forever and always, merridew ~ lord of the flies (1990)

epilogue

it's been 2 months since we all got rescued from the island and things have been really rough.

i had to say goodbye to all of the boys which was the worst thing to do. although they harmed simon and piggy, i felt that it was just jack and roger controlling them and possessing them to do that, so when jack was waiting to say goodbye to me, i sent him a hurt look and turned on my heel and walked away.

when i returned home i thought that my parents would be mad at me but when i arrived they both rushed over and hugged me tightly, my mother breaking down in tears.

ive taken life easily since then, but today was the day that i was going to the military school to attend the joint funeral they put together for simon and piggy.

i put on a short black dress with matching shoes, did my hair and makeup and then left the house with my parents. we were kinda late in leaving so it wasn't a surprise to see lots of cars outside of the school when we arrived.

i took in the building surrounding me. from its exterior i could tell that it was very old. we got out the car, my mom handing me a bunch of flowers to carry, taking a deep breath before walking in.

we made our way to the main hall where the funeral was taking place. i was looking around and admired how beautiful the place was, my parents doing the same.

"are you ok sweetheart?" my mom asks me, i nod my head and we go in. a man who i'm assuming is the headmaster comes up to us.

"our final guests, you must be the taylors. thank you so much for coming" he shakes my parents' hands and says other things, yet i'm not focused on that.

i'm staring right at all of the boys, all smartened up in their suits which is a different sight for me as i usually only saw them in their uniforms or underwear.

one of the boys, maurice, tapped on another of the boys shoulders and gestured his head towards me. i turned away from them to focus back on the principal and my parents, that's when i felt a tap on my shoulder. i turned around to be faced with ralph who was looking at me with a small smile on his face. i smiled back and pulled him in for a hug. it never occurred to me how ralph must have felt after i left, as he was just as mad at jack and the others as i was.

"ralph i'm so sorry for leaving and not talking to you after" we pulled away from the hug "it's alright, i get it. you probably hate all of us after what happened

he simply shook his head "i don't, not you anyway. the others are another story" he rolled his eyes and i laughed softly.

ralph and i talked for a little while before his parents called him over for a minute. i said bye to him and looked around for my own parents but they were nowhere to be seen. i shrugged and walked over to the table that held some food and drinks. i poured myself some water when i felt a tap on my shoulder.

i turned around to be faced with him.

the boy i haven't seen in since i left the island.
the boy i thought i could trust.

"jack?"

"hey princess" i felt like i was imagining things but the second he talked to me, i knew it was real. i looked behind him and saw ralph just finishing up talking to his parents. i knew it would hurt him seeing me with jack so i quickly pulled on jacks arm and led him outside.

i honestly didn't know where i was going and just kept walking, dragging him behind me, until we came to what looked to be a secluded part of the school grounds.

it was silent for a few moments before he spoke up "riley, i want you to understand how sorry i am for what i've done. i know i really hurt you and that was the last thing i wanted to do" he stepped closer to me " i want you to know that i will always love you riley, no matter what" i was taken aback by his words. i didn't realise that he actually felt guilt for what he did to me.

"you don't have to say anything to me, i just wanted you to know that i care about you, more than anyone-"
i didn't let him finish before i crashed my lips onto his.

we pulled away after a few moments and he just smiled at me "jack, you mean so much to me too. i know i should probably be more mad at you right now but things have been so different without you. i want us to go back to how we were before everything got out of hand"

he took my hands in his "of course, but i knew you would have missed me taylor" he smirked, i playfully hit him across the chest. we then walked back to the main hall, hand in hand.

TIME SKIP TO AFTER THE FUNERAL (i'm sorry i'm not writing it, i just genuinely don't want to put everyone through exceptionally emotional pain 😔)

the funeral was really hard for me as it felt like i was saying my final goodbyes to simon and piggy, forever. i cried in my seat beside my parents, ralph also doing the same as me, but we tried to comfort each other as best as we could.

once it was over, after we had our refreshments it was dark outside. jack came up to me and whispered asking me to meet him down at the beach that's right opposite the school. i excused myself from everyone before i got pulled back by a familiar hand. it was ralph.

"where are you going?" he asked me.

i hesitated "just outside, to get some fresh air" i tried to tell him, yet it came out rather suspiciously.

"i know you're going to see him"

i looked up at him wide eyed "w-what are you talking about, who?"

"jack" i tried to avoid his eyes "and riley, i want you to know that it's ok. i know that you two really like each other. just, make sure that he treats you well, ok?" he meaningfully told me.

i felt guilty knowing about ralphs feelings for me, but i couldn't deny how i felt about jack "thank you ralph. i want you to know that you'll always be my best friend, no matter what" i pulled him in for a small hug before pulling away from him and nodding as a quick goodbye.

as i left the building, i instantly caught a figure sitting on the sand, staring out at the open water. i knew it was jack.

i walked closer to him and once i arrived, i sat down too, listening to the mellow sounds of the ocean waves and the peaceful breeze that passed us every now and again.

i gently rested my head upon his shoulder as he took his arm and placed it around my waist. a soft blush arose on my cheeks so i did my best to hide it.

"remember when we first met in the airport and you were reading the great gatsby?" jack asked me. i simply nodded in return "did you ever finish it?"

"yeah i did actually when we were on the plane, it was amazing" he looked down at me before replying " it made me think about what Gatsby says to himself, and i can't help but feel like that's me towards you"

i smile lightly "what does he say?"

"he says "once in a while i go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but i always come back, and in my heart, i love her all the time"

all i feel i can do at that moment is stare into his soft blue eyes before leaning up to kiss him gently. as we kissed i pulled away for a moment.

"you'll always be my number one jack"

"you promise? forever?"

"forever and always, merridew"

AHH GUYS THATS IT DONE. i feel bad for ralph for being out in the friend zone, but jack and riley are real couple goals. also, ive realised how much of a bad writer i have been lately as ive kept this epilogue from you guys for ages so i apologise. but anyways to wrap it up thank you all so much for the support given on this book. i can't believe how much this book has grown since i first wrote it and all of your lovely comments and votes really make my day! stay tuned for more possible stories coming out on my page, but for now goodbye 🩷