I had this idea for a while and couldn't get it out of my head. I decided to write it down and this is the result. Please read and tell me what you think.
Avery tosses and turns as he tries his best to fall back asleep. Although he it wasn't worth it, that it was no good. He didn't like going to sleep because it made him think of her and dream about being with her, which was one thing he knew could not happen again. When he heard crying from down the hall he felt a little relieved, as if it was the excuse he needed to stay awake. He quickly hoped out of bed and made his way to the nursery.
He opens the door and walks straight to the bright pink crib. He shook his head when he first saw it but now it made him smile. She could be so stubborn about a lot of things and there was no compromising with her on the color, it had to be pink for their little princess. He leans down into the crib and picks up the crying baby girl.
"What's got you up this time little one?" he asks while smiling. She blinks her eyes and for a moment he thinks its Juliette staring back at him. He pushes the thought to the back of his mind and sits down in the glider chair and rocks the baby back to sleep. "Everything's alright little one, Daddy's here." He continues to stare at her as she drifts back to sleep. He couldn't believe the gift he'd been given. He and Juliette had created a beautiful little girl and as he sat there, he wished with all his might that they could raise her together.
After almost falling asleep in the chair with his daughter in his arms, he finally returns her to her crib and makes his way back to his room. He sits down at the end of the bed and puts his head in his hands. "Why did you leave Juliette?" he asks out loud. "Ellie needs you, Rayna needs you, and damn it I need you!" In a fit of rage he stands up and kicks her makeup chair across the room. He waits for Ellie to wake up and when the baby monitor stays silent, he's relieved.
"It was never supposed to be like this. We were supposed to raise her together. It's what you wanted, why did you leave?" He shakes his head at the thought of it, there's no way that she's really gone. She never left, she's just down stairs putting the finishing touches on a new song he tells himself. He continues to tell himself she's downstairs, she's working late and many other worthwhile excuses until he finally starts to believe them. Reluctantly, he returns back to the king sized bed and lays down. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he starts to drift off to sleep and starts dreaming of the most beautiful girl in the world.
"Avery give me your hand," she tells him as they sit on the couch.
He looks at her curiously before saying, "okay why?"
"You'll see," she says while smiling and reaching for his hand. He puts his hand in hers and waits to see why she made such a strange request.
Before he knows it, he feels movement under his hand. "Is that…"
"Her?" Juliette replies, "Yeah I think it's her elbow but I'm not sure. It just doesn't feel like a foot to me."
"That's amazing," he says while putting his other hand on her growing belly, "Is this the first time she's moved?"
Juliette picks up a magazine before replying, "No she's really active during the night. This is the first time she's turned during the day."
"Oh," he adds taking his hands off her stomach. "Do you need anything from the kitchen?"
"No," she states not looking up from her magazine. He immediately goes straight to the liquor cabinet and grabs the first bottle he sees, he goes to reach for a glass but stops short. What does he think he's doing? Is he seriously going to drink because Juliette felt the baby move before he did? Is he going to drown his sorrows because he wasn't around when the baby kicked for the first time? He put the liquor back and grabs a bottle of water instead. He makes his way back to living room and immediately grabs Juliette's magazine. "What did you do that for? I was reading a really interesting article."
"I think we need to talk Juliette."
"Okay what about?" she asks.
He sits down next to her and begins, "I've been thinking about our arrangement and I think it needs to change." He notices that she starts to smile and he leans back before she can pull him for a kiss, "I'm still not sure if I can trust you, but I don't want to miss out on big moments, even simple things like feeling her kick. I don't want to be somewhere else when it happens."
"Avery what are you saying?" she wonders.
"I'm saying that I think that I should move in." he responds, "I'm almost always over here when I'm not working anyway and it just makes sense to me. That way I don't miss out on the little things and then someone is always here to look after you."
"You make it sound like I'm a child," she replies harshly.
He takes a deep breath and tries not to over react as he explains, "No it's not that you need a babysitter. It's just what if something happens in the middle of the night and you think you need to go to the hospital? If I wasn't here what would you do? It's not like you could drive and you'd have to find a way to get a hold of me anyway."
"Fine I see your point. You can have one of the guess rooms, just don't take the one that's down the hall from me."
He looks at her strangely, "Why you can't stand to sleep in the same part of the house as me?"
