Page 179 of Requiem
“I love that,” Vanessa murmurs. “It makes sense for what you’ve endured.”
I look at him carefully while the firelight dances across the sharp lines of his face. He hasn’t told me he forgives Adriana. Maybe he never will. But therapy has helped him begin speaking about her differently. He’s told me that there’s this tight knot in his chest when it comes to her. Hate, sadness, and anger are tangled together so much that sometimes, I can see it hurting him. So one night, I sat him down and told him that I would support him fully if he let it all go. She’s gone.
Jude glances toward me then, catching me staring. “What?” he asks softly.
I smile. “Nothing.”
Later, after more drinks and too much laughing, and Micah eventually trying to fight Finnick with a marshmallow skewer, I slip quietly away from the fire toward the dock. The wood creaks softly beneath my feet while warm, salty wind moves through my hair, carrying distant music and laughter from the house behind me. Moonlight pours across the water while the stars above shine brighter than ever.
Peaceful.Finallypeaceful.
Within moments, I hear footsteps behind me. Jude’s arms slide around my waist the second he reaches me, pulling me back gently against his chest while he presses a soft kiss beneath my ear.
“There you are,” he murmurs.
I smile, leaning back into him, his hoodie warmed from the fire. For a while, neither of us says anything. We just stand there together at the end of the dock listening to the ocean around us while laughter drifts faintly from the bonfire behind us. And then Jude turns me gently in his arms before kissing me.
His hand slides against my jaw while I melt into him, fingers tangling into the hair at the nape of his neck. His tongue parts my lips and swirls over mine. When we finally pull apart, we’re both smiling.
The sound of more footsteps reaches us a moment later. His parents and sister appear, all three of them wearing Dissonance hoodies.
“Hey, you two,” Rachel says warmly. “My rockstar.”
Jude laughs quietly. “Am I in trouble?”
“Always,” Vanessa answers, adjusting the messy bun on top of her head.
Alaric snorts.
Rachel walks straight toward her son before wrapping both arms around him tightly, and without hesitation, Jude hugs her back just as hard.
My chest aches as I watch him like this.
Rachel pulls back before reaching up to touch his face gently, emotion already shining visibly in her blue eyes. “I’m so proud of you, my boy,” she whispers.
Jude’s throat visibly tightens. “Mom…”
“You fought so hard to come back to us,” she says softly. “And you did. I knew you would.”
Vanessa wraps her arms around both of them from the side while Alaric steps closer behind them, resting one hand firmly against Jude’s shoulder.
And then Rachel tilts her head. “Nicholas would’ve loved calling you his big brother if he were still here.”
The words hit. I see it happen instantly. Jude’s face crumples softly beneath the moonlight before tears spill freely down his cheeks, but he’s smiling through them even as Rachel pulls him into another hug. Arealsmile. One filled with grief and love and healing all at once. For someonewho drowned in guilt and shame for his actions for so long…hearing her say that meant the world to him. I know it did.
His shoulders shake slightly while he buries his face briefly against her hair, and when his eyes finally lift again over her shoulder toward me, something inside my chest breaks wide open at the look on his face.
It’s not emptiness or pain anymore.
It’s…love.
Epilogue
JUDE GRAVES
One year later
The drive to Ecola Point is quiet. The Audi glides along the coastline while late evening sunlight pours gold across the cliffs and ocean below, the sky streaked with soft orange and fading blue. Wind rushes faintly through the barely cracked windows, carrying salt air into the car.
