The end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

[Epilogue]

twilight sky melts away, the morning sunrise glares through the bedroom window. I watch as the different shades of yellow and blue mould together creating more colours.

It's finally here. The day that I've been waiting for, for thirteen years. Now, I have no excuses not to graduate. I finally have peace and am able to do what I want. No one can stop me anymore.

It's finally time for me to start a new chapter in my life.

I stare at myself in the mirror. My eyes drag down to my body, finally stopping on the piece of clothing I'm wearing. The white dress fits perfectly around my torso before it flows out down to the middle of my thighs. It's matched with white heels, making me look a lot taller than I really am.

For most people, graduation marks the end of high school, the end of some friendships and the blossoming of independence and adulthood. For me though, graduating means so much more. It marks the end of one life and the beginning of another. A new sort of freedom and happiness. It means so much more to me than anyone can imagine.

Even if I didn't get any sleep last night because of the intense nerves running through my system, I still manage to feel the course of excitement that runs through my veins.

Adam finally moved in with me a couple of months ago. To say Millie was upset to see her older brother leave is an understatement, but when she realised that he only moved a few blocks away, she calmed down and was more excited than sad.

Adam suddenly appears in my line of vision, his hand brushing softly down my cheek. My eyes flutter up towards his own and he grins at me.

"Big day, Prezioso. Also, may I add that you look so gorgeous...?" Adam groggily whispers into my ear. My cheeks turn a bright red making a smirk appear on Adams' face.

"It's good to see I still have that effect on you," he says, chuckling. I roll my eyes and smile.

"Whatever makes your ego bigger, babe," I tease. Adam laughs and takes hold of my hand.

"Ready?" He asks. I nod my head and smile.

"Of course..."

"Izzy!" A cheery Millie squeals in delight. I grin at her before I elope her in a hug.

"Mills!" I yell back. Millie laughs at the new nickname and tackles me in a tight embrace. She snuggles her head into the crook of my head and smiles while tangling with my hair.

"I haven't seen you in so long," she mutters sadly with a sigh. I look at her and shake my head. Both Adam and I had been focusing so hard on the work that we haven't had any time to take Millie out to places. We both also managed to get jobs because my parent's money wasn't going to pay for our lives forever.

"After today, I promise we'll go out and have a girl's day. Sound good?" I ask. Millie quickly nods her head and begins jumping up and down.

"Can I sleep over too?" Millie questions out loud. I laugh, throwing my head back, and smile down at her.

"I don't know..." I question thoughtfully, tapping my chin in a joking way.

"Please!" Millie begs, practically getting on her knees.

"Hmm..."

"Please!" Millie now screams. I burst out into a fit of laughter and nod my head.

"Of course, silly."

Millie jumps up in the air and squeals in excitement before she runs off in the direction of her mother who is talking to Adam.

Adam looks over at me and grins before he excuses himself from his mum and walks over to me, dodging an excited Millie in the process.

"We should probably take our seats now," Adam says. I nod my head in agreement before taking a hold of Adams' hand.

"Let's go then."

Students and families flood into the ceremony hall, both happiness and sadness filling the air. Adam and I know we somehow managed to graduate. We passed our final exams of the year which gave us a high enough score to finish year twelve, thankfully.

Adams' hand clutches mine as we both anxiously await our names, Adam more so than me.

"Adam Black," our principle speaks into the mic. My eyes quickly turn to Adam who stands up and looks at me, smiling in the process. I watch as he strolls up to the stage with little care in the world.

They give him his scroll and Graduation cap before shaking hands. Adam smiles nervously as he stands on the podium, about to say his speech. Everyone is quiet as they wait for him to speak.

"So, here we are. Our last year of high school and preparing ourselves for a new journey in our lives," Adam begins.

"Whatever or whoever we decide to become and be, we know that Maryville Heights was a great high school to temporarily be our home for the five or so years we were here for. As many of my fellow students have heard, today is supposedly the start of a long journey. However, I would like to disagree. Our journey started long ago without many of us even realising it. Most of our parents and caregivers helped us, of course, but all of us know that terror that coursed through our veins when we got onto that bus for the first time or when we finally decided to speak to that girl or guy from across the classroom. Now that, that was the beginning of our long journey," Adam says into the mic.

Everyone is captured by his words, their ears soaking it in.

"It feels good to leave, but at the same time, I'm going to miss this place. So many memories have been made here that I know I won't let go of. I know that the roads that lay ahead of us won't be easy, but neither has our pasts. We survived through puberty for crying out loud, supposedly the 'hardest' times of many teenage lives."

People chuckle and nod their heads in agreement.

"So, yes, yes I'm scared of what lies ahead of me, but I also know that it will be exciting and fun. For, I now know that if people can make it through their lives with evil tormentors, then I know I can make it through with whatever is to come and thrown my way. Now, I would like to say thank you to every single one of you today. Teachers, students, families...your passionate lovers," Adam quickly adds with a wink and smirk.

"And that without every single one of you today, none of us would be here. So thank you, everyone, good luck and goodbye." A round of applause erupts around me. Adam catches my eye and I smile proudly at him.

I love you, I mouth to him. Adam smiles back and winks before making his way off stage and sitting with the rest of our fellow peers. Somehow, I think I fell even more in love with Adam than I already was.

Kelly Greenhill was charged with harassment but not assault. She was put on trial before the court decided she wasn't guilty of the murder and kidnapping of Lily. Kelly ran away as soon as she could, but not before she sent a letter to me saying how sorry she was.

I forgive her.

I've never been a person to hold a grudge. As much as I do hate Kelly, I'll always forgive an apology like hers. David committed suicide after finding out that he had a mental condition.

Borderline Personality Disorder. It's commonly found in many individuals but varies in severity. It's a common disorder found in many serial killers, but they're just worse case scenarios. It's characterised by impulsive behaviours, intense mood swings and sometimes a feeling of low self-worth.

He realised what and who he turned into the last few weeks of his time in jail.

And even though I know I should hate David, I can't. He was my brother and best friend for years, and especially after finding out about his health condition, I can't help but not feel bad. He too fell into Gary's evil trap and ended up getting hurt as well.

I wipe the tears away from my eyes as Adam lays the scroll and graduation cap on Lily's grave.

"You did it, Lily, you graduated high school..." I sob. Adams' arms surround me tightly as he holds me in an embrace. I wrap my arms around his torso and hug him tighter.

"I miss her, Adam. I miss Lily," I cry out.

"Shh, me too, Prezioso. She's in a better place now though, don't worry about that. I bet she's watching you right now and wants to kick you in the face for crying over her..." He mumbles sadly, trying to lift the mood. He succeeds, managing to draw a soft laugh out my mouth.

"I love you, Prezioso..." Adam says after a long silence. I look into his amazing eyes and smile.

"I love you too, Adam," I whisper.

"So fucking much," Adam mumbles before his lips crash on top of mine.

Black. It always ends with black. Everything ends with black.