The Player

Chapter 30: Epilogue

Brielle

10:54 PM

6 Years Later

"Where are we going!" I squealed as Christopher rounded yet another unknown corner. "This is

definitely not the way to the restaurant."

Christopher and I were on our way to meet Nicole and Sam for our celebratory dinner. Christopher had

just landed his first role as a stunt double in a major movie and both Sam and Christopher had just

graduated.

Sam received a degree in Therapy and Counseling from NYU, which I advised her to get. After

Christopher and I's debacle in high school, I figured that she had a real knack for giving advice.

I anxiously checked my watch. We had already left our apartment late, and if we kept up with this pace

we wouldn't reach there until I was sixty.

He shushed me. "Don't worry about it, it's a surprise."

I gave him a knowing look. "You and I both know that I hate surprises."

He answered me with silence.

I let out a huff, choosing to just wait and see. If there's one thing that I learned about Christopher, it's

that he never cracks.

We made our way through the wet New York streets, the usual crowded sidewalks now deserted in

comparison.

After Christopher and I graduated from high school, we both moved to New York. I moved to go to the

Joffrey School of Ballet, and him and Sam attended school at New York University. Ever since the

ballet showcase, Christopher and I had been happily together. We even moved in together last year.

My ballet school was amazing, and I was already offered so many amazing opportunities. While

Christopher was at school, he was also attending different auditions to pursue his life-long dream of

being a stunt double. He had just landed a major role in a superhero movie, and I was so proud of him.

I never expected us together to be this easy. When we first started dating, it seemed like there would

never be a time when someone or something wasn't in-between us. But somehow, things grew simpler,

and now I had no doubt that we would be together forever.

"We're almost here," he said after we walked for a few more minutes. He reached into his pocket and

pulled out a blindfold, placing it over my eyes and securing it behind my head.

"Why are you doing!" I cried, taken aback by surprise.

He laughed at my jitteriness. "Don't worry, I just don't want you to know where we are going yet." I

rolled my eyes, my curiosity growing.

"I know that your rolling your eyes," he laughed. I crossed my arms.

How did he know!

After we walked for another block, he paused.

"We're here," he said. "Are you ready?"

I nodded my head viciously. The curiosity was killing me.

He reached behind my head and untied the knot, causing the blindfold to loosen and fall off my eyes.

My eyebrows bunched in confusion.

We stood in front of the David H. Koch Theater, one of the most premier ballet theatres in the world. All

the great ballerinas had performed here, and it has been one of my long-time dreams to do the same.

My confusion, however, stemmed from the fact that it was closed. All the lights in the building were

turned off, and it looked deserted.

"Why are we here?" I asked, turning towards Christopher. "It's closed."

A sly smile that I knew all too well crept onto his face. Before he even spoke I already knew what he

was going to say.

"We're sneaking in."

I stepped away from him, shaking my head. "No way." I did not feel like getting arrested today.

He lightly tugged on my arm, pulling me close again. "Don't worry, we'll be fine," he whispered into my

ear.

"Just think about how much fun you will have dancing on the big stage all by yourself."

I chewed on my lip, thinking it over. It would be cool to dance in the theatre. After deliberating for a few

more moments, I threw caution to the wind.

"Fine," I said, making my way toward the locked iron rod fence. "But you should figure out why I always

seem to be breaking into things when I'm with you."

A smile crossed my face, remembering when we broke into our football field to have a field goal

contest. I still remember the look on the security guards face as Christopher slung me over his

shoulder, carrying me towards his car.

I also remembered the buckets of gum that we had to scrape from underneath the bleachers as

punishment too. I shuddered at the thought.

I placed my hands at the top of the iron poles and hoisted myself up, swinging one leg, then the other

over the fence before jumping to the other side.

I smoothed over my blouse and jeans, turning towards Christopher on the outside of the fence.

"Your turn."

I tapped my foot, waiting for him to follow suit.

He winked. "I think I'll use these."

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a pair of jingling keys.

My jaw dropped. "You had those the whole time?" He nodded his head, inserting the key into the

padlock on the gate and twisting it.

I pouted. "Then why did you make me jump the fence?"

He let out a laugh. "I never told you to. You did it all on your own."

I huffed. He was right.

He unlocked the gate, causally strolling towards me. I rolled my eyes. I could tell that he was a little too

proud of himself.

"How did you even get those anyway?" I asked as we made our way towards the front of the large

glass building.

He shrugged. "My friend works the night shifts as a security guard."

As he said so, a man walked towards the front door from the inside. We waited patiently as he typed on

to a key pad. Finally, the door unlocked, and Christopher opened it, holding it open for me.

I murmured a thank you, too mesmerized by the building around me. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Christopher's friend led us down a hallway, before opening a door to our left. I walked through the

doorway, making my way through the darkness inside. Suddenly, the lights switched on, revealing the

theater before me.

A giddiness cam over me as I took in the scene in front of me.

Empty seats stretched for as far as I could see, each facing towards me. I stood center stage, soaking

it all in.

"It's beautiful," I said, my eyes glazing over. I could already imagine myself on this stage, spinning and

leaping across the stage. All my biggest dreams of me, performing here, flashed before my eyes.

