Page 67 of Moonflower
Chapter fourteen
Ezra
I clean Cora up with a warm washcloth while Wilder gets her a glass of water. She watches me silently, rolling her shoulders since her hands are untied now.
“Do you have to go?” she mumbles.
“You know the answer to that,” I say gently.
She sighs, her eyes full of sadness. But then she smiles. “I’m really glad you guys came. That all this happened. I’ve missed you both so much.”
“I know, Moonflower,” I murmur, leaning over to kiss her tenderly. “And we’ll make sure to see you as often as we can. We’ll come back, or you can come home, or we’ll meet somewhere in the middle. I don’t want to go more than a couple weeks without seeing you.”
“Two weeks max,” Wilder says, coming into the bedroom with a glass of water. He hands it to Cora, petting her hair. “I know we’re all busy, but you’re my top priority, Cora.”
“Agreed,” I say.
After a sip, she nods. “I want to put you two first. The way I always should’ve.”
With a smile, Wilder kisses the top of her head. She already knew she was his top priority, so I think he said it to get her to say it back. Like he needed to hear it.
“Promise?” he says.
“Promise,” she whispers.
Yep. Definitely needed to hear it.
We don’t stick around for long. It’s already mid-afternoon, and we still have a five hour drive. So after a lot of hugs, kisses, and a few tears, Cora walks us out.
“We’ll text you when we make it back,” I tell her. “Love you.”
She grins. “I love you both.”
Before he gets in the car, Wilder catches her in his arms. “More than the moon and the stars, Cora.”
And then we go, backing onto the road while Cora blows me a kiss. I grin. She looks happy. And that makes me happy.
I watch in the mirror as she stands by her steps, waving. I wave back, my hand sticking out of the window. My heart aches, but that’s okay. This is only temporary. It doesn’t matter that we’re driving away because we’ll be back. And in the meantime, she’s in our hearts, and we’re in hers. Our Moonflower.
Epilogue
Cora
Graduation
The sun is shining brightly outside of Westview University’s auditorium. Our graduation ceremony just ended, and I’m currently posing and smiling with the girls while our parents take way too many photos. I’d be annoyed if my heart wasn’t bursting.
Wilder and Ezra are here. I can’t find them—my mom keeps chiding me, telling me to look at the camera—but they’re here. I heard them cheering when I walked across the stage. All I want is to see their smiling faces. Well, that’s not all I want. But so far, I’m getting everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
We all are.
“Honey, one more,” my mom calls. She can’t stop smiling—Mom has always been one of my biggest supporters. When I decided to become a nurse like her, she was over the moon. And when she found out I got together with Ezra and Wilder, she was so happy she cried.
Grinning at the camera, I bask in the warmth and contentment filling my heart. For years, I thought I wouldn’t get my happily ever after. But now it’s here, it’s here, and it feels unreal.
I ended up getting offered a good job in Philadelphia, so the guys are moving here. Wilder still loves his writing and tutoring position, so he’ll be able to work from home. His workload is much lighter now that he doesn’t have school, too.
As for Ezra, he has a steady stream of commissions coming in. He ended up getting on antidepressants, and they’ve helped a lot. Of course, he still has his bad days—we all do—but for the most part, he’s doing much better.
