Page 26 of What Comes After

Taxes.

It was a never-ending list.

Though there was some money there to hold me over for a bit of time, I had no choice but to get a job. Holding on to their house was the only thing that mattered to me, so taking on more debt to go to culinary school when I had all the other bills to pay wasn’t an option.

The graduation ceremony ended, everyone tossing their caps up into the air.

I didn’t even want to do that.

The only thing I wanted to do was get out of here. I’d only come to the ceremony for Mary and Scott, because I knew if I made the decision not to come, it would have broken their hearts. Plus, Theo likely would have stayed with me and not come, and I couldn’t take this moment away from him.

So, I sucked it up, put my big girl pants on, and participated in the ceremony.

Now it was time to get on with the rest of my life.

As I weaved my way through the crowd, in desperate need of finding the exit, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. “Devyn.”

I stopped, turned, and looked up into Theo’s eyes. “Hey,” I replied.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Out of here, for sure.”

He nodded his understanding. “I completely understand if you don’t want to, but my parents were hoping to take the both of us out to dinner to celebrate. Would you like to go?”

I didn’t.

Celebrating felt wrong.

But these people had given up so much for me, to take care of me and see me through the worst time in my life.

I could give this to them.

“Yeah. Yeah, sure. I can go to dinner. That sounds nice.”

“Are you sure?” he pressed.

Theo knew me all too well.

Forcing a smile, I nodded and insisted, “Of course. Congratulations, by the way. You’re officially a high school graduate.”

He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. You, too.”

“I didn’t think I was going to make it, if I’m being honest,” I confessed.

Theo reached for my hand, something he’d done a million times over the years. I’d always loved it, especially once I realized I’d fallen in love with him. But now, every time he did it, I wished he’d just continue to hold on and never let go.

After giving my hand a squeeze, he said, “But you did it. And I’m really, really proud of you.”

Though I didn’t feel the overwhelming sense of accomplishment I imagined Theo and the rest of my classmates felt, I couldn’t say that I didn’t appreciate his words. His opinion was one of the few that mattered to me, and it was, at this point in my life, the most important.

“I couldn’t have done it without you by my side, though. You’ve been such a good friend to me all my life, Theo, but nothing compares to what you and your family have done for me over these last few months. I’m not sure there are enough words in the world to tell you how much it means to me to have you all in my life.”

Releasing my hand, Theo lifted his arm and wrapped it around my back. He gave me a one-armed hug and replied, “We love you, Devyn. It’s just like your mom said a long time ago. We’re family, so we’re always going to be there for one another.”

Tears filled my eyes as I recalled the words my mom had said on more than one occasion about our two families. We weren’t related by blood, but we were just as close as any blood relatives could have been.

Theo must have noticed I was too caught up in my emotions to speak, so with his arm still around me, he said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here and find my parents. We’ll take a picture or two before we go out for dinner.”

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