"No silly. That's where I'm going to put the nursery." She replies and her gorgeous green eyes light up just thinking about it.
"Okay it's settled then. I guess I should go get some of my stuff, and if you want I can stop by the Bluebird on the way back and get us dinner."
She nods, "Yeah that sounds great." He grabs his keys and turns towards the door when she adds, "Avery," he turns to face her, "Thank you."
"It's not a problem," he replies. He does his best to keep calm as he heads out to his car and starts to drive back to his place. He just can't seem to get that beautiful smile of hers out of his head and a part of him can't wait until he sees it again.
"Avery? Avery wake up," he hears someone say as he's shaken awake. For once it was a happy dream, one from when they were starting to fix their relationship and see where things could lead. He didn't want it to end, he would do anything to go back to that moment if he could. He hears Ellie cry and he rolls over to see Emily standing next to the bed looking at him. "I let myself in," she explains as he gets out of bed and makes his way to the hall. Emily grabs his shoulder and says, "Don't worry Glenn is in with her, why don't you go take a shower?"
"Yeah I guess that's a good idea," he replies.
Emily gives him a sweet smile and he knows that she's just putting on a brave front. The truth is that she's hurting as much as he is and Glenn is probably the worst of them all. Emily exits the room and Avery steps into the adjoining bathroom. He starts the warm water and is transported to a much happier time.
"I can't believe we're actually going to do this," Juliette yells from inside the shower as he finishes the knot on his tie.
"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts," he replies jokingly.
"Of course not," Juliette adds as she shuts the water off, "I've wanted this for a long time now."
He smiles at her comment and grabs a towel for her as she steps out. "Good because they can squeeze us in at two."
She smiles as she walks over to her closet and starts looking through her clothes, "Do we need to get anything before hand? Do we need witnesses?"
Avery shakes his head, "No I asked about that. The Judge is the only witness we need."
"You know we might have to do this all over again," she replies as she slips on the closest thing to a white dress that she can find in her collection of maternity clothes. "When everyone finds out, they're going to be so mad. They'll want us to at least hold a reception."
"Or," Avery starts while crossing the room to take her hand, "We can wait until the little one is able to walk and have the cutest flower girl ever."
"But that's years from now," she adds, "I thought you didn't want to wait?"
"I don't. I was saying we could wait to have another ceremony. I'm marrying you today whether you like it or not."
"Trust me," Juliette replies, "Not getting married isn't even an option for me." She reaches up and quickly kisses him. "I love you Avery Barkley."
"I love you too Juliette Barnes."
A smile spreads across her lips as she gives him one of those killer looks of hers and says, "Not for long. As soon as we're done with the ceremony I'm filing to change my name. I can't wait to be Mrs. Barkley." He smiles down at her and can't believe how lucky he is. Today he's marrying his best friend and in a few short months they'll welcome a baby girl. It wasn't how he pictured his life would be but this moment was better than anything he could ever imagine.
The church was filled. In every pew sat a friend, a coworker, or some star of country music. He stood by the door and greeted everyone as they entered. He shook everyone's hand and heard about how much Juliette meant to them. He tried his best to keep a straight face and not break down but he was beginning to as the last attendees came in.
He took his spot in the front pew next to Emily and Glenn. The priest began his sermon and touched on how everyone had lost a wonderful friend. The priest continued by saying a prayer, Avery didn't know it but Emily recommended it so he bowed his head and listened.
Soon it was time for eulogies, he was asked to do one but he didn't know what to say. Glenn went instead and talked about how he been with Juliette from the very beginning. How when he first met her that he knew that she was going to be a star. He talked about how much he'd seen her grow in the last few years and how great of mother she would have become. Tears came to Avery's eyes just thinking about all the moments she would miss out on. Ellie's first word, her first steps, going to kindergarten, seeing her graduate from high school, she would miss out on all of it.
Next it was Rayna's turn, which he hadn't expected. She talked about how even though they were rivals at one point, a friendship grew and even a business partnership when she signed to Highway 65. She talked about how the country world didn't just lose a great artist, they lost a great person and that she was proud to call her a friend even if it was just for a little while.
