Chapter 73 ~ How do I say goodbye ~ Epilogue

Six Years Later.

Isla's POV

Life has a funny way of playing out. I wish I could say the ten of us stayed together as a happy family, but let's be honest, we all knew that wouldn't happen. After I was released from the hospital six years ago, Mrs. Ford met with me, Killian and Sofia. She explained to us that with everything that had been going on in our lives she thought it would be best if she adopted Isabelle, Emma and Isaac. She said we could still see them whenever we wanted too and they could always visit us, but that it wasn't fair to them or us with us raising them. After a lot of time and consideration, with heavy hearts, we agreed. True to Mrs. Ford's words, we saw our younger siblings often.

Shortly after we graduated high school, Sofia found out she was pregnant. We had all expected Killian to be upset, but he was overjoyed with the news of becoming an uncle. Nick also took this as a sign to propose to Sofia and they were married a month later. It was a small and intimate wedding with the ten of us, Tyler's parents, Thomas, Spencer and Zoe. Everything seems great at the moment, but of course nothing ever lasts.

Two weeks after Nick and Sofia got married, Luke's mind started messing with him again. Him seeing me and Hayden together started causing him to act out again. He said he needed to get help and decided it was best for him to get help away from us. He promised that it wasn't a goodbye and that he would come back once he was well. Luke and I kept in touch over the phone and video chat a few times a month, but it wasn't the same as having him here. As time went on, we talked less and less. I get it though. I was proud of him for finally seeking professional help, but it hurt having him gone. Today, Luke is finally coming home, I just wished it could have been for a better occasion.

A month after the wedding, Tyler and Killian also moved out. They ended up sharing an apartment that was about two hours away from our house. They had both gotten accepted into the same college. As time went on, they ended up becoming best friends and before I knew it, they were both dating girls from their college. Killian had told us he had a girlfriend, but he wouldn't tell us who she was. We finally found out who she was when he brought her to Nick and Sofia's daughter's first birthday. It was Zoe. We were completely surprised. Killian and Zoe had been afraid we would be upset that they were dating, but we were thrilled. We had already become close to Zoe. Once a month, her, Sofia, and I would have a girls' day.

Nick and Sofia never moved out. Nick was too traumatized by almost losing me that he couldn't handle us not being in the same house. In his words "I need all three of my girls in the same house so I can protect them." He was referring to me, Sofia and their daughter, Samantha or Sammy as we call her. Nick has truly been like a brother to me, and if I'm honest. I'm glad that Sofia and Nick still live with me. I need them. Sofia is especially happy that we live together because it gives her help with the kids. After having their first daughter, Sofia had another daughter, Skylar, three years later. She is now seven and a half months pregnant with her and Nick's third child. This time they're having a boy.

"Is Tyler and Luke coming?" Nick says as he carries Skylar downstairs.

"I spoke to Luke yesterday, and he said he would be here." I say, taking Skylar out of his arm. "Tyler will definitely be there too."

Sofia waddles into the room with tears running down her face. "I don't know if I can do this. How am I supposed to say goodbye?" She starts crying. "How do I say goodbye?

Nick breaks down as he hugs her, "I don't know. I'm not ready for this either." He kisses her head before he walks out of the room to compose himself.

I wipe my own tears from my eyes as I say, "Sofia, I'm going to pull the car around to the front door so it's easier for you." Sofia nods and takes Skylar out of my arms.

I ran outside to bring the SUV around. Sofia has been in a lot of pain the past few days with everything going on. Nick and I have been trying our best to help her out whenever possible, but even Nick can barely function with what has happened. As I walk outside, Sammy is sitting on the porch crying. "Are you okay, Sammy?"

Her normally crystal blue eyes look gray. "No. I hate today, Aunt Isla."

I hug her tightly as I beg for my own tears to stay away. "Me too, Sammy. Me too." I kiss her forehead and force a smile on my face. "I'm going to go get the car so we can get going. Do you want to come with me?" She grabs my hand, and we walk to the garage together.

We all load up in the vehicle and make the hour-long trip to the funeral home. When we get there, Tyler is sitting outside with Luke.

At the sight of Luke, I smile. I've missed him more than I could have ever imagined. We run to each other and hug. "I've missed you, Sunshine!" Hugging him makes me forget everything for a few moments and a smile appears on my face for the first time in days.

"I've missed you too, Luke."

"I'm sorry, Isla, for not coming home sooner like I promised. This wasn't the way I wanted to come."

I pull away and wipe the tears from my eyes. "I'm just glad you are here. It would have made him happy knowing that you are here too."

