by DC Renee
All the best,
Kat
When Kat was done reading, Mason watched her tears fall, staining the pages of the letter. “It was all her?” Mason asked. Kat couldn’t speak, but she didn’t need to.
“She has my forgiveness, Kat. She had it when she gave me you,” he whispered before grabbing Kat into a hug, crushing her to him. He looked up to the sky over Kat’s head and mouthed, “I forgive you. Thank you.”
*****
“Hey Kat.” Kat spoke to Katherine’s grave marker. Even after three years, it still felt weird for her to address her dead sister as Kat, but she knew Katherine wouldn’t want to be called anything but her nickname. “I know I haven’t come to visit you in a little while, but things have been hectic. I know, I know, it’s no excuse, and I’m still a bad sister, but you know I love you.” Kat paused to catch her breath.
She felt the tears pricking her eyes and she tried to push them back, but her damn hormones had been all over the place lately. Not that she didn’t cry just about every time she visited the cemetery. Whenever she looked at her sister’s simple gravestone, she was reminded of all that she lost and all that she gained, and it was bittersweet.
“You know, I still don’t get why you had to die, Kat. You know we could have figured out something, some way so that everyone would be happy. We could have helped you fight your addiction and then lived like one big happily family.” Kat snorted a bit at that thought. If Katherine had lived, she doubted they’d ever truly be one big happy family, but heck, it was a nice thought.
“Yeah, I know, I say the same thing every time I come and you’re probably tired of hearing it, but damn it if I don’t miss you and wish things would have turned out differently. And you know I miss you even if I barely knew you because you’re my family, my blood, my sister, and I love you no matter what. And come on, let’s face it, you really were a good person underneath it all. And that’s why I think we could have helped each other, but I guess I’ll never truly know what you went through, so I can’t judge your decisions.” Kat wiped her tear stained cheeks.
“Okay, fine, on to happier topics. Looks like Eddie is going to be on the Dean’s list this year.” Kat and Mason had taken Eddie under their wing and made sure that he had the best education. They moved him and his mom into a better apartment and made sure they always had food and anything else they needed. They even hired a maid to come and make sure everything was cleaned up once a week. Mason had easily stepped into the father-figure role and Eddie looked up to him. They took Eddie out every week, took him on trips, had him over for dinner, bought him new clothes, new school supplies, everything a teenager could need. He was so polite, respectful, and grateful. He never got into trouble, well, not really. He deserved everything Kat and Mason could offer and more. He had gotten into just about every college he applied to, but ended up choosing Princeton. “He’s working his butt off to make us and Samantha proud. But he doesn’t need to. We are already proud of him for just being who he is. Oh, he’s been talking about going pre-med and then getting into medical school. Apparently, Mason’s been telling him how wonderful it is to help others and Eddie now wants to follow in his footsteps. Of course, he still has time to figure all that out. Oh, and Samantha is doing a little better too. She stopped taking pain killers, so now we just need her to stop drinking. She’s still not sure about that, but we’re working on it.”
Mason had ended up getting his credentials back and was able to start practicing again. He started off at Adam’s office until he could build a steady stream of patients, and he just recently branched out and started his own practice. It took almost the entire three years since he was cleared, but she could see how happy Mason was now that he could do what he loved. So it was all worth it.
Kat had tried to find a job in social work, but there weren’t many out there, so with Mason’s help, she ended up starting a nonprofit organization that helped kids who came from addiction and abuse riddled families. Eddie had especially loved the idea and Kat had used many of his suggestions. Mason even provided free care to some of the children. It had started out with only a few people, but now, there were over thirty people running things. They had a steady stream of funding, but Kat never thought it was enough. But she loved it. Wouldn’t change a thing about it.
“Oh, oh, ow,” Kat bit out as she grabbed her back. “Mason!” she called out, knowing he wasn’t too far behind. He insisted on coming with Kat and even paying his respects to Katherine, but he always stepped back to allow Kat some private time. But, right now, Kat needed him. “Mason!” she called again and he was by her side in seconds.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with a worried expression.
“Looks like you’re going to be a daddy a few weeks early,” Kat announced, rubbing her protruding belly as another contraction hit.
She turned back to Katherine one last time. “Well, I guess I should go make you an aunt. Until next time. Bye Kat, I love you.”
And then Mason ushered her along.
*****
After a bunch of screaming and heavy breathing, the doctor handed Mason his baby boy five hours later. Mason had tears in his eyes as he looked down at his precious son.
“Hi Benjamin,” he greeted through happy tears. They had decided to name their son in honor of Benny since, well, he was a huge factor behind them being together in the first place. They wouldn’t be where they were without him.
Then the doctor handed Kat her daughter. Fraternal twins. A boy and a girl. Kat cried when they laid her baby down in her arms. “Hi Katherine.” She smiled at her baby girl. “Welcome to the world. You know, your name is special. It belonged to my sister. And if it wasn’t for her, your mom and dad wouldn’t be here with you and your brother right now.” Baby Katherine didn’t seem to really care at that moment. She was happy being bundled up and laying across her mother’s body. When she and Benjamin were old enough, Kat and Mason would tell them their story. A great love story, with a happy ending.
Kat looked at her baby girl and then at her husband of a little over two years holding her baby boy. He had proposed shortly after she moved in with him with an elaborate dinner at home, very much like the one he made for her when he asked her to move in with him for the first time. He figured that first night was magical, even though it didn’t seem like it at the time. It had led to all their dreams coming true, so he wanted to relive it. So when Kat found out she was pregnant, she told him with a special dinner at home too. Mason knew something was up the minute he had walked through the door and saw candles and flowers on the table. It kind of killed the surprise, but heck, it was going to be tradition now.
They were married in a small ceremony a few months later, surrounded by only their closest friends. It seemed like just yesterday they were fighting to be together. And now, nothing could break them. They were truly happy. She was truly happy. Finally, Kat had a family. “I love you,” she said as Mason leaned down to kiss her. “I love you too,” he whispered against her lips. And Kat knew that everything was all right and would always be right as long as they were together. Kat finally got her happily ever after.
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Thank you so much reading Let Me Go! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. For more information on upcoming books, feel free to follow me on Facebook:
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