Thank You for Loving Me by Bon Jovi
"All I've got to give to you are these five words tonight: thank you for loving me, for being my eyes when I couldn't see; for parting my lips when I couldn't breathe. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving me."
~~~
It was a ring.
She finally got to see it a week after he bought it, when he knelt and proposed in the park. He suggested they take a walk, and decided that when it started to pour down the rain, it was time. Though she had had sneaking suspicions of the small bag's true contents, she'd have never guessed it was a ring. It was a thin, white gold band with three dazzling diamonds circled around a pale blue topaz, her birthstone, perched on top.
He had taken a guess at her ring size, and they had a good laugh when it turned out to be too small. So she wore it, every day, on a chain locked around her neck.
She'd taken his face in her hands and stood on her toes to kiss him long and hard, knowing he would understand that that had meant "yes."
~~~
The wedding was small and simple, held in an obscure, beautiful, old rose garden. Police officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder just outside to keep out the ever-persistent snooping paparazzi.
She even invited her mom, who cried after seeing her in the elegant white dress Lana helped her pick out. She hadn't said a word about how she thought James would be a dangerous partner, even though she wanted to. She knew she couldn't keep her daughter in a cage anymore, she knew she couldn't fear for her any longer. She had learned to trust her decisions, and James's as well.
Lana was there, of course, and so were James's friends, Seth, Jonah, and Paul, amongst other friends of his. Allison's band also attended.
As the priest pronounced the two husband and wife, the few attendees stood and cheered rather loudly as they kissed. They both agreed that you would never forget what they'd been through.
Together, she thought they could get through anything.
~~~
Eventually, Allison's lung cancer got the best of her.
Chemotherapy could only reduce the cancer's size only for so long before it got worse and uncontrollable.
Her ten-year fight against it ended on a warm Tuesday evening in June. James sat, crying, by her side, holding her hand, which was frail from chemotherapy and malnourishment. They both knew it was the end, so, with one hand barely grasping the ring on her necklace, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"One last thing."
"Anything for you." His shaking hands tightened their grip on her hands ever so slightly as he wiped his tear-streaked face on his sleeve.
"Thank you for loving me."
"Forever and ever, Allie."
And that was the end.
He held two funerals, one for family and friends, one for fans. He played her most popular songs (by that time, she had released three albums in all) in a separate room of the funeral home, and tried his best to keep his composure under control.
He keeps her original cover for The Edge, still in its case, still with the scratched CD that holds all of her first demo recordings.
He keeps Gatsby, who also seemed to notice that something wasn't right the night James came home alone.
He keeps Dave in his life, finally able to see past his brother's mistakes and ready to let go of his own.
He keeps a picture of the girl with wild, ambitious green eyes and light, curly blonde hair he fell in love with eleven years ago, when she spilled coffee all over his shoes, on his bedside table.
Every year on their wedding anniversary, he places a single vase of white bluets, Allison's favorite flowers, on her grave. Sometimes he talks to her, sometimes he just looks to the sky and smiles, knowing she's somewhere up there.
He always says, "Forever and ever, Allie."
~~~
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A/N: Readers,
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this short story/fanfiction. It's been such a joy writing it, and I'm so glad I had enough words to tell you this story.
I love you all for your feedback, for getting excited with me, for interacting with me, and for reading this. You guys have become such a big part of my life, and it's such an unexplainable feeling I get when there are notifications on this story.
I want to thank you, as of February 19, 2018, for 12.3k reads. I want to thank you for getting involved with this story and with me. I want to thank you for sticking around while editing took place, as it changed formats and characters changed names. I want to thank you for everything you've done. It does not go unseen.
Forever and ever,
Ashley
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THE EDGE ➶ JAMES FRANCO✔️
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