Page 47 of Running from Drac

My cheeks redden with nerves as I pop the cork on the bottle, trying my best to look suave, but failing miserably as the cork smashes into one of my pictures on the wall, breaking the glass just as suds billow from the top of the bottle and splash onto the floor.

“Shit,” I grumble, fighting to pour the liquid into the glass. “Remind me to clean that up later.”

She giggles even louder, eagerly taking the flute of champagne from my fingers as I tip my glass to her and smile.

“To us.”

Our glasses clink before we each take a swig, our gazes never wavering from the other.

“To us,” she mumbles, taking another swig from her champagne glass. She erupts into endless shivers, the frigid temperatures affecting us both.

There’s a blanket on my couch, and I quickly grab it, placing it around her shoulders to give her more warmth. Mesmerized, I watch as some of the flames dance in her eyes, the vulnerability an invisible lure reeling me in.

She laces her fingers in mine, staring up at me with a look of true devotion.

“I love you,” I whisper, cupping her cheek, noticing how cold she actually is. “God, you’re freezing.”

“It’s okay,” she says meekly. “This is nice, Eddie. Really nice.”

This is it. The time is now.

She slightly gasps, her grip on my hands strengthening, almost as if she knows what’s coming next. That grip only wavers when I slowly lower myself to one knee, staring up at her with every ounce of my soul, producing the small box I had hidden behind the bucket on the table. The last ring I bought her was cheap and didn’t cost me a thing, this one has more meaning. This one she will treasure for a lifetime.

“Amber,” I begin, my voice catching slightly as nerves claw their way up my throat. Inside, I’m unraveling. My heart is pounding as my hands tremble with fear.

What if she says no?

What if she leaves me this time?

Gulping, I push those fears away, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “What we’ve had... it’s been a rollercoaster. The highs have felt like we’re flying above the clouds, and the lows have felt like we’re crashing with no parachute.”

I pause, swallowing hard.

“We’ve both messed up. God knows I’ve made mistakes I’d give anything to undo. But when I look at you, really look, I don’t see any of that. I just see you. Absolute perfection steering a rowboat through a sea of chaos. I walked away from you, and it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I didn’t just lose you. I lost the best parts of myself. And I swear, Amber, I’ll never let that happen again. From this moment on, I’ll always put you first, before my family, even before my dreams. Because the only dream worth living is the future I see with you.”

My voice thickens with unaltered emotion.

“Maybe I was too young and stupid to realize what I had when I had it. But these past few weeks have changed me. I’ve had to face parts of myself I didn’t want to see, and somehow, through it all, I came out with one truth I can’t ignore. I love you with every beat of my shattered heart, and the thought of losing you again kills me in ways I never thought imaginable.”

I inch closer, heart literally sitting in my throat.

“I’ve asked you this before maybe a hundred times in my head, and more than a few out loud. But never like this. Never with all the right reasons in the right moment. You deserve everything, Amber. And if you’ll let me, I want to spend the rest of my life trying to give you just that… everything I can. So, will you make me the happiest man in the world and do me the honor of becoming my wife? We can ride this insane, beautiful rollercoaster all the way to the end together. All I need is for you to say yes.”

Tears bubble in her eyes as I pop open the box, presenting her the ring her mother gave to me at Christmas when she wasn’t looking. Yes, her mother did get her a gift, she just didn’t realize it until now. It’s the same one her father gave her mother when they got married, the one Amber’s had her eye on since her mother went downhill, and has been afraid she’d sell it for drug money.

“Is that… my mother’s ring?” her voice clogs with emotion, a sob already starting as the tears start to spill down her wet cheeks.

I nod, sliding the golden band up her finger, the perfect diamond glittering in the fire’s light.

“Eddie, how? How did you get this?”

Shrugging, I just smile. “I have my ways. You haven’t answered me,” I remind her, my nerves rattling my bones like maracas.

Her eyebrow slightly lifts in realization, and the brightest smile raises the corners of her lips. “Of course I’ll marry you, Eddie. You can ask me a thousand more times and the answer will always be yes.”

Relief washes over me as I quickly jump up, embracing her with the strength of a hundred men. We stay that way for minutes before the chills shake through us both.

“Okay, as much as I would love to sit here by the fire, I think a shower or a hot bath is what we need to bring our bodies back up to temperature.”