Epilogue
My memory of those two weeks didn’t
come back all at once. It was bits and pieces here and there, most in my dreams
like the doctor had said. It was never pleasant having to relive what happened
to me in my nightmares, but at least I was recovering the good memories along
with the bad. Eventually though, as the swelling in my brain went down and my
overall physical condition returned to normal I got back every memory I’d lost.
I spent quite a bit of time in the hospital, but I never spent a day of it
alone. Howie stayed by my side the entire time. And as it turns out, I had a
lot more visitors than I’d ever expected.
Danny and John of course came every
chance they could and Danny and I were able to patch things up. He is my
fucking best friend after all, and once he saw how much Howie meant to me he
got over himself. He and Howie actually became quite good friends and Howie
helped him and John land one of those pimp-my-car shows on TV. Now we get drunk
and watch that instead of millionaire. We place bets on how many times they
have to bleep their language every episode.
Then there was my mom. Imagine my
fucking surprise when she showed up in my hospital room acting like a decent
human being. She really opened up to me about my father though and admitted
that killing him sobered her up permanently. She checked herself into rehab and
has been rebuilding her life ever since. Hal visited her every day and fucking
proposed when she came home. They got married in the damn bar. It
was the only time in my life I was ever a fucking bridesmaid and I had to serve
the drinks at the fucking reception. It was worth it though to see my mom truly
happy for once in her life, and Hal was now legitimately the father he’d always
been to me.
As for me? I didn’t move
to Florida with Howie like you might have expected. When it came down
to it I just couldn’t leave my home and all the people I’ve ever loved. So
instead Howie surprised me with keys to our new fucking house when I got out of
the hospital. The place is a fucking palace and yes I said it’s OUR house. The
fucking city boy moved to Hanley fucking Kentucky to be with me and
practically forced me to move in with him. I felt bad for uprooting him like
that but he’s rich enough that we can visit his family whenever we feel like
it.
I asked him about it once though and
he said it was fine because Brian and Leigh were here and it was probably best
to keep at least five states between me and Nick Carter. True we get along
better than we did before “midnight” as we’ve all come to call the incident
with my father and the perverted tow truck driver, who after his conviction
will be spending the rest of his life as some guy named Bubba’s bitch, but
between you and me? That cocky ass baby of the Backstreet Boys will always bug
the shit out of me. Besides, Howie says the less time we spend together, the
less chance there is of a repeat double dog daring match.
It’s been exactly two years now since
the day this crazy story began making today my 30th birthday. And as
I stand here floating in the middle of the fucking lake wearing a wedding dress
so gorgeous that it could only have been picked out by my best friend and
matron of honor, I find myself lost in the enchanting eyes of my very own
prince charming. It’s a fucking fairy tale wedding fit for the one and
only true Cinderella. I’m even wearing the glass fucking slippers to prove it.
They were a gift from Brian who still refers to himself as my fairy godmother
and probably always will.
So as I listen to the preacher
pronounce us man and wife and Howie throws his lips on mine I find myself
asking the question do fairy tales really exist? You bet your fucking ass they
do!
The End
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