“I did not propose!” I shoved him.
He laughed. “Oh yes you did. On Riley King. I think your words were 'I want to marry the heck out of you.' Not very original, but I'll take it.”
“That was not a proposal, especially since you said it first.”
He grinned. “If neither of us proposed, then what do we do?”
“I guess we go our separate ways?” I shrugged.
“Yeah.” He stopped and reached out quickly to grab me around the waist and pulled me against him. “Marry me.”
“I don't know. I'll have to think about it.”
“Marry me,” he growled.
I fake sighed. “I guess if no one better comes alone.”
He brought his mouth down so hard against mine, I thought he'd swallow me alive. I wound my arms up around his neck, digging my fingers into his hair. His hands slid up by back.
Seagulls squawked overhead, the sea rolled and foamed, and somewhere on that beach there were a couple of high-schoolers wishing they could surf. They didn't yet realize that sometimes the best things happen when things don't go as planned.
Colby and Jay joined us with their congratulations and then we headed home to tell my kids that our family was whole.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Thirteen months later:
Callie:
The place was filling up quickly. Reporters, reviewers, industry professionals. This night had been highly anticipated since it was announced.
A sign hung in the doorway, painted with the restaurant's name; Emma's. I smiled just as I did every time I saw it. This place was hers. The part of my mom I hadn't known until I wrote my first book.
But this night wasn't about the book that shared her Hollywood name. It was about the one that followed.
Invincible told the story of the night that forever changed my outlook on the world. It was about the people who got each other through it. The boy who was everything to me and was currently standing behind the bar in front of the mirror that stretched the length of the wall. He glanced up at me, a grin splitting his face.
Invincible was about the brother who was my rock. Colby sat with his new girlfriend at a high-topped table off to the side. He kissed her deeply.
Invincible told the story of the girl who everyone loved. The one who'd lost more than anyone and managed to come back to us. The one none of us could live without. Morgan and her husband Dean had flown in from London just for this. Her eye caught mine as she led her mother through the door.
Eleven years later, that day was finally behind us.
In Invincible, a group of teenagers used each other to make sense of the world. They were broken and remained strong, remained together.
It was the story of us.
Emma's had become a popular tourist destination, helped by both of my books. News clippings and pictures of my mother lined the walls. Posters and props from her movies complemented them. When I was younger, I'd needed to be out on the water with a surf board under my feet in order to feel her with me. Maybe that was a part of growing up. I'd learned to carry her with me wherever I went.
Jamie came out from behind the bar to wrap an arm around my waist. He placed his lips near my ear. “Have I told you how much I love you today?”
I grinned. “I love you too, babe.”
“I'm so proud of you.”
A blush crept up my cheeks and I stepped towards the bar, straightening the salt shakers and sugar packets. Zack, our talented bartender, shook his head at me. He and Jasper teamed up earlier to lecture me on enjoying my night and leave the running of the restaurant to them.
It felt odd being out in the evening, but my grandmother had come to watch the boys and Jamie was determined to make me enjoy myself. He'd even taken the day off work to be at Emma's getting things ready so I wouldn't obsess over it.
It was a big night. My last book release.
Aunt Kat and Noah showed up next. They were dressed much fancier than me, but that wasn't surprising. Kat gave me a big smile and a hug. “We're so proud of you.”
Jay was behind them, but Amber had to stay home with their baby girl.
“Always knew you would do great things, Cal.” Jay released me and went off to join Colby.
My father walked up to kiss my cheek before being lost in the blur of congratulations and shaking hands. Seth came in with a stocky man by his side.
“Callie,” he said. “This is my son, Jerry.”
And that was how I found myself shaking hands with Matthew's father at a party celebrating a book about Matthew changing our lives forever. It was surreal, but he pumped my hand strongly and didn't say a word. I imagined it was all a bit too much for him. Just being there was a step, I guessed. Seth led them off to greet Morgan and I was called up front.
My publicist had organized much of the evening and wanted me to speak. I couldn't say no, not tonight. Jamie released me, and I made my way to the front. Colby hollered something, but I couldn't make it out and Morgan added her voice to the din. Their cheers propelled me forward.