Christopher wrapped his arms behind me, nuzzling his nose into my ear. "Do you like it?"

I nodded, the large smile on my face a dead giveaway. "I love it," I said turning around so that we were

face-to-face. "And I love you."

"I love you too," he said against my lips, leaning down to kiss me. I couldn't help but remember the last

time we kissed together on a stage six years ago. The memory gave me an idea.

"Do you still remember it?" I asked pulling away from our kiss. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Our dance," I explained.

He laughed. "Are you kidding me? With how many times you made me practice I couldn't forget if I

tried."

"Hey!" I said swatting his arm. "All of the hard work was worth it." Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Whatever you say."

I rolled my eyes, plugging my phone into the speaker on the side of the stage and playing the song.

When I returned I grabbed at his arm, tugging him to the floor in our starting pose.

As the music started, reality faded away, until it was just me, him, and the music. We danced

beautifully, as if we had never stopped practicing. As we spun and leapt around the stage, an

overwhelming feeling came over me.

It was love.

As we moved together, our bodies flowing, I remembered all that we had went through. Forced

arrangements, crazy brothers, breaking into places and getting caught. All the memories of our dates to

his lake house and the drive-in movies, all the times that he tried to woo me with candy and balloons,

and the image of Christopher riding on a pink dirt bike came flooding back to my mind.

The newer ones came too. Our celebration of my acceptance into Joffrey, us dancing all night at the

prom, our graduation day, and how we jumped up and down when we found out he had been accepted

into NYU with a scholarship.

All the moments, all the ups and downs, came rushing back to me. Our journey together, which turned

from hate to love, our problems and resolutions hit me all at once.

I learned so much about myself from the time we've spent together. I learned how to open myself up,

how to believe in myself. If it wasn't for Christopher, the love of my life, I wouldn't be where I am today.

I wouldn't be who I am today.

As the beat drummed on, I let my thoughts fade, enjoying us in the moment, enthralled in our

movements. As the final notes of the song played, I began the ending sequence.

I kicked my leg up towards my ear, before slowly releasing it back towards the floor, my back turned

towards Christopher.

I couldn't help but think about the last move, the kiss, and how much it had changed us. Before I was

hesitant to do it, afraid of what would happen if I did. But as I turned around this time, there was no

doubt in my mind.

However, when I turned around, he wasn't standing in front of me.

He was on one knee.

My hands flew up to my mouth in shock as I could feel tears prick at the back of my eyes. He started to

speak, his voice shakier than usual.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this, but when I walked into Ms. Riley's dance room for my first lesson

I was mad," he began. "I was furious that my coach had forced me to take a dance class, and even

more mad that Ms. Riley had wanted me to dance in a showcase with you.

I thought that I had been cursed, that I had probably the worst luck in the entire world," he laughed. "I

complained about it for days."

"But I soon realized that I couldn't have been more wrong. I was the luckiest man in the entire world,"

he paused.

"I was the luckiest because I met you."

My breath hitched.

"It took me a while to realize it. A long while." I laughed, now unable to hold back my tears.

"But once I did, once I realized," his voice cracked, his eyes now glazed with tears. "I knew that no

matter what happened, I couldn't afford to lose you."

You made my life better the instant you entered it, even if I didn't know it. You made me so much

happier. You changed me, into someone I wanted to be, someone I was proud of," he paused, choking

back tears.

"Someone my parents would be proud of."

In his eyes, I could see the young Christopher at the beach that sat in the picture frame in his old room.

I could see the Christopher at the top of the Ferris wheel, reminiscing about his parents on the

anniversary of their death.

In his eyes I could see all the hurt and pain from his past, but I could also see all his strength from

overcoming it.

"I want you to know that I will always devote myself to you," he continued. "No matter the issue, I will

always be there for you. I will always protect you. I will always support you."

As I stared into his eyes, his sincerity apparent, I knew that he was telling the truth.

"I brought you here because I know that your dream is to dance here one day." Hid voice grew even

shakier, the raw emotion audible in his voice.

"But my dream, my biggest wish of all, is to be there beside you, cheering you on while you do." He

paused.

"My biggest dream is to be with you."

He reached into his back pocket, taking out a black velvet box. He opened it, revealing a gleaming

diamond ring.

"So, Brielle Rose Walker, will you marry me?"

As I stared at the man in front of me, the man who I met six years ago by some clash of fate, I knew my

answer without a moment's hesitation.

"Yes," I cried, tears dripping down my face.

His face lit up at my answer. He lifted me off my feet, spinning me in a circle, a smile beaming on both

of our faces.

And when I took my final bow on this exact stage five years later, with Christopher cheering me on in

the first row and a baby growing in my stomach; as I looked into the blinding spotlight, soaking in the

last applause of my successful career, I realized something.

Christopher was wrong.

This, me performing here, was not my dream. I didn't realize it then, but I did now.

What I yearned for wasn't to dance on this stage.

It was to know that while I did, Christopher would be there beside me the entire way.

And in that moment, I knew.

All my dreams had come true.

The End