When Rayna finished, the priest had everyone join in for one more prayer. Just as everyone was about to be dismissed, Avery stood up and said, "I…uh…wasn't planning on saying anything but if you all have a few more minutes I'd like to make a speech." The church went silent as he made his way to the podium and began, "Not many people know this, but I first met Juliette was by chance. I was backstage at the Opry and just happened to run into her. I was nothing at the time, just an aspiring singer bumping into a huge star. In fact, I saw her a few months later and she didn't even remember who I was."
Everyone in the church laughed and a little smile crept onto Avery's face.
"The second time we met, I was in a dark place. I had just wrecked any chance I had at a solo career and took a job as a roadie on her tour because I was desperate. Taking that job turned out to the best decision I ever made. We soon became friends, and then a relationship blossomed. We had a great time together. The relationship came to an unexpected end and we both had a hard time moving on. To make matters worse, Juliette learned that she was carrying my child."
He took a time to pause and reflect on the last year of his life, he never imagined that events would play out as they did. He couldn't believe the luck he had found and the tragedy he also had to face in such a short time period.
"At first we weren't sure what to do. We both wanted to raise our daughter together but we weren't in a position to get back together, in fact we were no where close. Luckily, we worked through our issues and found our way back to each other. We even eloped, knowing that many would be mad at us for not telling them, we were planning another ceremony to happen shortly after Ellie could walk."
He had to stop once more. Thinking their plans for the future made him break. He was standing up in front of all of Nashville giving a eulogy for his wife of barely five months and was going to have to raise his daughter all alone. The worst thing is that the only thing he wanted more than anything was to be with Juliette, hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. He wanted them to grow old together, even have more kids, write many more songs and win many more awards together. That was now a future that would never happen.
"But fate had other plans. We had four great months together before our daughter was born. We couldn't have been happier when we met her for the first time. At that moment it felt as if nothing bad would ever happen and we'd always have a perfect little family. Many don't know what caused the bleeding but she was rushed into surgery and the doctors did everything they could to save her."
He took another moment to wipe his tears away and then added, "I will cherish every moment we ever had together and will make sure Ellie learns just how great her mother was. I just wish that we had more time together. Juliette was a great person and I don't know if we'll ever see another one like her. Juls if you're listening, just know that we all love you and hope you'll continue to watch down on us. Thank you."
He stepped down from the podium and took Ellie into his arms. She is the last remainder of Juliette out there and all he wanted to do was hold her and never let her go. Many exited the church without coming to see him, many others did to see Ellie and comment on how lovely the service was. He thanked them for coming. When it was just Emily, Glenn and him, he walked up to the casket and glanced down at his beautiful wife. "I just want you know that Ellie is going to learn about you. She's going to see how amazing her mama was and she's going to grow up to be a little heartbreaker just like you. I hope you keep an eye on her up there because I have feeling that she's going to be a handful." He reached down and grabbed her hand, her very cold hand, and kissed it gently, "I love you Juliette and I'll never find a love like yours again. Wait for me pretty angel, I'll see you again one day."
"Anyone home?" Ellie wonders as she enters her childhood home. She notices the house is surprisingly silent. "Dad?" She checks the kitchen, notices that the birthday cake he made her the night before was never put away. She shakes her head as she grabs the plastic wrap and covers what remains of it up so it doesn't go stale and then continues on her search. She passes the basement door and hears the sound of the piano, "The studio? He never goes down there." She slowly descends the stairs and listens closely as he sings a song she doesn't recognize:
The most beautiful girl in the world
The most beautiful girl
A lonely star shining bright
She is the dream, I have every night
She is the love song I'm gonna write
And it'll be beautiful
The most beautiful girl in the world
The most beautiful girl in the world
The most beautiful girl in the world
She was the most beautiful
As he stops playing he wipes the tears from his eyes and states, "It's been another year and it feels like it was just yesterday that you left. I don't know how I've survived this long. If it wasn't for Ellie, I don't think I would have survived. You'd be proud of her Juls, she's so gifted and everyone in Nashville knows it. She of course let all of the attention go straight to her head and now she thinks she rules the world and we both know where she got that from. Good news is that she signed with Highway 65 and made sure that she picks the producers for her albums. Lucky for me, she chose her good old dad for her first one."