"Yeah, but I wished I could have been here before this happened. I can't believe I didn't get to say goodbye."

"None of us did." Nick says placing his hand on Luke's shoulder. "He didn't even make it to the hospital."

"None of them did." Tyler pipes in. "Both of them died on impact."

"What happened to them?" Luke asks.

"They were coming from her parents when they drove over a patch of black ice. Their car skidded and hit the side of the overpass before another car came crashing right into them." Sofia says as she starts crying.

"To make matters worse, they had planned for us all to get together today because they had news to share with us. We found out after the autopsy that-" Nick stops when two arms wrap around me from behind.

"Hey Love," Hayden says as he kisses my cheek. "Sorry I'm late. It took longer than I expected to get the paperwork filed with our attorney." Hayden looks up and sees Luke. "I've missed you." He says as they hug. Hayden then looks at Nick. "Sorry for interrupting you."

"It's okay, I know Isla's been missing you since you've been away. Anyway, we found out after the autopsy that Zoe was three months pregnant. We are pretty sure that was going to be their big news. That and there was an engagement ring in Killian's pocket."

"Fuck, so Killian was about to be a dad and he was going to propose to Zoe." Luke says with tears falling down his face.

"I was going to be an aunt." Sofia cries in Nick's arms.

I fiddle with the necklace that Killian gave me when I was in the hospital. I still wear it all the time. "I can't believe he's gone."

Hayden wraps his arms around me. "Me either."

"I guess we should head in." Tyler says. "Come on Sammy," He says as he grabs her hand. Nick and Sofia had decided that Hayden, Luke, Tyler, Spencer and Thomas would all be called uncle by their kids. Of course, Killian really was their uncle and Nick considers me his sister, so I'm their Aunt. Emma really is their aunt, but they just call her Emma because she's only twelve. They also called Zoe aunt, and she would have been their actual aunt had she and Killian not been in that tragic accident.

"Can I carry Skylar?" Luke asks Nick. Nick nods his head and hands her over to Luke. "Skylar, I'm your uncle Luke. I wish I would have met you sooner, but I'll make up for all the time I've missed." He tells her as he carries her into the church.

When we walk into the church, Mrs. Ford is already inside the church with Emma, Isabelle and Isaac. Emma looks a mess. Her and Killian were always close, but it has been a few months since she's seen him. Thomas and Spencer are also already here. Mrs. Ford and her husband walk over to us and takes Sammy and Skylar so we can say our goodbyes to Killian and Zoe.

Sofia wanted to have their funeral together because she said Killian would want his family all together. The cemetery that they are going to be buried at is only thirty minutes away from our house so it would be easier for Sofia and all of us to visit them. Nick found the perfect spot for the three of them to be buried. He found grave plots side by side under a willow tree. He said the willow tree was perfect, since we always ate under the willow tree back in high school. It was under the willow tree that we all became friends.

Killian and Zoe each look so peaceful lying in their coffins. If I didn't know better, I would think that they were both asleep and would soon wake up to joke around with us. Like I said earlier though, life has a funny way of playing out. These two wonderful people still had their whole lives ahead of them, but now they're gone for good.

I say my goodbyes to Zoe and then I walk over to Killian. Tears stream down my face and I'm unable to stop them. I place my hand on top of Killian's hand. "Killian, I wish you didn't leave us." My other hand fiddles with my necklace. Always my Angel. "Killian, you said I would always be your angel, but now you will be my angel. I'm still keeping you to your words. You better always be there for me, but now instead of you being here physically, you'll be my angel looking over me from heaven. You're an angel to all of us. I love you, Kill. Take care of your family in heaven and know that we will all miss you dearly."

After I say my goodbyes, I sit down by Hayden as the priest starts his sermon. The turnout for Zoe and Killian's funeral was larger than any of us expected. They were both loved by many. Sofia, Nick, Tyler and I each took turns speaking about Killian while Thomas and Spencer spoke about Zoe at the funeral.

After the funeral we followed behind the hearse for the thirty-minute trip to the cemetery. Instead of riding with Nick and Sofia, I rode with Hayden since he was here. Being at the burial site was much harder than the funeral. As Zoe and Killian's casket were lowered into the ground, it made it all too real that we were saying goodbye forever.

After the burial Luke, Tyler, Thomas, and Spencer came back to our place. Tyler had decided he would stay with us for a week and Luke was going to be staying until he could find his own place nearby. Luke had told us that with all of the progress he had made with his mental issues,, it would be better for him to not live with us again. While it would have been nice to have him back in the same house as us again, we understood that he was doing what was best for him and his mental health... At least he would be nearby, and we could see him more often.

