Alyssa looks up at me. “Can we go to your house?” she asks. “I really don’t want to stay here tonight and my house is too far.”
“We can go anywhere you want, Sunshine,” I tell her. “Let’s go get you cleaned up, then I’ll get you out of here, sound good?”
I say goodbye to Tony, then help her inside. Our close friends have gathered in her apartment. She greets them all and answers some of their questions. After asking Shane to run back to our apartment to get me a change of clothes, I take Alyssa right into her bathroom. It’s hard to keep her from looking in the mirror, but I do. She does not need to see the blood in her hair and smeared on her clothes any more than she already has. Leah brings in Alyssa’s clothes, including her favorite sweatshirt, and sets them on the shelf next to the shower stall. She hands me a black trash bag for the clothes Alyssa is wearing, then she gets out towels and washcloths for us.
“As soon as you are done, get her out of here. I will take care of cleaning this up,” Leah tells me. I nod in acknowledgement.
Very carefully, I remove all of her clothes placing the ruined items in the bag before doing the same with mine. Before I let her in the shower, I whisper for her to close her eyes and to keep them closed until I tell her to open them. Thankfully, she does as I ask without questioning me. The instant she is under the water, the bottom of the stall is bright red. Either she can picture it in her head or the events of the last two hours are catching up to her. Maybe it’s the combination of the two. She starts to sob and falls into my chest. My arms instinctively surround around her and I start to cry right along with her. The thought that she was almost taken away from me forever is too much to bear any longer.
Eventually, every speck of blood is gone and we get out of the shower. We dress quietly. I watch her in the mirror as she brushes her hair, then pulls it up. After she brushes her teeth, she turns to face me.
“Thank you,” she says.
“For what?” I ask.
“For coming for me,” she tells me when yet another tear escapes from her eye.
“Sunshine,” I say closing the gap between us. “There isn’t anyone or anything in the entire universe that could have kept me away.”
Our friends try to convince Alyssa to let them come over to my house with us. She declines saying she just wants to relax and get some sleep. The only way Leah is satisfied is when Alyssa suggests they come over the next night. On our way to my house, Alyssa says she needs a Coke and fries, so we stop and get some to bring back with us. My mom is waiting for us when we pull in. Tony called her and filled her in on everything that had happened. She didn’t pressure us to tell her anything or to stay with us. She just holds Alyssa for a few minutes and tells her how happy she is to see her. I promise my mom we’d come find her the next morning.
When we finally make it to my apartment, Alyssa puts the food on the coffee table, kicks off her shoes, curls up on the couch, and wraps the blanket around her. An unexpected feeling of contentment falls over me at how comfortable she feels here even after what happened today. I throw our bags down on the chair and grab a bottle of rum from the kitchen before joining her. I hit the button on the remote starting the gas fireplace across the room.
“Want some?” I ask her holding up the bottle.
“Definitely,” she says reaching over to take the lid off of both of our sodas. She holds them out for me to dump the liquor in. We sit in silence for a while holding each other. Neither of us know what to say. “Are you alright?” she finally asks me.
“My psycho ex held you hostage at gunpoint today and you’re asking if I’m alright?”
“I watched you the entire time, Rocco. You were almost as crazy as she was trying to figure out how to get out of there. You had me so worried you were going to do something stupid.”
“I’ll be okay the second that you are okay,” I promise.
“Well, I am now,” she says squeezing me tighter. “I was so scared. I was scared of not being able to be with you.” I kiss her on top of her head. “Maybe this is when I should tell you that today wasn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened to me. I certainly hope it’s the last, though.”
“What?” I ask as my entire body tenses up.
“The guy I dated before Jeff,” she pauses. I remember hearing something about him. No one really knew what happened. “He sort of lost it one night he stopped at my house and Jeff was there. We had already broken up. I’m not sure why he was so upset because it wasn’t abnormal for Jeff to be at my house back then. He pulled a knife on me. He’s still in jail for a whole list of stuff.”
