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I turn to see the nurse standing in the open doorway, a clipboard in her hand.
“You can go see Ms. Baker now.” Her smile is genuine and I can’t help but smile back because, after today, everything will be just as it should be.
“Cash?” Hannah whispers as the door opens and I pop my head in, steeling myself for what I’m about to see. But the reality is, I don’t care. I’m going to marry this girl one day.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me,” I murmur, walking up to her side of the bed and trying to school my expression as I take in her appearance.
Her lower half is covered in a thin white sheet, one wrist in a cast and the other bandaged because of the IV. Her chest is littered with adhesive pads, all hooked up to different monitors sitting next to her bed. But when my eyes meet her gorgeous ones, all I want to do is go back to Steven’s room and punch the living shit out of him, and bury him six feet under a concrete slab. There is gauze wrapped around her temple, a gash underneath her eye, and small cuts all over her face from the windshield shattering.
“Do I look that bad?” she asks, her fingers lifting to her eyes, which are also swollen and bruised.
I smile, tilting my head to the side before leaning down and kissing her lightly. “You look beautiful, baby. Nothing will ever change that.”
Her eyes roll right before that bright smile I’ve missed so much graces her face, sending warmth through my chest. “Liar,” she mutters before I rest my forehead against hers, cradling her face in my hands and holding her gaze.
“I love you so fucking much, Hannah Baker. I’ve loved you since I was sixteen years old and I’ve never stopped.”
The tears that well in her eyes trigger my own and before I can say another word, she takes my lips in a searing kiss.
“I love you too, Cash Harris. Always and forever.”
And just like that, everything falls into place and I know every fight, every minute we spent apart, was meant to lead us right here, to this moment, because she’s mine and always will be.
Epilogue
HANNAH
It took a long time for things to go back to normal. For one, I had to heal, and that in and of itself took weeks and then turned into months. I hated that with every movement of my body it reminded me of what Steven did, but in a way, I’m grateful. Because without him, I wouldn’t have found Cash again, and I can’t regret that. Ever.
“You ready?” Addison asks, coming into the room dressed in her floor-length gown, looking gorgeous with her pregnant belly on full display.
“I should be asking you the same thing. Do you need to sit down?” I say through a laugh. I gesture to the chair next to the mirror I’m standing in front of and she just smiles, almost grateful that I offered. “You’re not wearing heels, are you?” I ask, hoping to God she’s not that stupid.
Most women can handle them, but Addison never could, and add in the extra front weight. She would be a disaster waiting to happen.
“Jesus, no,” Addison grunts as she plops herself down and takes in the gown that hugs every curve of my body. “You really do look incredible; Cash is going to want to pull you into the nearest closet when the ceremony is done.”
Heat creeps up my cheeks at the thought of my soon-to-be husband doing exactly that.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, changing the subject, needing to get this need inside me to simmer down just a bit.
Addison tries to hide the anger and hurt behind her smile, but I see it and drop to the floor, crouching so we’re at eye level.
“Don’t do this. I can see it, Addi. I know you’re hurting. What’s going on?”
She shakes her head, eyes filling with unshed tears, and just when I think she’s going to finally spill the beans and be honest with me, she plasters that fake smile on her face.
“Nothing to worry about. You’re getting married today!”
I’m still for a few seconds and when she doesn’t give in to my harsh stare, I know I have to move. Standing, I take one last look at myself in the mirror, taking in the pure-white lace that covers every inch of my skin. From the front, the dress looks more conservative than most would have chosen for me, but then I turn around. The back of this dress is the reason I chose it. The lace is connected by a thin string of pearls at my shoulders, and those pearls then descend all the way down my naked spine.
“Why do you look like you’re going to throw up?” Addison asks, smiling at the way my hands grip my stomach as if it’s my only lifeline. “You’re not thinking about running, are you?”
I shake my head, laughing because the idea of Cash and I not being together after everything we’ve been through is insane.
“I’m just nervous. I’m not used to everyone paying attention to me.”
This is the one reason I begged Cash to elope. But he confessed one night that he made a promise to himself that when he found me again that he would make sure to give me everything I ever wanted. I pointed out that eloping was what I wanted, but he would just kiss me gently, wrap those strong arms I loved around me, and whisper that I did want a wedding. He would remind me that when we were growing up that I wanted my family around me to celebrate the love I found. Even though the idea of all those eyes watching me as I walk down the aisle scares the shit out of me, I know he’s right. I would have regretted not having them all here.
