"Lower..."

"Oh, come on!"

"Lower."

"There?"

"Mmm..."

"Clay--"

"Okay, okay..."

"..."

"You want me to go lower?"

"Please?"

Mia presses her palm into Clay's back and rolls her eyes. "This is ridiculous, if you want to be massaged, you should go to a masseuse," she suggests.

Mia takes her elbow off of him. "Well, do you really want other people massaging me?" Clay asks.

Mia squints her eyes. "Fair, fair..." she nods her head and walks away from him. She grabs her water bottle and takes a sip from it. Clay grabs his shirt and slips it back on. "Hey." Clay sits up.

Mia looks over at him and raises her brows. "Hey." she smirks.

"Do you...I mean, I don't know if you'd--"

"Clay." Mia stands up, she walks over to him. The brunette wraps her arms around his neck. Like second nature, Clay grips her waist.

"We have been together 4 years now." She tilts her head. "And you still don't know how to talk to me?"

"What can I say, you leave me speechless." he smirks.

Mia laughs, "Oh wow!" she cups his cheeks. "Did you really just say that? You're such a sweetheart, Ocean Eyes."

Clay leans forward to kiss her, bur Mia places a finger on his lips. "What were you gonna ask me, airhead?" she questions.

Clay raises his brows. "Oh, my mom and dad, they want me to visit them soon...and they were wondering if you wanted to join?" he asks.

Mia pulls her brows together, "And intrude on your family time?" she questions with a smirk.

"They haven't seen you in a while." he smirks.

Mia purses her lips, "I'll go if you go to the Bahamas with me and my mom this summer." she states. "She hasn't seen you in a while either."

Clay holds his hand out, "Deal." he says.

Mia chuckles and shakes his hand. Clay lightly tugs her forward, their lips connecting. Mia inhales, she lightly pushes Clay on the bed. The brunette presses her hands against the bed, Clay's hands travel down to her thighs.

He moves his hands to her jacket and slips it off her body. A knock is heard on the door. Mia rolls off of Clay and quickly lays beside him. She grabs a book and pretends to read it while Clay grabs a pen and pretends to write in a notebook.

"Hey, Loverbirds, I'm coming in." The man walks in with his eyes covered.

Mia rolls her eyes. "Dylan, we're not...doing anything." Clay states.

Clay's dormmate takes his hand from over his eyes and chuckles. "But you were." he laughs.

"Very mature." Mia nods her head.

"Hey, Mia." The man greets the brunette. "Your book is upside down."

Mia focuses on the words and notices that they were upside down. "Dammit..." she whispers. Mia looks at the man. "Shut up."

==========

Mia smirks as the door opens. "Oh, Clay!" Lainie wraps her arms around her son.

"Hi, Mia." Matt says. Mia smiles, "Hi, Mr. Jensen." she hugs Clay's dad and he hugs her back.

Lainie then hugs Mia. Matt hugs Clay. "It's so good to see you, Mia." Lainie says.

"It's nice to see you, Mrs. Jensen." Mia separates from her.

"Well, don't be shy come in." Lainie urges the couple.

Mia and Clay enter the house. Clay looks around, it hasn't changed one bit. "So, I was wondering if you two wanted to go to dinner, you know a double date?" Lainie looks at them.

Clay thought it was weird that his mom wanted to go on a double date with her son and his girlfriend. But, he missed his parents even if it hasn't been that long since he's seen them. "That would be really cool, mom." Clay says.

Lainie blinks, she was actually surprised that he agreed. "Oh, okay...amazing." she says.

Mia smiles. "You can put your stuff in the outhouse if you want?" Lainie offers.

Mia's chest tightens. "Thanks, mom." Clay nods his head.

Mia and Clay go to the outhouse, Mia shivers as soon as she enters. It's weird being back here, I mean...everytime she visits she usually stays with her mom. She looks at Justin's bed and tilts her head.

"Hey, you okay?" Clay lightly touches Mia's back.

Mia turns to him, "Yeah, it's just...weird being back, y'know?" she questions.

Clay exhales through his nose, "Yeah, it still feels like...I feel him." he says.

Mia wraps her arms around his neck. "We're okay..." she says quietly.

Clay gives her a soft smile, "We're okay." he confirms.

The brunette gives him a peck on the lips. "I actually have to go meet someone." she unwraps her arms from his neck.

"Who are you going to meet?" Clay asks.