After Sofia and Nick get their kids to bed, Hayden and Nick bring out the alcohol so we can toast the lives of our two friends and their unborn child. Sofia takes a bottle of water because she's pregnant.

"To Killian, Zoe, and their child." Hayden says before we all take a sip.

"To my twin. I feel like half of myself is already missing." Sofia says as we all take another sip.

"To the best, best friend I ever had." Tyler forces out.

"To the most understanding person I've ever known." Nick says as he starts crying.

"To the one girl who could keep me under control." Thomas says about Zoe.

"To the only guy I know who could put up with all of our crap and stay calm." Luke says before chugging his drink.

"To two people who were madly in love with each other." Spencer whispers.

A smile appears on my face when it's my turn. "In Killian's words to Killian, Zoe and us because we all a little fucked up." I say, as I remember my Killian saying that we were all a little fucked up. I take a sip of my drink. This world won't be the same without him.

With it being a long day, everyone starts to head off to bed. Thomas and Spencer are staying the night because let's face it, they're drunk. Nick and Sofia are the first ones to bed, and I don't blame them. It's been the hardest on them. Tyler heads off to his old room, while Hayden shows Spencer and Thomas the rooms they can crash in, leaving me and Luke alone in the living room.

"Hey Sunshine,"

"Yeah, Luke?"

"Thanks."

I turn and look at Luke, "for what?"

"For never giving up on me." He says as he pulls me into himself for a hug.

"Same to you, Luke"

Luke gets up to walk to his room but turns around before heading upstairs. "Sunshine."

"Yes?"

"Don't give up on me." He says before winking at me and running up the stairs.

I shake my head at his crazy antics and walk upstairs to mine and Hayden's room. "Hey Love, how are you feeling?"

"Honestly... Awful. I'm glad everyone will be here for a few days. I just wish Killian and Zoe were here too."

"I know, but they will always be with us."

"How did things go this morning with filing the documents?"

"Well, my lovely wife," Yes, Hayden and I are married. It was a very small wedding with only Nick, Sofia, Emma, Isaac and Isabelle being there. We wanted the others there, but they were busy, and we couldn't wait. You see, because of where Chelsea shot me, the chances of me being able to get pregnant are slim to none. Hayden and I talked about adopting and we soon found an expecting mother who was giving up twins. The problem is with us still being somewhat young, it makes the whole adoption process harder without us being married. Hayden and I have been engaged since shortly after Nick and Sofia got married. We were just waiting for everyone to be available before we tied the knot, but after finding out about the twins, we just couldn't wait any longer. Hayden and I have now been married for close to six months, and we are in the process of trying to adopt the twins once they're born. They are due around the same time that Sofia and Nick should be having their son.

"It looks like in two months, we will be the proud parents of a little girl and boy." Hayden says with excitement.

"Really? You're not lying to me Hayden, are you?" I say not believing him.

Hayden kisses. "Would I lie about something like this? For that matter, would I ever lie to you?"

I start jumping on our bed "I love you so damn much, Hayden!" I scream, as I continue to jump. "We're going to be parents! We're going to be parents!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

The next thing I know, everyone in the house comes barging into our room and Tyler is holding his selfie stick like a bat. "Is everything okay?" Tyler says panicking.

"We're going to be parents!" I scream.

Sofia's eyes widened "Really?! Everything went through?"

Hayden nods his head before pulling me down to sit in his lap. "Filing the paperwork was the last thing we had to do."

"Congrats, bro." Nick says before he turns to look at Tyler. "Really Tyler? Your damn selfie sticks again. What are you going to do with that?"

Everyone starts laughing, but Tyler smirks at them. "I'm going to do this." He says as he hooks his phone up to it. "Everyone, get in for a picture. This is a moment for us to all celebrate."

Tyler snaps several pictures with his phone attached to the selfie stick before Sofia screams "Fuck." We all look at her to see her pants are soaking wet.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Nick mumble. "You're two months early. This can't be happening."

"I'll drive." Luke shouts as he runs to get his car.

"Thomas and I will stay with the kids. Y'all go and call us when you want us to bring Sammy and Skylar up there to meet their baby brother." Spencer says.

Hayden runs to grab Sofia bags while Nick carries Sofia downstairs. "Here." I say, handing my keys to Spencer. "Y'all can take my car when it's time to come up to the hospital because the girls' car seats are already in there."