He paused for a second and looked down at the keys. Ellie didn't know what to do, she knew her dad still cared for her mom but she didn't realize how much it affected him. Every year on the anniversary of her death, he would tell her countless stories about how pretty and amazing her mom was. Some years he even talked about how mean she could be but he never cared because he knew who the real Juliette was and out of everyone, she had chosen to be with him and that's all that mattered. She thought the stories were for her sake, so she'd had a chance to connect with the mother she was never able to meet. Sitting on the steps listening to him made her realize that in many ways the stories were for him way more than they ever were for her.
"The Country Music Hall of Fame created an exhibit all about you this year. They asked for me to cut the ribbon before it was revealed to the world and I think you'd like it. They focused more on your pure country hits and didn't include much on your young pop days, which I know that you would have loved. The one thing you wanted more than a family was to be respected and you finally are."
He stopped short and took a deep breath, Ellie didn't have to look up from where she sat to know that he couldn't speak through the tears. "How long have you've been down here El?" he asks after a moment of silence.
"A while," she replies wiping her eyes.
He gets up from the piano and stands in front of her at the bottom of the stairs and wonders, "Do you have a song you want to work on?"
She shakes her head while looking anywhere that isn't at him. She knows he loves her with all his heart but after years of watching him fight back the tears, she's come to realize that a part of him must hate her. She's heard all the stories: They're still not sure how it happened, it was a complicated procedure. No one ever thought it would happen that way. But she still wasn't convinced. She knew it was her fault and that her mother could easily still be here today if she would not have been born.
Avery studies his daughter and her body posture before climbing up next to her and saying, "Ellie, I need you to stop thinking whatever you're thinking right now. It wasn't your fault. The complication wasn't from the birth, it had nothing to do with the pregnancy. She would want you to know that. Sweetie you need to stop blaming yourself."
"I don't know why it would matter," she states while wiping her tears away once again, "Even if I stop blaming myself, you still will."
"What are you talking about?" he wonders, having no idea where it is coming from.
"I heard you. It's my fault you suffer year after year. It's because of me that you're still here, serenading your dead wife and telling her events that happened this year. If it wasn't for me, she'd be here singing with you."
Avery is shocked by her revelation. He stands there awkwardly not sure how to reply. Taking that as his way of agreeing with her. Ellie stands up and runs up the stairs away from the basement she was never allowed to enter as a child, away from him, away from all the happy memories he had before she was born.
"Ellie," he shouts chasing her, "Ellie come back here." He does his best to follow her but his twenty-five year old daughter is younger and way faster. She is almost out the door as he reaches the kitchen. "Ellie Jolene Juliette Barkley don't you dare leave this house. We need to talk."
She stood there motionless. He had never called her by her full name before. Even when she got in trouble as a kid the farthest he'd go was to "Ellie Jolene," or if she was really bad he'd say "Ellie Jolene Barkley" but he hardly ever said her second middle name. She always assumed that just saying "Juliette" would cause him to break down. He never even called her by her first name when they talked about her, he would always call her "your mother" or "mama." It was never Juliette.
Avery heard the door slam and felt his heart break into a million pieces. He turned the corner and entered the living room and swore Juliette was standing in front of him. "You got me to stay, happy?" his daughter asks him.
"Yeah," he adds as stares at her one more time and holds the image in his mind. She was breathtaking, put Juliette in a brown wig and she would look exactly like their daughter. Same eyes, same cheekbones, same dimples, she was just how he imagined their little girl would look like. "You misheard me downstairs. I have no idea how I would have been able to get through mama's death if it wasn't for you. I had lost her once before and I turned into a complete mess. I drank way too much and pushed all my friends away. If we never would have had you, I probably would have been found in a ditch somewhere days after the funeral, or worse I probably would have taken my life in order to see her again."
Ellie remained stiff and looked straight at the ground. He pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, "You are the only thing that has kept me sane all these years. I love your mama will all my heart and I will continue to love her for the rest of my life. Not just because she was the love of my life but because she gave me the best gift in the world."
She looks up at him through her tangled brown hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. He smiles at the sight, it was just like whenever she got scared or sad when she was younger. "What did you she give you?" she asks while stepping out of the hug. "I don't think you ever told me that story."
"Oh I did," he says as he puts his hand under her chin so he can stare directly into her eyes, "she gave me you."
"But," she starts.
"No," he cuts her off, "No buts. The only person I love more than I ever loved your mother is you. There is no way I could feel any differently. I would feel this way even if events had gone in a different direction and she was with us today. Okay? I don't ever want you feeling like I hate you because of what happened, that could never and will never happen. Do you hear me?'
