"Mrs. Donovan! He's awake!" Jeremy shifted a little in his bed. But it didn't feel like his bed. His eyes shot open, and he saw the sterile white walls of a hospital room. He was momentarily disorientatated, but then the memories came rushing back, memories of him opening the medical cabinet and shoving pill after pill into his mouth, vomiting at one point because he was going too fast. Memories of him being so angry at himself for doing that (you idiot, you can't even kill yourself properly!), and then the world growing fuzzier and fuzzier as the minutes ticked past. There was something else, a strong memory that try as he may, he just couldn't find. Just then three people burst into the room, tears in their eyes. His mother was leading the charge, and she barrelled into him and wrapped him in a bone crushing hug. Cordelia was standing behind her, hands over her mouth and eyes shining with happiness. Tobias was right next to her, standing very close. Instead of the hatred that he had previously felt for both of them, he was happy to see them. Unable to control herself any longer, Cordelia joined the hug, and after a "what the heck" shrug, Tobias joined the pile as well. The four of them were entangled together and were just crying, Jeremy included. After probably a good five minutes of hugging and crying, Tobias pulled away, followed by Cordelia, fixing her hair as she went. His mother wouldn't let go, but Jeremy couldn't blame her.

"Mom? What happened?" His voice was hoarse, sounding very much unlike his own.

"Do you not remember sweetheart?" She replied, sniffling as she did so.

"Well, I remember the pills, but..." He trailed off. His mother burst into tears again, and Cordelia stepped forward.

"Your mom came in and saw you lying on the floor, not responding. She called the ambulance, and it took them seven minutes to get to the hospital. You weren't breathing for most of this, but miraculously started breathing as they reached the hospital. They had to pump your stomach and do some other stuff to you. They told us that you-" And here she faltered, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "They told us that you might not wake up due to the amount of time your brain didn't have oxygen." Jeremy looked down at the floor. He had been so close. So close to dying and succeeding. But, most of him didn't want to succeed anymore.

"I'm so sorry guys. I am so sorry." He broke down again, sobbing into his mother's arms like a child. They all cried again for a while, before Jeremy finally felt calm enough to speak.

"Mom, I know you'll hate to do this, but can you leave for a minute? I need to talk to Cordelia and Tobias." Cordelia and Tobias exchanged nervous glances, and his mother looked furious.

"No way I'm leaving you. You are my son, and in pain, and I will never leave you when you need me." Her lips clamped shut, and Jeremy couldn't help but get the feeling that she had said more than she meant to.

"Please Mom. It will only take a few moments." Jeremy said, looking at her pleadingly. She seemed to get the hint, and nodded before leaving the room, leaving him with his cheating girlfriend and traitor best friend. He wasn't mad at them anymore. Something had clicked inside of him. He wanted Cordelia to be happy, and if Tobias made her happy, who was he to stop that happiness?

"Jeremy, before you say anything I-"

"Save it Cordelia." Jeremy said, cutting her off abruptly. Tobias put a protective arm around her, and she shook it off, giving him a look that said "do not touch me in front of my suicidal ex-boyfriend you idiot". Jeremy looked at both of them for a long moment before smiling.

"I'm not mad. I mean, I was mad, but I'm not now. Cordelia, I never realized how much I was hurting you. I didn't think about anybody but myself, and while I couldn't help the way I am, your mental health should be your top priority. And Tobias, I see what you were trying to do. You were trying to make her happy, and she deserves to be happy. So, what I'm saying is that I release you. You are free to date each other, and I hope that you two will be happy together." Jeremy finished, watching their reactions. They looked at each other again, before Cordelia's face broke into a true smile, not the tight and fake one that he was so accustomed too. He smiled as well. His life was going to be better, he would make sure of it.

Ten years later...