Mia smiles, "Oh, and old friend."

Mia sits on the bench rubbing her hands against her jeans. "Mia fucking Walker." a voice says.

Mia smiles, she stands up and looks at the girl. "Gwen fucking Miller." the brunette laughs.

Gwen runs over to her friend and practically tackles her to the ground. Mia wraps her arms around her waist and hugs her back. They both fall to the ground. "Get...off me." Mia groans.

Gwen rolls off the brunette. "Dude, did you lighten your hair...it's cute!" she lightly touches Mia's hair.

Mia laughs, "How's it going, Harvard?" she questions.

Gwen stands up and helps Mia up. "You know, I've been around." she shrugs.

"What does that mean?" she questions.

Gwen presses her lips together. Mia smiles, "Are you dating someone?" she asks.

Gwen looks at the brunette. Mia's eyes widen, "And you didn't tell me?!" she exclaims.

"I didn't want to tell you over the phone." Gwen shrugs.

Mia smiles, "Well who is he?" she asks.

Gwen doesn't answer and Mia arches a brow, "She?" she questions.

Gwen smiles and Mia's smile grows. "Gwen..." Mia touches Gwen's arms. "I want to know...everything."

==========

Clay and Mia enter the room. "I had no idea how...hilarious, your parents were." she laughs. "And your baby pictures." she kisses Clay's knuckles. "Superb."

Clay rolls his eyes, "Ha ha." he says.

Mia takes her shoes off. "How do you feel about a dog?" She asks.

"Mia, no," Clay says.

Mia turns to him, "Oh, come on!" She presses her hands together. "It could be my graduation gift!"

Clay tilts his head. Mia presses her lips together. "Cat?" She questions. "Turtle? I'll name it Percy!"

Clay presses his lips together, thinking. "A turtle would be nice." He says.

Mia raises her hands in the air. "YES!" She squeals. "We should get a huge aquarium."

"You do know that water has to be cleaned out? Do you know how much work that would take with a huge tank?" He questions with a chuckle.

Mia turns to him, "2 turtles?" She asks.

Clay kisses Mia on her forehead. "2 turtles." He confirms.

"Percy and...Annabeth." Mia adds.

Clay frowns. "You're referring to Percy Jackson? Not...Percy from Alien Killer Robots?" He asks.

"Do you want it to be Percy from Alien Killer Robots?" She asks.

Clay looks down at his shoes. "Maybe..." he mumbles.

Mia touches his cheeks and kisses him. "We're almost College graduates, Ocean Eyes." She giggles. "We've come a long way, huh?"

Clay quietly chuckles, "Yeah..." he nods his head. His eyes shift to the bed.

Mia turns her head and stares at Justin's bed. "He'd be proud of us," Clay says.

Mia smiles softly. "Yeah...he would." She chuckles. She lays her head on his shoulder.

Clay presses his lips on her head.

"Do you want to visit him tomorrow?" Mia asks.

"Of course." He says into her hair.

Mia smiles softly. "Okay...tomorrow."

==========

"I don't know if I can do it." Clay shakes his head.

"Dude, we've been discussing this for months!" Justin says, watching Clay pace back and forth.

"Yeah, but it's just...what if...what if she says no?" Clay fidgets with his hands.

"Then it'll be awkward and you guys will probably never talk to each other again." Justin answers.

Clay looks over at his brother. "Dude, What the fuck?" He questions.

Justin laughs, "Clay, relax! I'm kidding. She's going to say yes." He states.

"How are you so sure? Why are you so sure?" He asks.

"Simple, you're Clay and Mia." Justin states.

"There's nothing simple about that." Clay mumbles.

Mia looks down at her phone. Clay texted her saying it's urgent for them to meet by the bench. It's still here, Mia thought that they would've torn it down years ago. Mia figured it was a surprise picnic so she wore a nice dress...which now that she thinks about it is pretty weird since their outside...sitting on the ground.

Mia walks up the hill and sees Clay standing there in a suit. "Hey." Her soft voice shocks him.

He quickly turns to her. "Mia, hi." Clay sees Justin behind Mia. Justin holds up two thumbs up, encouraging his brother.

Mia pulls her brows together. "Clay, are you...okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, I'm great actually and that's because of you, Mia." He says.

Mia smiles softly. "I just...I love you so much and...without you by my side this world would be so much worse. And...I don't want to be without you for another second, y'know?" He stuffs his hand in his pocket, looking for something.