She nods as more tears come to her eyes and she pulls him in for another hug. "I love you daddy."
"I love you to sweetie pie," he states squeezing her more tightly than he probably should. "Hey, I think there may still be some birthday cake left…"
"It's probably stale," she muffles against his chest.
"Only one way to find out," he adds.
She nods against his chest while asking, "While we eat, can you do me a favor?"
"Anything," he replies while rubbing circles on her back like he always used to do when she was young.
"Tell me a story about mom. It doesn't have to be anything new. It can be how you proposed, it can be how bitchy she used to be. It just has to be about her."
He smiles as he leads her towards the kitchen peninsula. "I can do that but you have to do something for me."
"What?" she wonders as she sits down on one of the stools.
"Never, ever, call your mother a bitch again," he states looking at her sternly.
"Deal," she replies as he slides a piece of cake in front of her, "Thank you."
"For day old birthday cake that sat out all night and might have mold?" he wonders while sitting down next to her, "Anytime."
She laughs as she takes a bite of surprisingly still good cake, "no for everything you've ever done for me."
"My pleasure."
"Avery," Juliette says while pushing on his shoulder, "Avery wake up."
"Go back to sleep Juliette," he mumbles while pulling the covers closer to him.
This time she slaps him and states, "While I'd love to but your daughter decided it's time."
With that his eyes open wide as he sits up in bed. He turns towards his wife and wonders, "She's coming now?"
"Well not right now," Juliette says while taking his hand and screaming a bit, "but soon, very soon."
"Okay we have to get you to the hospital," he adds hoping out of bed. He scrambles around the room trying to find clothes to put on. "Are you ready?" he wonders.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she states while leaning against the door.
He walks over to her, grabs her hand and rubs her gorgeous belly. "I can't wait to meet you Ellie."
"Okay Avery lovey-dovey crap later, just get me to the hospital!"
He smirks and gives her a quick peck on the lips, "Yes Ma'am!"
"Just one more push baby," he says as calmly as possible while giving her a hand a gentle squeeze.
"Ahhhhhh" Juliette screams as loud as she can.
"Okay you can stop, she's out." The doctor states while wrapping their newly-born daughter in a bunch of gauze.
"Why isn't she crying? Aren't babies supposed to cry when they're born?" Juliette wonders on the verge of tears.
Avery kisses her hand, "Just give them a minute Juls, I'm sure it's nothing."
"Mr. Barkley would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asks just as their daughter lets out an ear-piercing scream.
"Ah just like her mother without auto tune," Avery jokes he gives Juliette a quick kiss on the cheek before going to stand next to the doctor. He gets handed a pair of scissors and cuts where he's told. The doctor then goes to the other side of the room while he adds, "She's beautiful. You did a great job Juliette." Juliette smiles for a brief second before becoming very pale.. "Juliette? JULIETTE?" he screams, causing one of the nurses to look over towards them.
"Dr. Fredrick," the nurse says, "the mother is hemorrhaging."
Dr. Fredrick turns towards them quickly and then says, "Take the baby to other OBYGN on call and get the father out of here." Before Avery knew it, he was rushed out of the room and Juliette's almost lifeless body was wheeled up to surgery.
It was hours before someone came to talk him. Hours before he held his baby girl and cried the entire time. Hours before he learned that life as he knew it had changed and that there was nothing he could do about it.
"Dad," Ellie asks as he wakes up from the nightmare he thought he had escaped from a long time ago. "Do you want to try to play today? The doctor says it can help with your arthritis."
"Ellie what are you doing here? Don't you have an album to record?" he wonders as he does his best to sit up but reluctantly gets help from the live-in nurse instead.
"Dad," Ellie starts, "it's my second greatest hits album. The only work I had to do was announce when it was going to be released and thanks to the zillions of social media sites out there. I managed to accomplish that task an hour ago."
He shakes his head as the nurse hands him his daily medication. He them as directed and once he's done, he continues, "Fine, then don't you have a family of your own to look after?"
"Charles has the morning off so he can see the kids off to school. I wanted to see how you're doing."
"How does it look like I'm doing?" he asks a little more bitter than he meant too. "I can't even get out of my own bed without everyone thinking that something bad is going to happen." Ellie sits up straight and opens her mouth. Avery points at her and adds, "Don't even try. I'm not in the mood for one of our silly games from your childhood.
