I don’t really think- he says until he looks up at me, realizing that I know why he’s having such a hard time even stepping into the kitchen. He lets out a long sigh, setting his head against my shoulder.
It’s okay to be sad, but at one point or another, you’ll need to grieve too and when you’re ready to face that, I’m here, okay ? I whisper to him, kissing the side of his head.
I’m sorry, I just… I don’t know when it’s okay to bring her up, he tells me and I mentally slap myself for forgetting about my boyfriend who also had a close relationship with her. When I was mourning, I should’ve had him do it with me because now, it’s just going to get worse as time moves on.
Whenever you want because this is important and I want to help you get through it, just like you’ve been helping me, I whisper to him.
Not tonight, okay ? I just want to focus on the two of us, he tells me, leaning up to give me a soft kiss. I place my hand on his neck, so he knows that I don’t want him to pull away. I run my tongue over his lip, asking for entrance and when he doesn’t give it to me, I groan against his mouth before pulling away.
It’s been weeks, I whisper to him, setting my forehead against his.
He chuckles, nodding his head. Just wait a little bit longer, alright ?
I groan, standing up to sit on the bed to do some schoolwork that I missed. I was really far behind and the last thing I needed was to fail 12th grade and have to redo it while all my friends graduate without me. We sit there for about an hour until Joey has to leave for his meeting and I decide to take a break to go watch TV with Lila and Melissa.
So what’re you doing tonight ? Lila asks me and I notice her excited look that she’s trying to suppress, but is unable to. The fucking secret.
Just going to the apartment, why ? Is something happening ? I ask, hoping she’ll let it spill, so I could finally know what’s going on in this damn house.
She goes to say something, but Melissa interrupts her. We just heard you two were leaving tonight and we were a bit curious as to what was going on. You two doing okay ?
I can tell that she’s just trying to change the subject, so Lila doesn’t spill whatever it is since she’s not the greatest at keeping secrets within the house. I let out a long sigh, glaring at Melissa even though she’s not even looking at me anymore. Yeah, we’re doing okay.
Just do us a favor, have fun tonight, alright ? You’ve been through a lot, so just relax with Joey for at least a few hours. You two definitely deserve it, Melissa tells me and I smile because she’s the one person that truly knows how stressed I’ve been with everything. Every time we had some free moments, we would just sit together and zone out and we’ve even napped together a few times.
You two need to have a relaxing night too. We’ve all been so stressed lately and we all deserve to just not have to worry for just a few hours, you know ? I say.
Lila nods her head. Yeah, you’re right. We’ll all have a good night tonight.
About two hours later, Joey and I get to the apartment that looks the exact same as when we left it last time we were here. Joey sets the bags on the floor before coming over to me and pulling me into a hug. I notice that there’s a random black bookbag with him that I’ve never seen before and I get confused, but when he connects his lips with mine, that thought washes away. I try to deepen the kiss, but he pulls away to set his forehead against mine.
Later, I promise you, he whispers, giving me another kiss before walking towards into the hallway. I watch as he goes into the bathroom and turns on the bath faucet before turning towards the cabinet and handing me a towel.
What’s this for ? I ask him, setting the fabric onto the counter top to stare at him.
You’re going to take a much needed bath and I’m going to take a quick nap. Take some time for yourself and just relax, wash all that stress away, alright ? He says as he sits on the edge of the bathtub to change the water temperature for me.
You’re going to nap ? I ask him, not believing him whatsoever because I know he’s not tired by the way he’s acting. I assume that that little backpack had something to do with why he was distracting me with the bath.
Just a little bit, I’ll probably do some dishes first. I’ll get my laptop so you can watch something, he says, rushing to the living room. I sigh, knowing that something was going on, but it didn’t matter because that bath water did look amazing right now.
He comes back and sets up the laptop before leaving me to take a bath, all by myself. I get undressed before settling into the hot water that instantly calms down all my muscles as Friends plays in the background. I slip into a calm state as I hear Joey moving around outside the bathroom, but decide to ignore him because I needed to relax.
I watch the computer as Chandler and Monica get married until the bath water starts to get a bit cold and I need to get out before my whole body turns into a prune. I drain the water and sit on the edge of the tub wrapped in a towel as I continue to watch the show until I was dry enough to put my clothes back on. I realize that the noise has ceased, which means he finished whatever he was doing.
I quickly put my clothes back on before brushing my wet hair back and drying my face. I walk outside the bathroom, checking my phone to see if my mom had texted me like she has been doing daily to just check up on me and make sure I’m doing all my schoolwork. After I was released from the hospital, I made sure to tell Joey that I wanted to go home for a bit, so we stayed at my house for about a week to just help me calm down.
I notice the dim lighting and look up to see Joey sitting on the light brown couch with candles lighting up the room and I instantly get confused. I walk over to him to sit next to him and I notice the nervousness in his body by the way he runs his hands up-and-down his pants. What’s going on ?
He reaches out to take my hand and I notice the beautiful white roses that were placed in a vase on the coffee table. I look back up at my beautiful boyfriend who had brushed his hair back to get out of his face and had changed into some fitting jeans and a black t-shirt. I squeeze his hand to get his attention since he seemed to zone out on the floor.
I love you and I need you to know that, he whispers to me and my eyes soften, holding his hand tightly in mine. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I don’t care what I have to do, but I will do just that. You are the love of my life, my soulmate, the man I was destined to be with.
My eyes start to water and I have to use my free hand to hold onto the side of the couch to steady myself. I look into his eyes to see that he’s trying so hard not to cry and his eyes are casually shifting between their beautiful hazel to their electric blue. I slide my hand up his arm to grip his wrist as he does the same.
From the moment we met, you’ve always had a positive outlook and that is what inspires me. You are what inspires me to keep going and that’s something I’ve never thought I would find. I never thought I would find you, but I did and I’m never letting you go. We haven’t always had the greatest moment together, but you are my greatest moment. All of you will always be my favorite thing I’ve ever found in my life, he said with a chuckle, making a tear fall down my cheek.
He stands up, pulling away from my hand and when I see him digging in his back pocket, it hits me of what’s going on. My hands go up to cover my mouth when he falls onto one knee, giving me the biggest smile he can at the moment. I watch as he opens the small, black box to reveal a silver ring with a smaller ring on the outside that’s lined with diamonds. I look back up at Joey, whose eyes are now permanently their electric blue.
Kade Brooks, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband ?
I hide my face in my hands as a small sob leaves my lips and I know that if I even try to open my mouth that an embarrassing sound will come out and ruin the moment. I look back up at him and nod my head, enthusiastically. He immediately pulls me into a tight hug as I continue to cry because this is so not what I expected the secret to be. I’m surprised and I’m excited because even though I’m only 18, the spirits have chosen for us to be together forever and that’s something that I’ll definitely be doing.
He pulls away to place a hard kiss on my lips as I wrap my arms around his neck. When he pulls away, he reaches behind him to grab the box to pull the shiny ring out of it. He grabs my left hand to slip on the ring that fit perfectly and that’s when I understood why Emilie wanted to figure out our ring sizes, not because she was bored like she said, but for this moment.