Mia's heart starts to bang against her chest.

HOLY SHIT!

HOLY SHIT!

Clay pulls out the small red velvet box and Mia's eyes widen.

OH, MY GOD!

OH, MY GOD!

Clay gets down on one knee. Once be opens the ring box, Mia's mouth slightly opens.

DON'T PASS OUT! PLEASE DON'T PASS OUT!

"Mia Walker, will you--"

"Yes." she cuts him off. The brunette links. "I-I-I'm sorry, I cut you off..." she waves her hand to keep herself from crying. "Continue." she squeaks.

"Will you marry me?" he asks.

A smile forms on Mia's lips. "YES!" she screams with joy. She slaps her hand over her mouth. "Yes! Yes!" she nods her head rapidly.

Cal stands up a smile on his face. Relief running through his body. "Oh, My God." he laughs. He stands up. Mia smashes her lips onto his. Clay kisses her back. Mia separates from him and laughs with a mix of a cry.

Clay takes the ring out if the box a d slip it on her left ring finger. "I think I'm gonna pass out." Clay whispers.

"You're gonna pass out? I'm gonna pass out!" Mia exclaims. She looks at the ring on her shaky hand. "I love you." Mia looks at him. "And I am so ready for our life together. I am all in." She presses her forehead against his.

Clay touches her waist. "I'm ready too. I am so ready." He whispers.

Mia wraps her arms around his neck and blinks away her tears. She sees Justin standing in front of her a smile on his face. She points at the ring and he chuckles.

"Told you it would happen," Justin says.

"And Mia?" Clay softly calls out to her, hugging her back.

"Yeah?"

"We can get a dog."

Mia's eyes widen. She pulls her face back and pierced her blue eyes into his. "Seriously?" She questions.

"Seriously," Clay confirms.

Everyone flipped out when Clay and Mia revealed they were engaged. I mean, everyone already knew they were going to end up together no matter what. But it was the question of when. Gwen predicted 2 years into college. She owed Tony 50 bucks.

She needed to stop betting. Or at least stop betting at such a high price. After graduation, they got their own place together, and a puppy named Percy. Clay loves him. He might actually love him more than Mia, which is shocking.

Mia stares at the ceiling. Percy hops onto the bed and starts to kick at her face. "Wah! No!" She giggles.

"He loves you." He says.

"He loves the smell of burger." Mia sits up and pets the husky. Clay walks over to the bed and sits down next to her. Clay looks at the side of Mia's face. "You're so beautiful." He whispers.

Mia turns to him. Her cheeks heat up. "You tell me that every day." She states, with a bashful chuckle.

"And I'll continue to say it." Clay kisses her cheek.

Percy jumps on Clay and licks his face. Mia laughs as Clay groans. "My two guys." She presses her hands together.

"All right, come on." She rolls off the bed. "Time for our walk."

Clay slips out from under the dog. "I'll get the leash." He says. Clay runs out of the room with Percy behind him.

Mia smiles softly. She looks down at her left hand and stares at the ring on her ring finger. Everything that has happened to Mia, led up to this. She was beaten, burned, scarred, and bruised. Even at one point, Mia thought she was broken. Maybe she was, but she put herself back together again. With the help of everyone in her life.

Alex, Charlie, Zach, Tony, Tyler, Jessica, Ani, Bryce, Hannah, Jeff, Her mom, Gwen, Justin, and Clay. There were so many more people that would come into Mia's life that she would be grateful for.

This was it, this was her life and Justin was right.

Mia made it.

"Hey." Clay stands outside of the room, leaving against the doorframe. "You okay?" He asks.

Mia looks at him and smiles. "I'm great." She says walking over to him. Mia gives him a peck in the lips.

Clay smiles, he interlocks their fingers. "Percy!" Mia calls out.

Percy runs over to them. Clay grabs the leash and looks at Mia. "Ready?" He questions.

Mia smirks, "Always."

As they walk to the door, Mia couldn't help but think that this felt like the end to...something. But, the end to what?

Mia shrugs, Guess I'll never know.

A/N: Well this is it...I know no one asked for an epilogue but I made one anyway. I wrote something at the end of the previous chapter. But I just wanted to say again, how grateful I am for all of you who stuck by these books. I love you all so much, and I loved telling Mia's story. It just shows that you can overcome so much pain and come out even stronger and happier. I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!!! ❤️🥴✨❤️✨