Bulletproof

Epilogue

Epilogue. Is This Really What You Want?

"God! I'm so sick of you" I scream, running my hands through my hair.

"Well, I'm sick of you" Austin retorts immaturely.

"The fucking lawyers want to meet to finalize the divorce tomorrow, you better be there" I huff, rolling my eyes.

"If it means I get away from you, I'll be there first" He tuts, and I roll my eyes. I walk out of his apartment, slamming the door behind me as I meet our kids standing by the elevator.

"Mom, are you okay?" My middle child Allison, being 13 asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I nod, leading them into the elevator. We take it down, and to my car all while I try to keep my tears from falling. We finally get back to the house, and I send my kids up to bed, with a kiss on the head. 

I walk out to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine from the fridge and I plop down onto my couch, pulling the cork out of the bottle, and taking a large gulp. I wipe the tears as they fall down my cheeks, dreading the day to come. 

"Mommy" A little voice says, and I look over to see my four year old Ethan, rubbing his eyes "Mommy, I can't sleep" 

"Come here Baby" I open my arms, and he walks over to me climbing onto the couch. He sits on my lap, leaning his head against my chest "How about you come and lay with Mommy?" I stand up from the couch, Ethan wrapped in my arms.

"Okay" He nods and I carry him up to the room I once shared with Austin. I lay on what used to be considered Austin's side of the bed, clutching the pillow he used to sleep on, while Ethan lays next to me. I rub his back until he falls asleep, and once he is, the tears begin to fall again. 

I end up crying myself to sleep, and it's completely noticeable the next day. I try to cover it up with eyeliner, but you can still see the red peeking out. I sigh and just give up, pulling on a pencil skirt and buttoning up my shirt. 

I pull on a pair of heels and a jacket, walking out of my room. I walk to my oldest childs room, knocking on the door before entering.

"What's up Mom?" Cole sits up from the bed. 

"I have to go now, Ethan is still in my bed sleeping. Please take care of the other two. Be good for me" 

"I'll take care of them" He says, getting up to hug me. He towers over my figure, being a 6'3", his height could never be explained.

"Thank you" I smile "I'll be back soon" I sigh, walking out of his room and down the steps. I grab my car keys before I leave my house and I climb into my car, driving to where the meeting was planned.

"Mrs. Mahone, it's good to see you" My lawyer John greets, opening the door for me.

"You too" I attempt to smile, knowing I'll miss having Austin's last name. I walk in, seeing Austin at the other end of the table, his lawyer next to him. I take a seat, and John sits next to me, opening his leather folder.

"Alright, so we'e here to make agreements upon the finalization of this divorce" John starts "My client has agreed to give joint custody with the condition that she keeps the house" 

"She can have it" Austin shrugs. 

"My client wants full custody of Ethan Mahone" 

"Absolutely not" I shake my head "I'm not giving you full custody of any of them"

"Fine" He huffs, folding his hands on the table. We argue over things for a while longer, until we finally agree.

"Alright, so now all I have to ask is..." John trails off closing his folder "Is this really what you want?" He asks "This goes for the both of you"

"Uhm, I need a minute" I say hurriedly, running out of the room. I walk outside, catching a breath a didn't know I had lost.

"Brogs" Austin says from behind me.

"Please" I cry "I just need to be alone" 

"What are we doing?" He sighs, ignoring what I had said. He leans against the wall behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. 

"I don't know" I shake my head.

"Why are we doing this? Why do we always give up so easily?" He sighs again.

"I don't know" 

"We knew this wasn't going to be easy" He says "So why is it that out first rough patch in 18 years we give up?" 

"We're still our old selves" I shrug. 

"I don't want this to end" He takes my hands in his "I told you I wanted to keep you forever and that's what I plan to do" He kisses my knuckles "I love you so much" 

"I love you" I say, and his hand comes up to cup my neck, pulling me in to connect his lips to mine. I respond quickly, our arms being wrapped around each other as our lips mold together perfectly.

"Does this mean I can have my side of the bed back?" He asks, with a chuckle.

"Yes, you can" I nod.

"Thank god, living with AC was so much worse than when I was in high school" He laughs.

"I missed you" I lean my head against his chest.

"I missed you too" 

"So we tell them we changed our minds or we just leave?" 

"I think we tell them, they might charge us" He laughs.

"Good idea" I chuckle, and we walk back in.

"We thought you'd change your mind" John says "Have a good day" He smiles, walking past us. Austin's lawyer gives us a tight lipped smile and walks out of the room, leaving me confused.

"Why-"

"He's a very grumpy person"

"Okay then" I laugh "I'll meet you at home?" 

"I'll race you" He says, running out of the room. I sprint off to my car, climbing in and speeding off to my house, Austin trailing not far behind me. I pull into the drive way seconds before he does and I climb out a victorious smile on my face.

"I win" 

"You always win" He wraps his arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple.

"Daddy!" Allison yells, running out of the door and nearly tackling Austin with the force of her hug.

"Hi Baby Girl" He kisses her head. Cole comes out of the house, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"So, I'm guessing it went well" He chuckles.

"Yeah" I nod "You're not getting rid of him yet"

"We can keep him, for now" He smiles, and we watch as Austin chases Ethan and Allison around the yard, smiles on all of their places, and in that moment I realized. There was no other place Austin belonged.

We were Bulletproof, we always had been.

:::

Wow, it's over...

The final authors note is next, 

I love you all,

Bad_Boy_Hemmo