alone now, yes, but she
knew she should be happy for him. He was
in Heaven, and someday, she would get there herself, and they could be together
again.
Only she was not alone. A
figure stood in the doorway, watching.
“Bianca?” he said softly.
Bianca looked over.
“Nick? How long have you been
there?”
“Since the kiss,” Nick admitted.
“What the heck just happened there?”
Bianca smiled tearfully.
“AJ went home,” she said simply.
Nick walked into the room and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Everything’s
going to be all right now,” she said.
“Yeah.”
She looked up at him then, at his face, which was illuminated by
the moonlight shining in through the windows.
“Can I ask you something, Nick?”
“What?”
“The stickers. The happy
face stickers. AJ found them in your
desk, and they were the same kind that were on the pictures I’d been getting in
the mail. Where did you get them?”
“What pictures?” Nick asked.
Bianca explained quickly about the two pictures she had gotten
with stickers over AJ and Krystle’s faces.
And then she asked again, “Where did you get those stickers?”
“I found them on the floor the other night when we all ate dinner
together, the night before Bri and Kev left,” Nick replied. “They were in the room we were eating
in. I guess Krystle must have dropped
them from her purse or something.”
“Oh. Well that explains
that then.”
“Hey, wait a minute… did you think that… that I was the
killer?!”
Bianca grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry,” she said. “But it all
made so much sense. The stickers, the
green car, the envelope sitting on top of my address in your address book… and
the fact that I know you’ve never really liked me much.”
Nick stared at her. “Is
that what you think? That I don’t like
you?”
Bianca raised her eyebrows.
“Well, you’ve never acted like you have,” she said. “You always seemed to avoid me or ignore
me. I just never felt like you liked me
much.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick said softly.
“That wasn’t it at all, Bianca.
The thing is – I do like you.
A lot.”
Bianca cocked her head at him.
“What do you mean, you like me a lot?”
Nick shifted uncomfortably and refused to look her in the
eye. A shy sort of smile that was quite
endearing came over his face. “I mean
just that. I like you. Like, like you, like you.”
Bianca stared at him. “You
do??”
“Yeah… I guess I was sort of jealous of AJ for awhile when he
started going out with you. And I’m not
really that great at talking to girls I like, so I guess that’s why I sort of
tried to avoid you.”
Bianca’s heart melted. “Oh,
Nick,” she said. “I had no idea!” He just smiled uncertainly. “Were you ever planning on telling me?”
“Well…” He hesitated, then
went on, “Actually, I wrote you a letter… a… a love letter, I guess you could
say.” He laughed self-consciously. “I wrote it and shoved it in an envelope and
even went so far as to look up your address to send it to you, but then… I
kinda chickened out.”
“That letter! That was it,
wasn’t it?”
“What?”
“When AJ found the stickers, he found your address book too, and
it was open to the page my name was on.
There was an envelope lying on top, and we both thought it was another
one of those pictures with the stickers.”
“Oh…” Nick blushed. “Yeah, that was it.”
Bianca grinned. “Aww…
that’s so sweet, Nick.”
Nick turned even redder.
“Hey, um, Bianca? Since I’m
saying all this to you, I just have to ask – I know this is really soon, but do
you think that… someday… there might be a relationship or something between
us?”
Bianca studied him for a moment, then said. “You’re right, it is too soon. But maybe someday. After all, you did save my life – with AJ’s
help, of course.”
“Of course,” Nick said, smiling.
“And,” Bianca continued, lowering her voice to a whisper, “Don’t
tell AJ, but you were always my favorite Backstreet Boy.”
***
The next afternoon, after a long visit with Howie at the hospital,
Bianca finally went home, feeling safe there once again. Krystle and Brianna were dead, and according
to the news reports she had heard that morning, Mr. Gunzenmeier had indeed
turned himself in. The Smiley Face
Killer was now behind bars.
AJ was gone too, and there was an emptiness without him, but
Bianca knew it was for the best. He was
in a better place now, and someday, she would get there too, and then they
could be together again. But for now,
she would move on. She would always love
AJ, but she might grow to love someone else to.
She would always remember AJ, but she would make new memories. She would always grieve for AJ, but she would
rejoice for other things. Her life would
never be the same as it was when he was in it, but it would not be miserable
either. Just different.
Bianca had a smile on her face when she reached her home. She knew she had not totally come to terms
with what had happened yet, but she would eventually. Today marked the first day of that process.
Before turning into the driveway, Bianca stopped at the mailbox
and got her mail. There was the usual
supply of magazines, catalogues, junk mail, and bills. And there was also a letter for her. One last letter, addressed to her in bold
block letters, no return address.
Snickering, she tore open the envelope and shook out the single picture
that was inside. Just as she had
suspected, it was the same picture as before, and this time, her face was
covered with a happy face sticker as well.
“Sorry, guys,” Bianca said out loud. “I won this time.”
Then she tore the picture into shreds and drove on.
The End
