Sorry it's been so long since I've been able to update! It might be a little while before I can update again, but for now enjoy!
I'm interrupted by Alison yelling at me from down stairs. "Em! Hurry up! We're already late!"
"So...what do you say?" The voice on the phone says.
"I'll have to think about it. I can call you at anytime though, right?"
"Yeah, anything you need..feel free to call me!"
"Alright, thank you. Have a good day."
I hang up the phone and make my way down stairs.
"Ali, I was-"
Ali doesn't say anything when I get downstairs, she only grabs her purse and gets into the car. The ride is extremely quiet. I know that she's mad at me, but she might actually be more mad at me later. Her eyes never leave the road, and I can't figure out why she's so pissed. I try coming up with ideas, but I can't help but think of the worst. My hands start to get clammy and my head feels dizzy. My arms go numb, but I can feel the pain in my chest. She wouldn't leave me... She's been weird the past few days, but she wouldn't leave me...at least I hope. We arrive at the restaurant 20 minutes late. We walk in to find Hanna, and a few of Alison's friends already sitting at the table. Of course Hanna is the first one to say something.
"You guys really couldn't wait until you were done telling us something 'super important'?"
"We weren't doing that. Emily took over an hour to get ready." Alison says, her voice is stern and she gives me a glare.
"Really Em? What were you doing?" Hanna asks.
"Good question, since Ali wouldn't let me even explain why I took so long... I got another job offer. It pays a lot more than the other job."
"Oh that's great! Did you take it? When do you start?" Hanna frantically says.
"Oh, sorry for getting mad." Alison says and interlocks our hands.
"Well I didn't take it...well...yet. We have to talk about it." I say and look at Ali.
"What?! Why didn't you take it if it pays more?" Ali asks with a little anger in her voice.
"We'll talk about it later. Now, let's eat and discuss what we came here for."
"Alright, well big news friends...Emily and I are engaged!"
"What?! Congratulations!" They say in unison.
"Thank you." I say.
"Do you guys want to see the video?" Ali has watched the video over 100 times, I swear. The girls cry over the video and Alison is hysterically crying. Again. Before we finish up with dinner, they've watched the video a few more times. We're just about ready to leave when Hanna asks. Hanna and I go outside while the other girls go to the restroom.
"Well when are you getting married?"
"I don't know." I shrug my shoulders.
"What? You've had the ring picked out since Christmas, but can't pick a date?"
"No Hanna, Alison's picking the date. Well she already did but she wants me to find out when everyone else does. Which should be soon."
"Well I'm going to be invited right? I'm-"
"Han, your going to be in the damn wedding."
"Can I stand in the middle? So I can be apart of both of your bridesmaids group?"
"No."
"What the hell Em? Why not?!" My hands start going numb, and my heart beats faster. I don't even know why I'm nervous to ask Hanna.
"Because you're going to be my maid of honor."
"Really?! Em, you better not be kidding! Oh my god! Is Ali okay with this?"
"She has to be now. Unless you say no."
"I'd never decline a request like that!"
We hug and I get a warm feeling in my heart. It makes me unbelievably happy to know that I've got both of my girls back in my life. Hanna's always been my best friend, but we've gotten a lot closer. She said she's actually going to move back to start her own store in Rosewood. We always go too long without seeing each other. Hanna really is my only friend, but she's the only one I need. Ali and her friends come outside, they hug and we all go our separate ways. When Ali gets into the drivers seat she looks at me.
"You asked her, didn't you?"
"What?"
"You asked Hanna. To be your maid of honor."
"Mmm, yeah. Is that okay?"
"Yeah...because I was going to ask Spencer. The brunette that was here tonight."
"Okay good. I was worried about Hanna being split between us."
"I was actually going to force you ask her if you didn't."