Over the last few days, I'd tried to come up with what I should say. Should I do a reading? Make a thank you speech? None of that seemed right and now I found myself in front of everyone without anything prepared. A stack of books sat on the bar behind me and I reached for one, hoping it would hold the answers.
“Any of you actually read this thing yet?” I laughed, running a hand over the cover that depicted a desolate beach being pounded by the waves.
A few people called out that they'd loved it.
I smiled. Was it strange of me to say I loved it too? That day was tragic and reading about it was hard, but I'd poured my heart and soul into those words. They were me.
I fingered the cover a little longer before looking up. My eyes flicked to Noah before I began speaking. “I had a teacher in high school who once said that we all experience things differently. Everyone who was at the dance on the night of the shooting could write a book and they'd all tell different stories. That's why I wrote Invincible as fiction. Because my non-fiction might be your fiction. This book is my experience, my perception of not only that night, but of high school, of life.”
I paused, not wanting to get preachy, and flipped open the cover.
“There are a lot of people who played a role in this book and I could've dedicated it to all of them, but I didn't.” I looked up for just a moment, catching Seth's watchful eye.
As I read the dedication, my voice grew quiet and it felt like Seth and Jerry were the only other people in the room. Their stares burned into me.
“To the boy who held me together.
The boy who was too good and too young.
And the boy who felt he had no other choice.”
Silence followed my words. The advanced copies hadn't included the dedication and my words settled down around them, thickening the air. I closed the book softly and held it to my chest as I inhaled deeply.
I looked to Morgan as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her mother openly wept beside her, but she was the first to move. She stood and walked across to me before gathering me in her arms.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Seth was next, but his son had left. “I'm sorry about Jerry,” he said, squeezing me tight. “I thought he could handle this. Thought it would be good for him.”
“I get it.”
“I should go find him.” He gave me one more look. “Thank you for your words about Matthew.”
As he walked out, I noticed the copy of Invincible tucked under his arm and hoped it proved helpful to him and his family.
Others started to move then and conversations resumed. People hugged me and talked of the beauty of my words.
“Mind if I steal my wife?” Jamie asked after a while.
He pulled me out of the throng. I couldn't get used to the term wife. We'd gotten married a couple months ago, in front of our families and close friends in a small ceremony.
“Thanks,” I said, kissi
ng him lightly.
He shot me a wink.
By the time Jamie took me home that night, I was exhausted.
Grandma was watching TV when we got in.
“Are our boys asleep?” Jamie asked.
It still warmed me each time he called them “our boys”. They still had their father, distant as he was, but Jamie loved them without reservation.
“They've been out for a while,” she said.
We said goodnight to her before hitting the sack.
Invincible was released the next day. My hands shook as I scrolled through the book reviews on the USA Today website. It'd be the first to come in.
“I can't look.” I shoved my computer towards Jamie. His eyes scanned the page and his lips tilted up.
“A beautiful tribute to the end of childhood and the beginning of real life where we are shaped by tragedy and sometimes the choices we make from our brokenness.”
My chest heaved as the tears began to fall. “It's finally over.”
Jamie wrapped me in his arms and surprised me by starting to recite the final lines from the book. “Tragedy touches us all. We move on from one only to face another. Only kids believe they're untouchable. But maybe that's not what invincible means. Maybe it means that we can be down, but not out. We can rise up from the ashes. Invincibility is not being unbreakable. It's using our brokenness to make us stronger.”
I snuggled in closer to him as the words reminded us just how quickly life could change.
<<<< The End >>>>
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About Michelle
Writing came about in Michelle's life in a pretty unique way. And illness she had became physically disabling. It was the hardest thing she ever had to deal with. The disability is still there, but it's no longer hard. Instead, it created a passion for writing out of a need to escape. She has a ton of time on her hands and spends it crafting stories or reading. She loves hockey and Florida winters.
Disabled living has been a big learning experience and the most important conclusion she's come to is that disability is only as bad as you decide it is. She may not be able to do a lot of walking, but in her stories, she can do anything.
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We Thought We Knew It All (Invincible Book 2) Page 15