“Jesus Christ, Alyssa. You are seriously a magnet for disaster.” I feel her chuckle next to me.
“High maintenance. You were previously warned of this very thing,” she says.
“Damn. You weren’t kidding,” I sigh.
“Want to bail while you still can?” she whispers.
“Nope.”
“I’m so happy I have you,” she tells me.
“Alyssa,” I say. The guilt of today is starting to settle in.
“Hmm,” she answers taking a sip of her drink.
“I’m so sorry for…”
“No. Absolutely not,” she snaps pulling away so she can face me. “None of what happened today was your fault. Do you understand me?” I can’t answer her. “Rocco, tell me that you aren’t going to do this. Tell me you aren’t going to add this to the list of bullshit that you cannot control but are going to take responsibility for.” She grabs my cheeks, so she can look me straight in the eye. “If you truly love me the way you say you do, do this for me. Tell me what I need to hear and mean it.”
“I cannot believe you just played that card,” I say stunned.
“Oh, it will get a whole lot dirtier in about five seconds if you don’t do what I’m asking,” she warns.
“You would not,” I respond. She raises her eyebrows giving me her most serious expression. “Okay, two can play that game,” I tell her. “I will tell you exactly what you want to hear and I will mean every word of it, if…”
“If, what?” she wants to know.
“If you’ll marry me,” I blurt out. The serious look fell from her face immediately and was replaced with a look of complete and total shock. I stand up, walk over to the end table, and pull the box out of the drawer I hid in there. Proposing wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was going to wait until Christmas morning, but I cannot go one more day without putting this ring on her finger. I could have lost her today and I would have never had the chance. Life is too short to waste on waiting for the perfect time. I drop to one knee in front of her and take her hand in mine. “Alyssa Adler, you somehow managed to find your way into my heart and brought it back to life. Now, you’re the only one who will ever belong there. I realized a long time ago that I cannot live without you. You are everything to me. You are my reason to do anything and everything in this world. You are my Sunshine. Will you, please, do me the honor of being my wife?”
The tears are once again flowing down her face, only this time, they are happy tears. At first, she doesn’t say a word, but then she starts nodding her head. Alyssa leaps off the couch and into my arms. “Yes,” she finally says. “Yes, I will be your wife.”
Epilogue – Thirteen months later
Alyssa
For the first time in over a month, I’m waking up in my own bed. Being on vacation for so long is definitely amazing, but there’s no place like home. Well, our temporary home while I am finishing my senior year of college. Rocco insisted on renting a house close to campus. He didn’t want me to have to commute very far. Of course this makes his commute ridiculously long since he’s going for his master’s degree at another school. I’ve learned not to argue points like this. He tends to be a little on the stubborn side. And besides, it keeps me close to Leah. She is doing just fine with Paige being her new roommate, but she is and always will be my best friend.
While I’d love to roll over and sleep for
the rest of the day, there’s something I need to take care of before Rocco wakes up. Since the incident with Vicki last year, it’s almost impossible to do anything without him watching over me. Most of the time, it doesn’t bother me so much. Even when he starts being a little overprotective, I just try to remember I wasn’t the only one who was affected that day. Sometimes, I think he still carries a little guilt over her death. That’s just the way he is.
Thankfully, jet lag along with a sense of safety since we are in our own home with a high tech security system has Rocco sleeping soundly. It’s easy to slip his arm from around my waist and climb out of bed. Being careful not to make a sound, I sneak out of our bedroom and pull the door closed behind me. Something tells me, he’s going to realize he’s alone sooner rather than later, so I hurry downstairs to get his birthday present ready for him.
Once it’s wrapped in light green paper and has a white bow on top of it, I decide to make him breakfast in bed. Good thing Rocco insisted on hiring one his mom’s housekeepers to clean a few times a week and to do our food shopping or we’d have nothing to eat this morning. Cooking is definitely not one of my specialties, but I somehow pull off a decent looking breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. That’s decent, right? I have his breakfast and his morning glass of chocolate milk all set neatly on a tray.
