Epilogue

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++ E P I L O G U E ++

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Elliott fiddled with the hem of her dress. Her curly brown hair was styled down, reaching a little past her shoulders. She peeked through the crack of the door, surveying the crowd of people.

She felt a familiar pair of hands grab her waist. "What are you doing out here, pretty boy? The party's inside."

She leaned against Brent's chest. "I know. I'm just nervous, that's all."

Brent chuckled against her neck. "Nervous? Why are you nervous? All those people out there love you. They'll never judge you."

She turned in Brent's arms. "Oh, only the people in there love me?" She teased, fixing his shirt collar.

"No. Not only the people in there." He leaned forward, capturing her lips. She smiled against them, running her hands through his hair.

There were times where she still couldn't believe that Brent was her boyfriend. She could never fathom how someone as perfect as him could begin to care for someone as messed up as her. But either way, she was glad he was hers. And she was never letting go.

"We should really go in," Brent chuckled, bringing his lips to her neck. "Everyone is looking for you."

Elliott got lost in the feel of his lips on her neck. "Yeah, you're right. I guess."

Brent pulled back, a flirty smile on his lips. "Okay. We can go in together, if that'll make you feel better." He reached for her hand, locking their fingers together.

She agreed, and let him open the door for her.

Anna was the first to spot her. "Finally! I see Brent found you, huh. Hiding from your own party."

She blushed, and took in the sight of the people in her own kitchen. Brent was right - everyone here loved her. She spotted Adrian and Mat together, smiling at her. Anna was hand in hand with her new boyfriend, Justin, who Elliott approved of. Behind Anna was Kenzie and her friend Polly, who Elliott learned had aided in the help of her rescue.

There were a few friends from school that Elliott had made over the past year. Everyone that Elliott cared about were in her kitchen.

Over the threshold was a sign that read Congratulations Elliott! Though, Elliott wasn't sure that was the most appropriate sign. She appreciated the gesture, nonetheless, and tilted her head back to smile at Brent.

"Okay, you two love birds. Let's cut into some cake, shall we?" Adrian snorted, holding up the cake knife. He was faking an unimpressed look on his face, but Elliott knew Adrian was happy. She knew that Adrian had been waiting for this day since they'd escaped Mother.

Anna waved off Adrian, smiling wide. "No! It's not complete yet, not until she signs!" She tugged Elliott to the table where the paperwork was. The paperwork that, when Elliott signed, would make her Anna's adoptive daughter.

Elliott and Anna both agreed to wait until Elliott graduated high school. Mostly because with all the legal things that came with adoption took time, and with school, Elliott's time was usually always taken up. But when summer arrived and Elliott had all the time in the world to go to court and make this dream come true.

Besides, now that she was a high school graduate, Elliott felt alone. She needed to feel like a part of a family.

Adrian and Mat were a different story. While Anna was still looking into adopting them, things were harder. Because when they escaped they faked alises, things were difficult. The state thought the children were parentless. The state also thought their last name was Cole.

Anna had a lot of legal things to muddle through before adopting Mat and Adrian. For now, she was fine with being their foster mother.

Elliott signed the paperwork, her signature different than ever before. She decided to take Anna's last name. Cole was never her last name, and Chambers didn't fit for many reasons. She never wanted to be associated with that family ever again.

Brent wrapped an arm around her waist as she handed the paper to Anna. It was fitting that Anna was crying, but they were happy tears. This Elliott knew as she hugged her new mother tightly.

Things were finally falling into place, and Elliott was relieved. She had two amazing brothers, a caring new mother, and a loving boyfriend. Her life was finally right on track, where it belonged.

Leaning into her boyfriend's chest, she knew she wouldn't have it any other way. And in a few months, when she went off to college, she knew her life would continue on the path of greatness, because Elliott knew her life was always changing, always under construction. And by the end of her life, Elliott wanted to know she built something amazing, and lived a life to the fullest. She wanted to know that she'd overcome and conquered the world.

She wanted to know that all the suffering in her past wasn't for nothing.

And as she looked around the room at her brothers, her new mom, Brent, her friends, she knew that she'd made something of her life. She knew the suffering wasn't for nothing.

"To family!" She cheered. It was the only thing she could think to say, and she knew immediately that it was the only thing that mattered.

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A/N:

Okay, my skeleton children.

 This story is officially DONE.

Yep. You guys made it! I need to do some thanking now.

Thank you for EVERY. SINGLE. READER WHO HAS GIVEN THIS WICKED, TWISTED STORY A CHANCE.

Thank you for all my LOVELY readers who take time out of their busy schedules to comment on this story, tell me how much they enjoy this story, and allow me to make some friends. Thank you for being patient, never being rude and begging for updates, and being patient with my replies (i still have a lot of comments to go through oops)

Thank you to EVERY reader who voted. You guys give me motivation. You guys silently advertised my story to your followers. You guys were my silent supporters who gave me strength to continue writing because I knew someone out there needed to read this story, just like I needed to write it.

Thank you to all of my followers. Before this story, I had almost zero followers, and now I have over 500. You guys are the best followers anyone can EVER have. You guys keep me company, message me, and keep Wattpad interesting. You guys deal with all my reply notifications, deal with everything. And I love you all.

Thank you for everyone who made a banner for this story. Thank you to everyone who suggested songs, quotes, and everything else. You guys are the tru homies. 

Thank you to everyone who messaged me privately about this story, asking questions and giving praise. You guys are the bomb.com and I love talking to all of you.

Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance. Thank you to everyone who put up with my sometimes strange update schedule (yay college?) and thank you for never being rude with comments. Those who gave critiques, thank you for doing it kindly

So, where do we go from here?

The sequel is on my profile, and is titled The Devil Child. It is about a gay girl being sent to a 'pray the gay away' camp. If you liked this story, I hope you'll like that one.

So. this authors note is long. but needed. I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS. YOU SHAPE YOUR FUTURE AND LIFE, SO SHAPE IT THE WAY YOU WANT, NOT THE WAY SOMEONE ELSE WANTS. LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. 

Feel free to message me. Feel free to become friends with me. Feel free to ask me anything <3

XOXO

ALSO: Follow my twitter for sneakpeaks and updates on all my stories! https://twitter.com/UWbooks  

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