Page 85 of Falling With You

Our lives had all taken separate paths from each other, maybe when they shouldn’t have, but the worst had brought us together.

And though none of us would ever be fully over that, the fact that we could find love even in the darkness was something that I would never, ever forget. It was something that I would treasure always.

“I love you guys,” I said quickly, wiping away a tear. Aiden looked down at me and frowned.

“You okay, short stack?”

I flushed at that, because every time he said “short stack” now, I thought of something dirty. Thank you, Aiden Connolly.

“I’m fine. Just thinking about why we’re all here together again. You know, what started it all.”

The mood dampened just slightly, and then Aiden cleared his throat and held up his beer.

“To Allison. One of us. No matter what.”

I held up my water glass, and the rest of them held up their beers, and we clinked glasses and toasted the woman who had been a part of us. The one who was no longer here.

I missed her with every breath I took.

And I hoped she was happy wherever she was. I hoped she wasn’t in pain anymore, if that had been the reason for her leaving us.

But Allison’s death had brought us together, and that was something that I would have in my heart for a long, long time.

I had found my calling, had found my trust in my sister and my best friend.

I had made new friends, new connections, even through the fractured pieces.

I missed Allison, I knew we all did, but none of us were as broken as we had been when we first lost her. And we could say her name and toast to her without breaking down now.

Perhaps that was a blessing, a next step. I wasn’t sure, but as I sank into the hold of the man I loved, I figured we all had our own paths to follow, our own futures to pave. And through it all, we would have one person by our side, even if she was no longer with us.

Because she had brought us together with her passing.

I loved every single person at this table, and I knew they would be there for me no matter what.

And that was something worth falling for.

THE END

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