The Ex Pact

Chapter 24. "Our legacy"

"Is that James's car?" Sam asked parking outside her house. "Come out," Emily said, not letting him speak anymore.  She was already jumping out of the car.

Emily: We reached

She texted Gwyn while Sam got out, and the light in their tree house immediately went out. Emily smiled as she gave Sam her hand. "Come in," she said. "Are we going to your house?" he asked. "Why you don't want to?" she asked, tilting her head, and strands fell over her eyes. "No, I didn't mean it like that," he said. "No, we aren't, we are going there," she said, pointing at the tree house

"So you are finally letting me in," he said. Emily was already on her way up, and she turned, "What do you mean?" she asked. "I remember you not letting any one of us in one summer," he said, "and you want me to believe you all listened?" she asked. "Of course, we didn't," he said, stepping on the ladder.

"Why is it dark?" Sam asked when Emily switched on the lights. "Happy birthday," many voices said at the same time. Sam looked between them and back at Emily. The boys hugged Sam once again. Emily walked towards Stephanie, Charlie, and Gwyn. "Should we join?" Stephanie asked. "I think we should let them have their moment," Emily said, watching them with a smile.

"Alright, boys, let's have a seat," Stephanie said. "Not your moment, Steph," Edward said, pulling away. Sam caught Emily's eye. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. That little smile between those two conveyed a lot more than words. At that moment, they understood each other. Sam looked around. It was everything he wanted.

The little room was filled with pink balloons, his favorite snacks, and the people he loved. The conversations started, snacks passed, and at that moment, Sam felt truly happy. They lay down on the floor and kept talking. Rowan switched off the lights. All the childhood memories were visited, and they all realized the soon high school would be over. "Let's make a promise," Edward got up.

"No matter where we are, what we are doing, we will always be friends," he said. "No matter what goes wrong," Rowan said. "Our high school is ending in four months. We all would be at different places," Charlie said. "It's hard to imagine," Gwyn said. "We all were together nearly our life, and soon we won't," Emily said.

"Those kids will replace us soon," Rowan said. "Ro, we will leave a legacy," Sam said. "A trail of broken hearts isn't a legacy, Sam," James said. "No matter what happens, we made some of our best memories, and those matter," Stephanie said. "Skip the depressing talk, let's have fun while we can," James said. "God, we are growing up," Sam said, laying down once again, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars Emily and Edward's placed when they were six.

"It's scary," Emily said. "Exactly," Gwyn said. Emily held Gwyn's hand, suddenly aware that she would soon have to leave her for college. Gwyn smiled as she held tighter. They would be in different cities. "We will be fine," James said, and everyone wanted to believe, but they never would,  would life be the same out of the carefree environment of their school?

Everyone stayed silent, realizing that adulthood was nearer than they thought, and soon they would have to leave everything they knew. "Chips" Stephanie broke the silence. "Sure," Edward took one, followed by the rest.

Conversations started once again. Soon, they started to drift off to sleep until only Sam and Emily were the only ones still talking. "Thank you, Emily," he suddenly said. She turned to see him, and the moonlight lighted his face, "You deserved the birthday you wanted."

"It meant a lot, thank you," he said. "You're welcome. You deserve the happiness you want. Don't let everyone make you feel like you don't deserve it, Goodnight, Sam," she said, closing her eyes. "Goodnight, angel," she heard him whisper.

Emily woke up feeling warm. She opened her eyes to the sound of the camera clicking. She looked up Gwyn, standing above her with her phone along with the rest looking down. "What are you all doing?" she asked. "Look at you two. We couldn't help," Charlie said.

Emily looked at her head on Sam's chest and his arm around her. She felt her face grow hot. She tried to slowly remove herself. Instead, he only turned to pull her closer. Emily blinked rapidly, Sam felt warm and comfortable. Half-heartedly, she slowly pushed him, "Sam," she whispered. He hummed in response

"Sam," she said again. He opened his eyes to be met with her. "Hi," he said. "Hello," Rowan said. He looked at them, "Really?" he asked, slowly getting up. Emily rubbed her eyes, "breakfast is ready, come down," Edward said, climbing down. Gwyn gave her a wink before following him. Emily gathered the blankets, "Let me help you." Sam helped her collect the chips. "Hey, Em," he was interrupted as his phone rang.

"Excuse me," he said. "Sure, I am going to eat. Come down soon," she said on her way out. "How was the party?" his mother asked. "It was not what I thought. He had a ballroom, and none of my friends were invited," he said. "Do you want me to talk to him?" she asked. "No, it's fine," he said. "Not always, Sam it was your birthday," his mother said, sounding disturbed. "Are you fine, mum?" he asked. "It's nothing," she said. "What is it, Mum?"  he asked. "Davina is pregnant."