Chapter Eight

The Proposal

Sam felt as though his entire body was breaking into thousands of pieces, starting with his heart, as he stared at Laura, motionless and pale, but still beautiful. He dropped to his knees a few feet from where she lay and buried his face in his hands, still trying to fight the knowledge that he was being forced to accept. Laura was dead, but it still seemed so impossible that his breaking heart couldn't seem to accept it.

"Laura," Sam mumbled, eyes filling with tears once again. This time, he didn't stop them from falling. "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I should have been there." He lifted his head, looking at the still body of the woman he had wanted to marry. He tried to imagine life without Laura, without seeing her smile everyday, without hearing her life whenever he told a joke just to make him feel like it was funny. He tried to imagine not being able to come home and find one of Laura's latest attempts at cooking burning in the kitchen with Laura preparing to pull out the fire extinguisher. Sam couldn't imagine not waking up on weekends to the sound of Laura singing from the shower, her beautiful voice rising over the sound of the water, with him listening, captivated, until she came out and he pretended to be asleep because he knew that having someone listen to her sing embarrassed Laura.

Sam knew that he couldn't even begin to comprehend what life was going to be like without his beautiful Laura. It seemed like some horrible dream, her being dead, a dream that he couldn't begin to understand. It seemed impossible and cruel, Laura being dead at only eighteen, not even two years after he had first seen her, an adorably shy transfer from Boston.

"I remember," Sam said out loud, as though he could somehow reach Laura wherever she was, somehow bring her back to him. "When you came into calculus class and the teacher introduced you and you wouldn't look anyone in the eye. You just stared at the floor and I couldn't take my eyes off you. I thought you were so beautiful." He wiped several tears off his cheeks, still watching Laura, praying for any sort of reaction, any sign that she wasn't dead. But she was still pale and motionless, something that tore into his heart even farther.

Sam took a deep breath and sighed, burying his face in his hands once more, her palms becoming wet with tears and blood. He closed his eyes, remembering that day with perfectly clarity, because that was one of the most important days in his life, it was the day that would led to every other day, including this one.

"And after class," Sam continued, forcing the words out of his mouth, though he found himself unable to stop talking. "I was going to try and talk to you, but you made me so nervous that I couldn't come up with anything to say. So I was standing outside calculus, waiting for you to get done talking to the teacher, practicing what I was going to say to you. Nothing seemed right, everything sounded so stupid." He could see himself, standing outside the classroom, pacing around and talking to himself. "I guess I must have been talking out loud because you came out of the class and said-"

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Laura's voice, hoarse and low, was such a surprise that Sam jumped, his head snapping up instantly, sending flashes of pain through his body.

Sam managed to ignore the pounding in his head as he turned in the direction he believed he had heard Laura's voice; was it possible that he had just imagined hearing her? Would his mind really be that cruel?

Laura was watching him through half-closed eyes, a wane smile on her lips, skin still chalky white, aside from her neck which was crimson with blood. She hadn't moved much, still resting uncomfortably among the rubble, but it was undeniable to Sam: she was alive.

Sam attempted to get to his feet, wincing and suddenly dizzy, deciding instead to crawl the few remaining feet over to where Laura lay, knocking aside the rubble and debris as it bumped and cut into his knees. As soon as he reached her, Sam pulled Laura into his arms, oblivious to pain that raced through his body, holding her against him was enough to make everything else disappear.

Laura wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her face into his chest, ignoring the pain as it filled her entire body, tears running freely down her cheeks. It seemed almost too good to be true, she and Sam together after everything that had happened, both bleeding and worse for wear but alive. After the floor had collapsed, she had thought that she was never going to see Sam again, that she was going to die without being able to tell him just how much she loved him. But he had found her again, and she was going to get a second chance.

Sam was kissing her, on her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, and Laura held onto him tightly, as though she was afraid that letting go would mean possibly losing him again. "I thought I had lost you." He said, holding her against him gently. "Don't ever do that to me again." Laura couldn't help but smile through her pain and tears. "I love you so much, Laura." It felt good to be able to say that to her.

"I love you too." She told him, her tears warm on her cheeks. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "I thought I was never going to see you again, Sam." The thought caused her to shiver and she pulled him against her once again.

Sam gently kissed the top of her head. "I would never leave you, baby, I promise." He said, his arms wrapped tightly around her. Laura was still shaking and he gently stroked her head, a gesture that she usually found comforting. However, when his fingers found the tender, broken and bleeding spot on the back of her neck, she cried out in pain and Sam instantly pulled away, shocked to see that his fingers were already damp with blood. "Jesus, Laura," he said, trying to get a better look at her injury. "Are you all right? What happened?"

Laura sniffed, laying her cheek against his shoulder, wishing that the pain in her head was just go away. "Elsa said one of the metal shelves in the store room landed on me." She answered when the pain had started to lessen, though not by much. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out again when Sam gently pushed aside her hair. "That hurts." She told him, unable to keep some of the harshness out of her voice. Sam let her hair fall back into place.

"That looks bad, Laura." Sam said, a sharp flash of pain reminding him of his own injuries. "We need to get out of here. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Laura tried to figure out where she wasn't hurt as she looked up at Sam, staring at the bloody gashes on the side of his face as though she hadn't really noticed them before. "What about you?" She questioned, her fingers gently brushing against his cheek.

Sam sighed which only increased the pain in his head, enjoying the way Laura's cold fingers felt against his skin. "It happened when I was still in my dad's office." He told her. "My mom says I have a concussion."

Laura's eyes went wide. "A concussion?" She repeated incredulously. "You should be in the hospital, Sam." She told him, brow knitting with concern for him, her own injuries momentarily forgotten.

"Look who's talking." Sam replied, even managing to smile slightly. "Did you expect me just to leave you here?" His voice was nothing but serious now.

Laura's eyes filled with tears once again and she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders once again. Sam held her just as tightly, never wanting to let go of her, unwilling to go through the heartbreak of possibly losing her again. "I love you, Sam." She whispered, rested her head on his shoulder once again.

"I love you too." Sam said, pulling away from her suddenly, causing Laura to give him a confused look. "That reminds me." He reached into his pocket. "This probably isn't the best time but..." he pulled out the velvet ring box and opened it. "Laura Chapman, will you marry me?" He didn't want to take the chance of not being able to get another opportunity to ask her.

Laura's eyes went wide and everything else about that moment, the pain, the surroundings, was forgotten. Without hesitation she answered, "Of course Sam." She had never thought that the love of her life would propose to her at eighteen in the middle of a building that was likely to collapse at any time, both of them suffering from head injuries, both of them never having been more in love then they were at that moment.

Sam smiled, looking slightly relieved as though he expected her to say no, and slipped the ring onto her finger. Laura kissed him again, looking down at her ring, which somehow managed to glisten in spite of the lack of light in the building. She smiled and looked back up at him. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful." Sam told her, kissing her again.

Laura laughed, an action that surprised her given the circumstances, and pulled away, swatting him on the shoulder. "You're so cheesy." She smiled.

Sam smiled back. "I've been told that girls love cheesy."