don't leave me this way

e p i l o g u e

- 1 year later -

Lisa ran through the apartment that was streaming with sunlight. She held a graceful smile on her face as her hair bounced behind her. The pale walls flew past her when she finally stopped in the lounge, spinning around with her arms spread out. This was the place, this was where she wanted them to settle down, to get married and start a family. The pair had been renting out a smaller apartment in the suburbs of Anaheim for the past eleven months and were ready to get a place to call their own, to call home.
She turns back to the door and sees Riff stood looking at her with love and happiness in his eyes. He walks towards her and she smiles as he holds her face and presses a kiss to her lips before he pulls back. He then grabs her waist and picks her up, spinning her around making her laugh loudly before he pulls her into him.
She wraps her legs around his waist as his fall behind her back to make sure she doesn't fall.
"Is this it then?" He asks her, his New York accent still shining through despite the change in their setting.
"I want this to be our home, I want this to be the place where you carry me over the threshold, where we take home our children, where we grow old together" she tells him and he nods as he puts her back down.
"Who knew you were such a sap behind all the protectiveness" he laughs and she shakes her head.
"What about yourself, running away with me to start a life and a family, what happened to mr will never grow up?"
"He found someone to grow up with"
She leans up and they place their foreheads against each other's as they breathe in the silence, happiness overflowing inside of them at the thought of finally getting the life they always dreamed of.
"So is the place?" A voice sounds and they turn to see the real estate agent looking at them with a wide smile on her face.
The pair look to see each other once more before they nod and she hands over the papers for them to sign.
Lisa takes pen to paper and signs her name on them, heart swelling.
Once done, Riff places a kiss on her cheek before she hands the papers back over and shakes the agents hand who gives her the key before leaving them to admire their new place.
She turns to her boyfriend with a giddy gleam on her face and he picks her up, spinning her around once more as she lets out a happy squeal.
"Well that's one step done" he tells her as he places her down on the ground.
"Ah yes, only two more until we've completed our master plan" she teases and he rolls his eyes.
"You know what I mean Lis" he nods and she nods back, understanding his statement.
"I still can't believe we're here"
"We've been here a year what are you talking about" he laughs at her and she scowls at him playfully.
"You know what I mean Riff, me and you, happy, together"
"We were always happy"
"But not together"
"Well now it's just us, only us, forever" he smirks before sliding away and onto his knee in front of her.
She scrunches up her nose as her smile overtakes her face. He beams up at her before reaching for her hands which she practically throws at him anyway. This makes them both laugh as she struggles to contain her excitement.
"I haven't said nothing yet" he laughs out.
"I know so hurry up!"
"Lisa, my beautiful, angelic Lisa, a year ago I almost lost you, and my life, but I still saw you as the worst loss" he starts and she laughs lightly.
"And I realised at that moment when you kissed me in your doorway that I needed to live my life and I know it's not worth living if I don't have you by my side for the rest of my days, so what do you say Lis, do you wanna marry me? Spend your life with a poor retired jet who's in love with the most beautiful girl he's ever laid eyes on" he asks, his eyes filling with tears like the day they did she almost lost him.
She has already had tears spilling down her cheeks since he started speaking. She stares at him for a few blissful seconds making his heartbeat in anticipation.
"I wouldn't want to spend my life any other way, yes, yes, yes" she cries out and he smiles brightly, standing up to bring her into a hug.
She clings onto him and closes her eyes tightly, wanting to remember this forever. The feeling of his hands resting on her waist, partly on her skin where her shirt has risen up, the feeling of his hairs grazing her fingers, the way he smells of smoke and the nice cologne he got a sample of from the mall earlier. She could feel his hand tangling itself in her curls and the way her feet slightly ached from putting all her weight on her toes, the way that the sun was shining on her face through the window, painting the room in a golden hue.
She pulls back after a second and he drags her back in for a kiss which they both smile into, relishing in the feeling of being in the others arms. She was amazed at how their whole life had turned around, how they had gone from sitting in a salt shed, fearing the worst to now being stood in their new home, knowing they were safe and about to start the rest of their life together.
"I don't think anyone has loved anyone more than how much I love you" she whispers to him and he shakes his head.
"That's where you're wrong"
"How so?"
"Because I love you more than you could possibly love me" he smirks looking into her eyes and suddenly she is transported to a time long since passed.
She sees the younger version of him stood in her bedroom after crawling in her window for the first time. The way his hair was ruffled all over the place and how he was panting after climbing up the fire escape. His lips parted slightly as his eyebrows furrowed looking at the brunette who told him he was probably in the wrong place.
He had apologised and tried to leave the room quickly but she rushed forward and grabbed a hold of his hand making him spin to her.
"Stay" she had whispered and something deep down inside him told him he should.
He would always want to stay with her and now stood in their home, he was so glad he had.

———

A/N: and that's it lovelies!! thank you so much for reading, I cannot thank you enough for the support, I will be releasing another book soon so be sure to look out for that <3