Maya starts tapping her fingers on the table top, using her other hand to nervously twirl her coffee cup around. "Come on Huckleberry, where are you?" She whispers to herself. The same waiter comes around (for the 5th time) and asks if she would like for him to bring her the check.
She sighs, dropping her head,"Yeah, might as well. I guess he's not coming."
The man puts his hand on her shoulder, and when she looks up, he smiles. "He must be a real idiot to stand up a girl like you." She returns the smile, but quickly turns away, and he leaves to get the check. There's a number written on the bottom of the receipt, but Maya just rolls her eyes and crumples it up, throwing into the waste basket.
Maya stands outside the restaurant, leaning against the wall. She checks her phone 3 times to make sure that there's no missed calls or texts saying that he got held up at work, but there's nothing. Tears threaten to spill over, but she tilts her head back, then makes her way into the coolness of the evening and gets into her Camaro. As she drives home, she checks her phone every stoplight, just to be sure. Looking back, she wishes she had just called him, or texted, or something. As she pulls up to the house, the lights are still off, and his big truck isn't in the garage. Her stomach in a million knots, she stumbles to the neighbor's house and asks them if they've seen him or heard anything. The middle aged couple tells her, no they haven't seen Lucas. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"
Maya gulps and nods, "Way wrong." They invite her in for some tea, and she accepts.
She sits and has pleasant conversation, but she can't stop looking out the window, waiting for the big black truck to pull up and for her stupid fiancé to get out with a damn good explanation and an amazing apology in hand. But it doesn't happen. What does happen, is that Maya's phone starts ringing. She nearly jumps out of her skin, and Mrs. Roberts puts a hand on her arm.
The numbers unknown, and Lucas always tells her not to answer those, but for some reason she does, "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Maya Hart?"
Maya narrows her eyes, "Yes? Who's this?"
"This is the ER. Lucas Friar has just been admitted, he was in a car accident. Is it possible for you to get here soon?" The air in the room is suddenly gone, and the walls are closing in and the only thing she can hear is the blood in her ears and she's struggling to hold onto her phone because her hands are sweating.
"Ms. Hart? Are you there?" Maya gasps, and chokes out a yes, and then hangs up. She can vaguely hear Mrs. Roberts asking if she's okay, but she can't reply and she runs out, clambers into the car, and peels out.
The hospital is on the other side of town, and Maya is alone with her racing mind for 30 minutes. At a stop sign, she looks down at her trembling hands, and sees the rings on her finger. She smiles, thinking of that night. She and Lucas were celebrating both their 6 year anniversary, and him getting into Veterinary school. He had taken her out for an amazing candlelit dinner, then to the museum, and finally ice skating. While they had been skating around, the announcer said that they would be playing the love songs, and for everyone to couple up. Lucas had grabbed her close, looking at her like she was the sun and he had been in the dark up until now.
She had blushed, turning her head, "Quit looking at me like that."
He smirked and kissed her cheek, "I will always look at you like this. I'm never gonna stop." She rolled her eyes and slapped his chest, but she was grinning ear to ear as she called him a cheesy dork.
Then Lucas had gotten serious, "Babe? What's wrong?"
He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes, "Maya, we've been together since our freshman year of high school, and if you think about it, we were already in love in 7th grade. You have been there for me through everything, you were the only one who supported me when my secret came out, you understood my relationship with my dad, you held my hand when I was nervous about my valedictorian speech, both in middle school and high school, you have always supported my dream of being a vet, and you have been so patient with me. I have yelled and screamed at you, and almost hit you, but you stayed. Anyone else would've left, but you stayed."
Suddenly, he dropped her hands. "Lucas?" And then he dropped to one knee. "Lucas?!"
He smiled, taking her hand in his again, and pulling out a small black box, opening it with his fingers. "Maya Penelope Hart, would you do the favor of forever being my best friend, my other half, my shotgun till I die, and my wife?"