As I rush downstairs, Nick, Luke and Sofia have already left to head to the hospital. Hayden drives his vehicle and Tyler and I ride with him.

We are all very nervous in the waiting room, waiting to find out what's happening with Sofia. Nick and Sofia were rushed to Labor and Delivery when they arrived at the hospital. I'm not going to lie; I am absolutely scared with this baby being born almost six weeks early. I'm sure part of this is due to the stress of losing Killian. He was so excited when he found out he was having a nephew.

Two and a half hours after we arrived at the hospital Nick came into the waiting room. I'm the first one to jump out of my seat. "Is Sofia okay? Is the baby okay?"

A huge smile appears on his face. "Yes, they are both fine. Now who's ready to meet their new nephew?"

Before anyone has time to answer, I run to Sofia's room. Sofia is sitting up on the bed. She looks exhausted and tired, but you can feel the love pouring out of her to her newborn son. "Sofia." I say as I cautiously walk over to her. "He's gorgeous."

She smiles up at me, "Do you want to hold him?"

"Of course, I do." I say as she gently places him in my arms. Soon, Nick and all of the guys are standing behind me looking at the newest addition to our unconventional family.

Hayden wraps his arm around me and places one of his fingers in the baby's hand. "What did y'all name him?" He asks quietly.

Sofia looks at Nick as he walks over to hug her. "We named him Killian Nicholas Thompson."

"That's the perfect name for this little guy." Tyler says as he pats Nick on the back.

"Sofia, you make beautiful kids." Luke compliments her.

We say our goodbyes to Sofia, Nick and Killian when Thomas and Spencer arrive to hospital with Sammy and Skylar.

The drive home is silent as Hayden, Luke, Tyler and I just think about everything that has gone on in the past few days. We lost Killian, Zoe and their unborn baby that they hadn't had the chance to tell us about yet, Luke is back, Sofia and Nick had their son early, and Hayden and I will be parents soon. Let me repeat, life sure does have a funny way of playing out. Today has been one of the worst and best days of my life.


6 Months Later

"I think you should take the test." Sofia says.

"No Sofia, it's not possible."

"You've been tired and moody for the past three weeks and you're five weeks late."

"I'm tired and moody because I've been taking care of four-month-old twins and my period is probably just late from the stress of everything." I say as I pick up my daughter, Alissa. We name the twins after our parents. Alissa after my mother and our son is named Easton, after Hayden's father.

"Can you just take a damn test for me?" Sofia huffs.

I sigh. "Fine. Once Nick and Hayden get home to watch the kids, we can go to the store and pick up a test."

Sofia starts laughing. "No need to go to the store. I have some extra pregnancy tests in my bathroom." She smirks.

"Noooo." I whine. "I'm not really going to take one, Sofia. You know Hayden and I have tried for over three years. I can't get pregnant since I got shot." Hayden and I tried for a while to get pregnant. Even though we weren't married Hayden and I both knew we wanted a family. We started trying about two years after graduating high school. The bullet that passed through my lower abdomen and did a lot of damage. We saw several specialists that all said I have less than a five percent chance of getting pregnant. We did several rounds of treatment when we finally faced the facts that having a biological child wasn't in our cards. While we were both disappointed, we knew that we still wanted a family. With me being adopted and Hayden living half his life in foster care, we knew we could relate to any child we adopt and would love them like they're our own. We never expected to adopt newborn twins, but everything happened so fast and the next thing we knew we were married and preparing a nursery. I am absolutely happy with our family and we've talked about adopting one or two more kids in a couple of years. That is why this whole thing of Sofia wanting me to take a test is completely insane. I've taken so many in the past and they have all led to heartbreak and tears.

"Please." She begs as Nick and Hayden walks into the living room with Sammy. Sammy plays soccer with other kids her age every weekend. Nick is the coach and Hayden is the assistant coach for the team that Sammy is on. They play against six other teams and right now our team is ranking in fifth place. I never said Nick and Hayden were good at soccer, but they do love spending time with Sammy.

Nick kisses Sofia and takes Killian out of her arms. "What are you begging about?"

"I wanted Isla to let me try some new make-up thing I learned online on her." Sofia lies.

Hayden eyes me suspiciously knowing that I don't wear makeup. "Really?" He says before pecking me on the lips.

Sofia grabs Alissa out of my arms and hands her over to Hayden. "Yes, really. Easton is in the swing and Skylar is watching tv." Sofia grabs my hand and pulls me upstairs. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go try my make-up skills on her."

The moment we walk into Sofia's room she pulls something out of her dresser and shoves it in my hand. "Hurry up." She says pushing me into her bathroom.