Jeremy grinned at the beautiful woman in front of him. Everything about her was perfect to him, and she was about to make him the luckiest man in the world. The chapel had been beautifully decorated with the favourite flowers of all of his closest friends and family. Roses for Cordelia, sunflowers for Tobias, orchids for his mother, ivy for Brett, lavender for Joshua, and daisies for Mrs. Todd, who couldn't make it due to being shot in a robbery gone wrong. It was difficult for Jeremy to not have the woman who helped him through his worse period of life, but he had so many other people who cared for him. As he looked at Leila, his wonderful bride, he still couldn't believe that the girl who he made funny faces at in college was going to be his wife. The road to recovery wasn't easy, and he had almost relapsed once. But looking at the warm brown eyes of the woman in front of him made it all worth it. Looking around at the church he could see Cordelia and Tobias holding hands, Cordelia still beautiful as always. Balanced on her hip was an adorable baby girl. The two had proven to be true love, and despite a break up in high school, they found each other again. Their love had inspired Jeremy in a way he never thought possible. Right in the front row was his mother, beaming and wiping tears from her eyes. Next to her was Joshua, arm wrapped around Lavender, his wife of five years. Sitting a few rows back was Brett, shoulder to shoulder with his boyfriend. Jeremy could still remember Brett coming up to him in the hallways after he got back to school. Brett produced a magnificant apology, and stopped bullying kids, leading to his decline in popularity. So, Jeremy and Brett became very good friends, and Brett told Jeremy that he was gay about a year into their friendship. Turns out Jeremy and Brett had similiar goals, which were to help children suffering with a mental issue, and worked together on a new approach of therapy targeted toward LGBTQ+ children whose disorders stemmed from their struggle with their identity. It was a smashing success, and both Jeremy and Brett considered it their greatest accomplishment. But now it was time for the vows. Leila read out hers, which was lovely and poetic, just like her. Jeremy was more of a efficient guy, and so when he took out his paper filled with beautiful metaphors and flowery language, he immediately put it away.

"Leila Avery Dumont. It was not true love at first sight. However, it was true love at first conversation. Who knew that a boring lecture would lead us together? I certainly didn't. But I knew that I could spend the rest of my life with you, and that is what I intend to do. I will love you like a woman like you deserves to be loved. We may go through some rough times, but our love will prevail, and I cannot wait to see what adventures await us in the future." Jeremy could see the tears in her eyes, and he knew that what he had said was enough. The priest read his long speech about loving each other in sickness and in health, and Jeremy leaned over to Leila.

"I feel a strange sense of deja vu." He whispered, and Leila chuckled.

"Have you gotten married before and not told me?" She joked, and Jeremy chuckled as well.

"Only in my dreams darling. To you." He replied smoothly, and she playfully nudged him away. At the end of the speech the priest turned to Leila and asked her if she took him as her husband.

"I do." She said, and the priest turned to Jeremy and began to speak, but Jeremy didn't have to wait.

"I do." Everybody in the chapel smiled, and Jeremy heard someone blow their nose loudly. It didn't matter. All that existed in this moment was Leila.

"Well, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!" Without another moment of hesitation their lips touched, and Jeremy had only one thought running through his head.

This was the life I was meant to live.

                                                           ****************************************
It is over! What should have taken two months instead took six, but I hope it was worth the wait. I would like to thank all of you for reading, and I would like you all to know that Jeremy Donovan is based off of a real person that I know in real life, so this story is very near to my heart. I really enjoyed coming up with different futures for my characters. Please let me know, what was your favourite chapter? Personally I enjoyed writing the mother's future, as well as Brett and Tobias. Of course, the last chapter always has a special place in my heart. I would like to give a special thank you to the readers who returned to the story after my nearly three month hiatus (wow that is still really embarrassing). You know who you are, and it was for you that I finished this story. Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you all in my next story.

Also, the #WattpadBlockParty has begun, and I encouraged you guys to come check it out. My feature date is August 22nd, but make sure to read the other posts while you are waiting.

Here's the link:

http://my.w.tt/UiNb/QKhidTQiiF

Much love,

Cat