Ellie smiles while replying, "While in my defense you made it way too easy for me. You quoted the last line of the chorus word for word."
He smiles, "Have you picked who your new manager is going to be?"
"Daddy I didn't come here to talk business," she adds, "I came here to check up on you."
"You know what the doctors said," Avery replies, "I'm old and my age is finally catching up with me."
Ellie shakes her head, "I refuse to believe that. You are one of the strongest people I know. You can't give up that easily."
"I'm not giving up sweetie, I'm just accepting the future."
"But," she starts.
He gives her his now stop that right now look before replying, "No buts. I've had a great life and you more than anyone knows what is waiting for me when I go."
"I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
He reaches out for her hand. "Nobody ever is. I, more than anyone, know that and learned it the hard way."
Ellie nods, "I'm going to go get you some breakfast. I'll be back soon."
"I'll be right here," he says as she disappears into the hall.
They spent the whole day together, sitting in bed talking about everything from music to silly stories about the grandkids. Avery couldn't remember the last time they had spent so much time together. It seemed like his little girl just grew up in the matter of minutes. One second she was sleeping in his arms at her mother's funeral and the next he was dancing with her at her wedding. At one moment they were sitting on the couch watching her favorite princess movie and the next he was holding his granddaughter and learning what her name was: "We're going to call her Julie for short but her full name is Juliette. Do you think she'd like it?"
"She'd loved the name even if it was baby girl," he replies while watching his granddaughter look around the room with her gorgeous green eyes.
"You okay there dad?" Ellie asks as she deals out the Uno cards.
"Yeah," he states, "I'm just trying to remember how this game is played. The goal is to be the first one with only two cards right?"
"No Grandpa!" Julie squeals, "You want to be the first one without ANY cards!"
"Then how come I have to say Uno if I only have one?"
"Because," she says while playing with her little blonde pigtails, "that's just how the game works."
He nods as he smiles at her. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had a great little family and it was only possible because of Juliette. If it wasn't for her, he probably wouldn't have enjoyed little family moments like this one.
"Papa it's your turn," his grandson, Aiden, tells him.
"You know what Aid?" he asks looking at the little boy with brown curly hair, "I think Papa has to call it a night. Papa hasn't been up this late in a long time."
"Why?" both Aiden and Julie ask simultaneously.
Ellie shakes her head at her silly kids before saying, "Come on you heard him. If we don't let him sleep then he'll be grouchy and trust me you don't want to see grouchy Papa. Now come on give him a hug and say your goodbyes. You'll see him in a few days."
Avery did his best to lean over and hug both of his grandchildren with all of his might. They didn't realize it but he was pouring every ounce of love he had for both of them into those hugs. They each kissed him and said "Love you Papa" before heading downstairs.
When Ellie sat down next to him, she was in tears. "It's time isn't it?"
He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not sure. I feel a little bit of me slip away every day. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be next week. Just do me a favor and tell them how much I love them tonight."
She nods and leans over to hug him, "I love you daddy. Tell mama I say hi when you see her."
"Will do," he replies as they break apart and she kisses his forehead gently. She stands in front of him for a little while longer and then finally leaves the room. He turns off the light and settles into a peaceful slumber. The best sleep he's had in a very long time.
He wakes up the next morning in a wake of confusion. He's in his room but it looks nothing like it did the other day. The numerous bottles of prescription drugs are nowhere to be found and the vanity mirror that has been collecting dust for the past who knows how many years has been wiped clean. The room also seems whiter and brighter than it ever has been before. He takes in the room and tries to figure out what happened when the bathroom door opens, "Juliette?"
"Well hey there handsome," she says in her famous southern drawl before walking over to him. He couldn't believe what he was saying, she didn't look a day older than twenty-six. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
He smiles as she come and sits next to him, presses her lips against his. "I don't want this dream to end. I never want you to leave me again."
She kisses him one more time before adding, "You don't have to worry about that because this isn't a dream Avery, it's your new reality. You're here to stay."
In case any of you are wondering. Yes, Avery did die at the end of the story. I don't know what sparked the idea of Juliette dying and Avery having to raise their daughter all by himself came from but once I had that thought I couldn't stop thinking about it. I hope you enjoyed.