He had barely gotten the word wife out before she had jumped on him, kissing him until neither of them could breathe, "I was wondering when you would finally ask, Huckleberry."
Her mind is on autopilot, and she almost misses the turn off to the hospital. She pulls right up to the door, not caring that her car may get towed for parking there, and practically runs to the front desk, ignoring the looks from the others. To hell with them, her own life was on the line. The receptionist was on the phone, but when Maya slammed her palms on the counter, she quickly hung up, muttering an "I love you" to the person on the other side. A slightly annoyed look on her face, she finally addressed the blonde. "How may I help you, ma'am?"
Maya huffed, running her fingers through her hair, "My fiancé, Lucas Friar, is here. He got in a car accident? I got the call about 20ish minutes ago."
The woman nodded, before shuffling through some papers on her desk, then handing Maya a clipboard with a stack of papers and a pen, "You'll need to fill these out first, they're the insurance info and such."
Maya knew she was looking at the woman like she was an absolute idiot, but she couldn't bring herself to have social manners at the moment. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
The receptionist looked taken back, putting her hand over her chest, "Ma'am-", but Maya wasn't having any of it. "I can fill this bullshit out later, right now I WANT TO SEE MY FIANCE!" She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and it took everything in her not to flip off each and every single one of them. She knew it was useless to be so angry, it wouldn't help Lucas, but she couldn't help it.
The woman slowly nodded again, not removing her eyes from Maya as she picked back up the phone, calling someone and quietly talking into the phone. A minute later she hung up, looking up at Maya, "The Doctor will come to get you soon, if you can wait."
As soon as Maya walked away, a young man walked through the door, looking around the room,"Ms. Maya Hart?" When Maya looked at him, he softly smiled, "Can you come with me?"
She follows the man down the hall, watching his bald head more than she listens. He doesn't look much older than her or Lucas. She winces at his name, even thinking it stings her eyes and brings a burning feeling into her throat. "Ms. Hart?" She hadn't even realized the man had been trying to communicate with her, but now she looks into his very concerned eyes, and almost loses it. "Did you have any questions?"
"What happened to him?" The doctor sadly smiles, and she suddenly gets the feeling that he's already explained this to her.
"A truck driver lost control of the truck, drove over the median. Mr. Friar was in the exact spot the truck rolled onto. He has a big truck, but not even it could protect him ma'am." Her hearts suddenly pounding in her chest all over again, sweat falling down her face and she has to keep wiping her hands on her pants to calm down.
Despite her better judgement, she asks the question that's been pressing on her mind since she got the phone call. "Is he going to be okay?" She regrets it immediately, because the man stills, his entire body tensing, and he only slightly looks over his shoulder at her.
"I'm sorry, Maya." It's all the answer she needs.
After what seems like forever, but still too soon for her to be prepared, they arrive at his room. The doctor steps aside to allow her to go first, and she almost crumples the second her eyes land on Lucas. Her once strong, invincible, gorgeous Huckleberry, is now nearly unrecognizable. There's a bandage around his head, one side of his face is road burned, his entire lower body is in a strange cast, there's another bandage around his bare ribcage, and from where she's standing, all she can see is the bright, angry scars that cover his entire body. She can feel herself start to crumble, and quickly takes a deep, steadying breath, trying to contort her face into something peaceful and loving as she approaches her fiancé. There's already a chair by the bed, and she pulls it as close to him as possible. As gingerly as she can, she grabs his hand and squeezes it, looking over it and his arm. This arm is relatively uninjured, but his other arm has a big scar running from his elbow to his wrist, and he's now missing his pinky finger. She has to gag back down the unwelcome vomit that's trying to escape.
He turns his eyes onto her, and smiles as best as he can,"Heyyy there, Pancake." She tries to smile back, and opens her mouth to say hi, to say she loves him, to say anything, but when she finally prys her lips open, the only thing that's escapes is a sob. His face instantly falls, and he prys his hand from her grip, running his now free fingers through her wild hair, mumbling shhs under his breath. When she gets herself under control, and brings her eyes back up to his.