She drives the rest of the way in silence. I think she's wondering about my job offer. I was offered to be the athletic director at the high school, but the pay is no-where near what the other job is. I don't force her to talk about it now, I don't want her to crash the car. Although the other job pays more, I'm leaning towards the athletic director. We pull up to the house, and she immediately grabs a glass of wine when we walk in the house. She sits at the kitchen island, and I sit across from her. My eyes are glued to her blue orbs, I could stare at them forever.
"What are you supposed to do for this new job?"
"Uh...they want me to talk to parents, community members, kids, future soldiers, teachers...like all those kind of people about my journey...what it's like, what to expect...those kind of things."
"And it pays more than the other job offer?"
"Yeah. Not that I need it anyway, but...it'd be nice to be able to spoil myself. Or you, I guess." I say with a wink.
"Well why didn't you take it then?! It sounds great."
"Because...I'd have to go away. Like I'd have to travel lots. They said it would be like being on tour. Except I wouldn't be gone that long."
"Well how long?"
"Minimum...1-2 months. Maximum...4-6 months."
"That's not bad! We've done more before!"
"I don't want things to be like before...I don't want to leave you."
"I'll be fine Emily! You should really take it! I'll be okay on my own for a few months."
"I know you'll be fine, it's just...uhh. I don't want to leave you. I don't, I can't. I don't want to leave you alone...not again. Not ever again."
"Emily, you're going to take that job. I'm not going to let you be unhappy because you won't leave my side."
"You don't understand though. You, are what makes me happy."
"I know. You're still taking that job, and I'm still going to be here, waiting for you to come home. We'll talk everyday, FaceTime everyday...don't worry. I'm always going to be here, waiting for you to get back."
–—–—–—–—–—
I'm getting packed and ready to leave for my first stop on my little tour. To start, I'll only be gone a month, but that still seems like a very long time. I'm flying out tomorrow, so Ali wants to go to dinner tonight. I take a break and get ready for our date night. I walk down stairs and Ali's in the kitchen, on the phone with someone. I don't really bother listening to her conversation because all I'm thinking about is how much I'm going to miss her over the next month. I stand by the fire place looking at everything on the mantle. There's a bunch of little trinkets, but no pictures. I think she's waiting to put up photos from our wedding or something. It's not like she hasn't taken millions of photos of us. I hear her start walking into the living room, and my hands go numb again.
"Are you ready to go?" She asks.
"Yeah. Let's go." The feeling starts coming back in my hands, and I don't really want to go to dinner. I'd rather stay in with her, but she wants to go out.
We finished eating, and started walking home hand in hand. Ali stopped and said, "So...our invitations got sent out."
"What invitations?" I say as I'm engrossed in my food and honestly don't really know what she's talking about.
"Our wedding! Did you forget?"
"What..no! It's just...I didn't think they'd be sent out already." My heart starts pounding.
"Em, we can't wait! It's soon, if we waited too long...people wouldn't show up."
"I didn't mean it like that, I thought you'd take longer that's all! Well...when are we getting hitched?"
"October 4th. Of this year."
"That's in less than 7 months! Are you sure? We can wait-"
"I don't want to wait. That date means something to me."
"O..okay. Wait...isn't that the day I woke up?"
"No...day before."
"Why-why would you want that day? I looked so broken...and basically dead." She lets a few tears roll down her face.
"Because...they didn't give you a chance. They said th-that...that it was time. It was time to let you go...I-I.." Her crying has become uncontrollable, and I hug her. I squeeze her tight so she can feel how much I love her. How much I care. How sorry I am.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm right here. They didn't give me a chance but you did."
"If that's not in your vows, I'm going to cry harder than I am right now. That shit was poetic."
"I can't tell you that! C'mon, let's go home. I have to pack still."
When we get home, I open the door for Ali and she runs upstairs. She's giggling the whole time she's running, she said she had surprise for me. I close the door behind me, and start walking towards the kitchen. I set the keys down on the counter and go to the fridge to grab a water. Something pokes me in the back. I expect it to be Alison but before I could turn around to look-click-...I know that sound anywhere. I know what this means..I know what this is. A gun is being pressed behind my back.