Bad Things

|Epilogue|

A year later

"Where are we going?"

"You won't make any decisions on the wedding, so I decided to take things into my own hands.  I know I said we had forever, but I'm tired of waiting."

"Noah!"

"I'm sorry, I had to. Take a nap, it's going to be a long ride."

"I don't have a dress," I pout. He was right, I had been dragging my feet. But I never liked making decisions and this was a big one.

"Got it covered."

"You're not supposed to see the dress," I point out.

"Nick got it," Noah rolls his eyes at me.

"What about our friends?"

"Got that covered to."

"What about-?"

"Go to sleep, pretty girl, you're driving me crazy," Noah cuts me off. One hand on the steering wheel, the other clasped around my thigh.

"I can't sleep, I'm getting married," I retort, turning to him in my seat. Noah smiles at me, it's a patient smile. One that tells me he loves me even when I'm being too much.

I do fall asleep, eventually, because it's what I do. When I wake it's dark outside, it looks like Noah got us a little cabin. I still can't tell where we are as I rub my eyes.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"A while," he kisses my head absently and let's us into the cabin.

It's quaint and modern, the perfect size for the two of us. I ignore everything in the cabin and head straight for the balcony. It's dark, I can't see anything, but there's a bottle of champagne waiting for us. As if someone knew this would be the first place we would go.

Noah pops the cork and pours us each a glass. I watch him while I sip on the bubbly liquid. He wraps an arm around my waist, gripping me to him.

"I love you a little more every day," I tell him. Not because of this, though I do love him for this, but because he continues to show up for me.

"Some days I feel like I couldn't possibly love you any more than I already do," he bends down to kiss me, "but then I look at you."

Noah and I sip the champagne, pressed together, listening to water below. Truthfully it's a miracle we had a break in our schedules to do this. Bad Omens is going out on their first headliner next month. And a month after that I head out with Black Veil. No rest for the wicked and all that.

"Let's go to bed, busy day tomorrow," Noah says into my ear, where he plants a kiss.

There's a garment bag hanging in the bathroom. I want to take a peek, but I resist the urge and save the reveal for in the morning. I brush my teeth and slip my leggings off.

Noah is already waiting on me, lazily propped up on one arm. He leaves the other arm open so I can curl myself around him like a cat. His hair is fanned out around him and his eyes are sleepy while he grins at me like he's the luckiest guy on the planet. He opens the covers for me to slide in and I press myself against him. My ear is pressed to his chest so I can count his heartbeats. He's my comfort, my peace. He knows my darkest secrets and loves me anyway.

Noah slips his hand under my T-shirt and rubs soothing circles into my hip. He kisses my forehead and less than a minute later he's snoring softly. By this time tomorrow he would be my husband.

When I wake Noah is nowhere to be found. The bed is cold where he had been laying beside me and I take off in search of him. I don't see him but there's freshly brewed coffee in the pot and I take it onto the balcony.