Take Me 2

Epilogue

Are you crying yet? Yeah, me too. 

Selena's POV

They don't ask why I love him or why it's always been him anymore. They don't wonder how I was the girl who got a damaged man to learn how to fix himself because they don't need to anymore.

It's been ten years since I first met Justin when we bumped into each other at my school.

Ten years. 

Ten amazing years at that.

He moved to California with me and eventually transferred into UCLA where we finished out our degree's together.

I married him then in the midst of a big white wedding. It was everything I had ever imagined and even more. Nerves had eaten me out alive but they all disappeared when I had seen him standing at the end of the isle just waiting patiently for me. We said our vows as if they had been the only words we knew how to speak and when we kissed, we weren't the craziest fucking couple I had ever known, we were man and wife.

And I knew then that our love is infinite. It just is. 

****

"In the great green room there was a telephone. And a red balloon. And a picture of-" his eyes follow over the words on the page along with mine as I pause to let him take in the picture before I turn the page. Hazel eyes stare down at the new page, his head resting on my chest and his body cuddling next to mine.

"The cow jumping over the moon. And there were three little bears sitting in chairs. And two little kittens and a pair of mittens. And a little toy-house and a young mouse. And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush." I run my free hand through his short caramel hair as I read to him, "And a quiet old lady who was whispering, "hush"."

He throws his leg over mine as we lie in his bed peaceful. There are no other sounds in the house because no one else is here. The small lamp that rests on his night stand has action figures dancing all around the fabric. But the one that stood out most to him, was Spiderman. 

"Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon. Goodnight light and the red balloon." As I read quietly to him, his breathing becomes louder and I know he's drifting into sleep. He's young and maybe one day he'll fall asleep by himself instead of holding me close thinking I will leave him.

"Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs. Goodnight kittens and goodnight mittens." My mother used to read this book to me when I was his age. It was before I thought she was the wicked witch of the west. Now I call my mother almost every day not only to just talk about life but to ask how my little sister is doing.

Gracie is almost eleven now and I can't imagine my life without her. I was there when she was born and so was Justin almost a little over a decade ago. My little sister has grown into a beautiful little girl and my only wish was that we weren't so far apart in age.

Gabriela and I still talk. And we still have never told anyone. Justin is the only one who knows and we are okay with that. She moved down here about two years ago and every now and then her husband and her will come down for a visit.

I turn my head to the side to kiss the top of his, "Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks. Goodnight little house and goodnight mouse. Goodnight comb. And goodnight brush." his arm is limp over my stomach as his body rises and falls with the pace of his breathing.

His legs are tangled with mine except mine are a great deal longer. I promise him every day he'll grow when he complains about it.

I stare down at our legs for a moment in complete silence. His light snores fan out across my chest and like each night it's the most beautiful thing. His Spiderman pajamas stand out against my light gray bottoms, but it's a contrast I love more than anything in the world.