When I walk back into my bedroom, the beautiful sight sprawled out on my bed has me gazing, breathless, and standing in the middle of the doorway barely able to hold the tray straight. Rocco is laying on his back with his head turned away from me. The blankets are pushed down to the bottom of the bed. The light beige colored sheet is draped just over his hips providing the perfect contrast to his suntanned skin. My eyes roam from his bare chest, where just a few short hours ago I was raking my fingernails all the way from there down to…
“Are you objectifying my body from the hallway?” Rocco groggily asks startling me. His breakfast almost falls from my hands. He starts chuckling because he knows I’m embarrassed I was caught ogling over him.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I say walking over to place the tray on the nightstand. He reaches up to grab my arm and pulls me into bed with him.
“What wasn’t very nice was waking up without my beautiful wife next to me on the first morning we are home from our amazing honeymoon,” he whispers climbing on top of me with that all too familiar look gleaming in his eyes again.
While I’m more than ready after the view I walked in on a few minutes ago, his breakfast is going to get cold. More importantly, I have to give him his birthday gift before I lose the nerve. “Oh no you don’t,” I say grudgingly pushing his naked body off of me. He falls onto the bed next to me on his side, so he can face me. “I made you breakfast.”
He looks over at the tray, then back to me raising his eyebrows. “I could remake breakfast as soon as I help you with this little, um, problem you have here,” Rocco teases at my ear as he’s running his hand up the inside of my leg. “Mrs. Matthews, I love when you wear only my t-shirts to bed.”
“Mr. Matthews,” I squeeze my eyes closed and try desperately to focus on the plan I’ve been so excited about for the last few days. “If you don’t eat the breakfast your wife lovingly made for you, she might never let you touch her again.”
“I’m suddenly very hungry,” he announces sitting back against the headboard. I giggle when I lay the tray across his lap and snuggle up against his side. “I’m not sharing one bite with you,” he mumbles picking up a piece of bacon.
“Maybe I should have given you your present first. Then you wouldn’t be so grouchy,” I say pulling away from him.
Rocco stops chewing and turns to me. “You already gave me my present on my birthday last Sunday.”
“Well, since tonight is your birthday party with our friends, I have another one for you,” I justify biting my bottom lip.
“Why are you nervous?” he asks.
“I’m not nervous,” I tell him.
“Yes you are. You’re biting your lip. You only do that when you’re nervous.” Well isn’t he just so damn observant this early in the morning?
“Finish your breakfast, Rocco,” I advise consciously trying to keep my lips closed, so I’m not tempted to do it again.
“That’s it. I’m done,” he says putting his unfinished breakfast on the floor next to his side of the bed.
“Was it that bad?” I ask suddenly regretting cooking anything at all.
Rocco slides one arm around my lower back and the other under my legs. He pulls me onto his lap. “Not at all,” he speaks softly running his fingertips along my cheek. “I don’t like that something is bothering you. I want it fixed. Now.” He’s obviously worried and that is not what this morning was supposed to be about. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” I say shaking my head. I unravel myself from his grasp and run out to the hallway where I left his gift. When I return to our bed, my husband is holding his arms out to me with a small smile. I fall into them and lay my head on his chest. This is my favorite spot to be. “Maybe I am a little nervous. I’m afraid you aren’t going to want, I mean like your present.”
“Alyssa, you don’t really think that, do you?” His grip gets tighter around me as he rests the side of his face on the top of my head. Relaxation falls over my entire body every time he holds me this way.
I feel myself take a deep breath and slowly release it as my hand holds out the small rectangular box. It’s the same box he gave me before the first charity dinner I went to with him a little over a year ago. “I hope you love it. I cannot return it or exchange it.” I can barely get the words out.
