A/N: Hmm. I think maybe I should have passed out barf bags before the murder scene. Not much I can do now, is there? smirk

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot I can do for those who are generally offended, as a nifty little niche to store your lunch in doesn't help much here. How about en explanation? If those offended are still lurking around out there, this is for you:

I've been warning you since square one that there would eventually be a murder in this story, have I not? And those of you who know me well know that my murders are a little less than glamorous. If you didn't know that, LEARN IT NOW. And if you're squeamish . . . You need to take the next bus AWAY FROM SLIM'S STORIES. Like I said before, I don't want to be responsible for you barfing all over your computer and ruining the damn thing.

You might have lost faith in me and my characters. I apologize; I'm always sorry to hear that. Maybe this one wasn't for you. But I suggest you check out my other things and maybe find something to suit you there. As stubborn as the author undoubtedly is, she does recognize that the murder revealed a side of Rohann that many of her readers would not like. But if you skipped the gore, maybe you should go back and read it. You may pick up a few details in there describing Rohann's feelings and passion in the whole thing. (Or you might paste the whole chapter into a Word document and replace the word blood with bunny rabbits. That may help if you're mild at heart.) Yeah, I know that murder isn't justifiable, no matter what the case. But as humans, sometimes we act before thinking the whole thing over, don't we? Sometimes, fear makes us do things that aren't reasonable or logical. (Running away from the problem, for one.)

And for those who aren't offended, liked the murder scene (maybe even loved it), and haven't abandoned the author to rot in her little cardboard box with her bit of stolen technology necessary to produce literature, enjoy the Epilogue.

One final thing, and I swear it's the LAST. ;; I've been considering a sequel, but it's going to be depressing the way I have it planned out. Well, depressing-turned-happy like this one ended up. If you'd like a sequel, let me know. If you don't want one as long as it's going to be depressing, tell me. I'll assume you're neutral if you don't tell me anything or state that clearly. I hope I'm going to have more time to work on my stories now that the first semester in school is almost over and I don't have to worry about not passing. (All my grades are fairly good.) Enjoy.

Epilogue

Luckily for us, "justifiable homicide" is all Nick's murder turned out to be. The police questioning lasted not nearly as long as I thought it would, and soon enough, we were ready to continue with our lives.

Seven months passed without me feeling a single trace of depression. I guess I've finally gotten grip on the cliché, No matter what happens, it could always be worse. Those are good words to live by, because whenever I start worrying about something that's not very important, I can just imagine that Nick's alive and torturing me. That solves things real quick.

I honestly didn't think my relationship with Rohann would last this long. Not that I don't have faith in him. I just didn't think he'd want to stick around, what with me being unstable and everything like that. But he's been great about that, giving me comfort and love every minute of my life. Neither of us have mentioned Nick since, and I'm okay with that. Some things are better put behind you, because if you let them get in the way of your life, you won't get anywhere. And I love waking up every day knowing that everything is new, and remnants of yesterday won't come back to haunt me. I think that's a good way to live.

We did end up staying with Rohann's friends up north. The garage is all cleaned up and you could never tell what had happened in there. (Of course, I knew they wouldn't leave the blood in there, but I kind of figured there'd be a lot of memories.) It's great up here in the summer, especially when you can sleep with the windows open and hear all the sounds of the forest outside. We've been spending the days at the beach and the nights in the sun room where we can see all the stars and the lake illuminated by the moon.

On the sixteenth of July, Rohann proposed to me. It was the most amazing moment of my life, even more amazing than when I confessed how I felt about him and discovered he felt the same. It came so unexpectedly. We were sitting on the end of the dock down at the lake one night, watching the sun set on the horizon, when he took my hand and we both stood up. And that's when it happened. I could tell he was really nervous because he kept stammering and looking at something behind me, but I knew it was sincere. Of course, I accepted. Then he looked deep into my eyes and kissed me while slipping a ring onto my finger. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever owned.

We stayed kissing like that for a long time until we had to break apart to breathe. Neither of us wanted to go back up to the cottage, but it was getting really dark and his grandparents and their friends expected us to come up and sit by the fire.

Jeff and Denise were overjoyed when we told them. I knew they would be. They're like parents to me now that both of my own have retired to Florida. I feel comfortable with them as though I've known them all my life.

I have plans to finish high school this fall and then go to college. Rohann says he'll support me all the way, and I look forward to that. It's time I've done some things on my own, and making my own living is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't like living off of Rohann and his grandparents; it doesn't feel honest. Besides, he's told me -and I know it myself- that I can be self-sufficient if I want to. I can't understand why people don't take the opportunities that are given to them every day. After all, if you have the power to take them and use them for your own good, why shouldn't you? Life is too short to let things pass you by.

You can look at life either way - Full of difficulty and obstacles, or full of chances to succeed. I like to think of it as the latter. In which case, I’m going to take all the opportunities and chances life gives.

And I can't wait to get started.