"Okay, Okay. You don't have to be so pushy, Sofe."

"Yes, I do. Now hurry up." She says standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

I glare at her as she stands in the doorway watching me. "A little privacy please."

Sofia huffs and walks out of the bathroom. "I have the same damn parts Isla. It's nothing that I haven't seen before."

I laugh in my head at her craziness. "You may have the same parts, but that doesn't mean I want you looking at mine."

I take a deep breath and take the cap off the stick and do my business. Once I'm finished, I put the cap back on and lay it on the counter to wait for five minutes. As I start washing my hands, Sofia barges into the bathroom.

"So...?"

"So what? And why did you barge in without knocking? What if I wasn't finish my business?" I hiss at my best friend. "Also, why did you buy the test that makes you wait five minutes? You do know they have a test that only makes you wait three minutes."

"Well I wanted to know if it was positive. I forgot we had to wait. Also, it's the five minutes test because Nick bought it. You know he doesn't look at what he buys. He just throws it in the basket and pays for it. Also, when do I ever knock? Come on Isla. You should know me by now," she laughs.

I roll my eyes at her as I take a seat on the counter. "We have three and a half minutes to go."

"I'll wait with –" Sofia starts to say until we hear Nick calling her from downstairs. "I'll be back." She sighs.

Time seems to tick away slowly as I wait for five minutes to be up. When it's finally time to check the result, I grab the stick in my hand, close my eyes, take a deep breath and count down from three.

Three...

Two...

One...

Tears flood my eyes as I run downstairs. I almost trip as my feet seem to have grown a mind of their own and are working without my consent. Hayden, Sofia, and Nick's faces hold concern when they see me. Hayden hands Easton to Sofia just before I jump into his arms.

"Love?" He questions with concern lace through his voice.

"I'm pregnant." I whisper.

He pulls away from me and looks me dead in the eyes. "W-what?"

"I'm pregnant!"

"You're pregnant?" I nod my head. "You're pregnant! Oh my God, you're pregnant." He says, hugging me tightly and spinning me around. "We're having a baby!" He shouts in excitement.

Hayden lets go of me, and I am immediately hugged from behind. "I'm going to be an uncle! I mean I am already an uncle to Easton and Alissa, but I am going to be an uncle again." Nick exclaims.

Hayden takes Easton from Sofia and starts kissing him on his head. "You're going to be a big brother!" He whispers to him.

"I told you so." Sofia squeals. "I'm so excited!!!" She screams.

"You did tell me." I admit.

Nick and Hayden talk about their plans for all of our kids while Sofia rambles on and on about how we need to find me a doctor and all of this other stuff. I zone out as all three of them continue to talk in excitement.

My life hasn't always been the greatest. There are things I wish that I could have changed like my parents and Killian's death, but I am happy how my life has turned out so far. I look forward to seeing where it will take me in the future. Alissa and Ramiro gave me one of the greatest gifts a person could give. They gave me a home and family. Had they not adopted me; I would never have met Luke. If Luke hadn't said those five words 'Don't give up on me' to me, I don't think I would have made it here today. It was always him that kept me going through the years of torment and bullying during high school. Had I given up on him, I would have given up on myself. I would have let Chelsea win. Instead, I waited for him and while there are days that it still bothers me that he was there the whole time, and I just didn't know it, I'm glad it played out the way it did. If not, I wouldn't have all of my amazing friends and family. Most of all, I wouldn't have Hayden.

Luke, Nick, Hayden, Killian, Sofia, Tyler, Isabelle, Isaac, Emma, Zoe, Thomas, Spencer, Skylar, Little Killian, Alissa, Easton and this new baby will all always hold a special place in my heart. They are my family. We may not all be related by blood, we each have our own problems, and some of us are a little messed up in the head, but they gave me happiness and made everything in my life worth it, and that's all that matters.

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A/N: This is the end of Don't Give Up On Me. Thank you to each and every one of you who have read this story. Ending this story has made me cry because I truly enjoyed writing it. If you enjoyed this story I encourage you to check out my other stories. Sometime within the next week or so, I will be posting my newest story Can't Stop From Falling. It will have the same update schedule that DGUOM had.

Banned_Insane_girlit_is_me_centimeter and septicbooperdooper.   I want to thank each of you for your support that you have given me over the past few days with the tragedy that my family has experience.   It means a lot too me, and thank you for making me smile and laugh over the past few days.  If you are looking for more stories to read trying checking theirs out too.

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!   ~KarenJ128~

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