He leans over to kiss me as he takes the gift out of my hand easing my anxiety over the exchange. Once it is out of my hand, I pull my legs up and wrap my arms around them as he prepares to open the box. “I already love it,” he says.
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping for.”
Rocco takes the bow off the package and puts it on my head. “That’s so I can unwrap you as soon as I’m finished here,” he says. I roll my eyes at him taking the damn thing off my head. He laughs at me.
“Just open it already,” I tell him.
Rocco takes his time pulling the paper off. When he sees the box, he turns to me. “You’re giving me the necklace back for my birthday?”
My hand instinctively goes to my neck revealing that I’m still wearing it. “No, Jackass. I just used the box.” He smirks at me. He’s driving me insane on purpose. Slowly, he opens the box and sees what’s inside. The smirk has disappeared. I’m not sure how to read his reaction as he just stares at what’s there. “Rocco, say something,” I start to panic when he takes too long to respond.
Finally, he looks up at me and I see his eyes are filled with tears causing mine to do the same. When he blinks, they spill over and roll down both of his cheeks. “This is for real?” he asks. My emotions are all over the place right now hindering any words from leaving my mouth, so I just nod my head confirming what he’s asking. “I thought when you said ‘I do’ that nothing would ever make me any happier than I was in that moment, but this,” he shakes his head. “Nothing compares to this.” Rocco reaches over and pulls me to him. He gives me the sweetest kiss I have ever gotten. Sweeter than I have seen in any movie. My entire body melts as he lays me back onto the pillows behind me. Then he lays his hand over my belly and whispers, “Sunshine, I promise to be the greatest dad ever to our baby. I will never let either one of you down. I love you with all my heart.”
I reach up to him wiping away the rest of his tears. “Our baby is so lucky to have you for a dad. I love you, so much,” I tell him. Then I show him how lucky he is to have me for a wife.
Later that day, we are just about ready for our friends when the doorbell rings. The two of us look at the clock then at each other and start to laugh. “Leah,” we blurt out together. Of course, she’s right on time.
Rocco goes to open the door, but I stop him. “Remember, we aren’t telling the
m yet,” I remind him.
“Sunshine, I’ll try my best, but you know how I am when I get excited,” he says smiling. Something tells me, the whole world is going to know before the day is over.
He opens the door and our friends come flowing into our house. Leah pushes through them to get to me, “Lyss,” she says throwing her arms around me. I hug my best friend back. It’s taking everything I have not to spill our secret. Rocco knows it, too, because he’s smirking at me. I shake my head and he smiles even bigger. “I missed you! Don’t stay away that long ever again.”
“Missed you, too!” I chuckle at her. “It hasn’t been that long, Leah. It feels like you just left us.”
Paige pushes her out of the way to hug me, too. “Thank goodness you’re back. She’s been driving us crazy,” she tries to whisper. Julia and Erin nod in agreement.
“Shut it. All of you,” she tells them. “It’s been three weeks since we came back, Alyssa. Being on a tropical island for a month made you lose all track of time, I see,” she says winking at me. I could have been anywhere with Rocco and lost all track of time. “We have something for you,” she squeals. Tyler and Troy walk through the door at that exact moment. They carry over a large picture frame with a bow on the top of it. “Are you ready?” she asks me. I smile at her excitement. “Okay, guys, turn it around.”
When they do, I’m completely floored. “Leah, how did you get that?” I ask walking over to it. The day before we got married on the island, Rocco took me for a walk through the town. He bought me a balloon from a local vender along our route. I get balloons almost as much as I get flowers these days. We came to this brick underpass, which lead to an outdoor patio of a local restaurant. Once we were almost through it, Rocco stopped me and pulled me in for a kiss. Before letting me go, he told me he had a surprise for me then motioned for me to walk all the way through to where there were a few tables set up. When I did, my dad, Jill, his mom, Max, and our friends were all there. He flew them all in to see us get married. The picture is of the two of us in that moment right before we walked into see them. It’s absolutely beautiful!
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