He slightly laughs, and when she furrows her eyebrows at him, he shakes his head,"What a day, huh? That pregnant horse I helped birth today? The foal was dead. Then, I'm panicking because I'm already late to our date and I don't want you to be mad, but I'm hitting every. single. Red light. And now?" He gestures at himself,"I'm a wreck, literally." He shakes his head again, a humorless laugh escaping his lips,"What a day."
She smiles softly, grabbing his hand in hers again. "Hey, remember what we said we were gonna name our first son?" He raises an eyebrow, obviously confused. "Tim Cox. After that cowboy painter. Because ya know, you're a Ranger Rick, and I'm a painter. We thought it was cute." He starts chuckling, actual laughs, even though with each one he flinches, hand hovering over his ribs.
"Yeah, and I was going to drag you to a ranch in Tennessee, because you think it's prettier there than in Texas, and not as 'dusty'. We were gonna raise our kids there and then send them here for college." She smiles, and now the tears are free falling down her face, but she no longer has the strength to hold them back.
The laughter subsides, and then they're just sitting there, staring at each other. His pupils are dialated, and it's almost as if he's literally trying to drink in every single feature of her. Like he knows he'll never see her again.
An idea crosses her mind, and it brings a huge smile onto her face, causing him to furrow his eyebrows. "Whatcha thinkin' babe?" She just shakes her head at him, pushing the button to call in the nurse. Luckily enough for her, it's actually the doctor who pops in, and she crosses the room to whisper her idea into his ear. He immediately agrees, and says he knows the perfect people.
There's an older couple just down the hall, they're always in and out but very sweet, he gives her the room number and she heads down. A few minutes later she returns, and the chaplains already waiting outside for her. He's a big guy with an even bigger beard, but the smile he gives her when she walks up is as warm as a campfire. She explains her plan, and he fully supports it, and honestly looks excited. They enter the room together, where the doctor and a few nurses are already waiting.
Lucas, on the other hand, is very confused. She smiles and walks up to him, sitting back down in the chair, and hands him the ring that will go to her, showing him the one that he'll get. A surprised look appears on his face, and he looks up at her, tears in his bright green eyes.
"C'mere" he whispers, tugging her forward, softly pressing his lips against her own. She rests her forehead against his own for a second, remembering the way his eyes pierce into hers and his breath against her face and his warmth. She slowly pulls away, smiling at him, the nods to the chaplain. The older man says a couple verses, they say their vows, say their 'I dos', and when he says that Lucas may kiss Maya, the only thing they can taste is the salt of the tears falling down their faces. It's not what they had always imagined, but there's people laughing, and the elderly couple had arrived, and the rings are gorgeous (even though they can't keep them), and they're together.
He smiles over at her while they celebrate, and when she meets his eyes, he says,"I love you, so much. You are my world."
Maya had thought she was all out of tears, but more fall to the ground as she says," I want you forever, forever and always, through the good and the bad and the ugly. We'll grow old together, and always remember, whether happy or sad or whatever. We'll still love each other, forever and always."
He laughs, pulling her to him for another kiss, and all of sudden, like a bad movie, his monitor starts slowing. Her eyes widen as he leans back, and the nurses take the older couple back to their room. He's still smiling, even as the beeps get slower and slower and she herself can barely breath and he's leaving. He always promised he wouldn't but now he is and she can't breath, she can't breath, she can't breath.
The nurses move her away so they can get to him and she knows they're saying something but she can't hear them because his mouth is open, trying to speak. Maya jumps up, running back to the bedside, despite the nurses trying to move her, and lowers her ear to his lips. His voice is very quiet, but she can still make out what he's saying. "I love you forever, forever and always, please just remember even if I'm not there, I'll always love you, forever and always."