Page 69 of Diverge

My eyes water as I think about how much he had been through already, and my heart breaks thinking about how alone he felt, so far from home. I wrap the blanket around me tighter and hold myself together as I watch the sunrise, thinking about where Finn would be right now in the next life.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Billie

Five Years Later

Ithrow another pairof pants into my suitcase and zip it up. Standing back, I admire my work. Three suitcases all filled with my entire life. Looking around the room, I take in all the fond memories I have had here with my friends and family. The apartment looks bare, paintings stripped from the walls, furniture taken out, no coffee machine, and no electronics. Thanks to Riley’s help, I’ve moved most of my things over to his place for him to store them for me until I get back... well... whenever I get back. The business has taken off, so much so that I have had to hire an assistant to manage the admin workload. I can’t help but feel proud of myself for achieving something I thought was so out of reach for me, but now I get to travel the world and work from any corner of the globe that I wish.

I’ve made plans to travel, chasing all my favourite bands on tour around Europe and the States, and I feel so much excitement about what the future holds for Qu-inn Media and myself personally. There’s a soft knock at the door, when I answer I see Harriet clinging onto Riley, then as soon as she sees me, she runs into my arms.

“Aunty B! Aunty B!”

I smile as I cuddle her in my arms.

“Oh, my goodness! You are getting so big!” I pretend to lift her and put her back down as she laughs.

“Are you ready, B?” Riley interrupts, walking through the door and helping with the suitcases. I nod, with a smile on my face, my heart beginning to beat faster at the promise of adventure. “Don’t forget us here when you’re chasing your bands around the globe, yeah? Come home once in a while,” he jests.

“I promise.” I smile back. “How can I forget my favourite niece?” I softly pinch Harriet’s cheek as she giggles. “How’s Georgia doing?” Riley and Georgia hit it off and decided they wanted to get married as soon as possible. Once married, they announced they were pregnant with Harriet, giving me my one and only niece. She’s now expecting again.

Riley makes a face that screams “don’t ask.”

“She’s thirty-six weeks pregnant, and I truly believe she’s the devil incarnate right now.”

I laugh as I take one suitcase, rolling it out the door.

“That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea. She’s crazy.” He chuckles. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

I laugh as we all enter the elevator and go to the ground floor. “You better be helping her.”

“I do my best to help her, but it’s like I do everything wrong, and she just does it herself anyway.” He shrugs. “Devil. Incarnate.” He raises his eyebrows towards Harriet. “And she’s ninety-nine percent her mother.”

I burst into laughter at his last words.

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