After his father's death, Jay starts forgetting which way is up.
Riley wants to be there for him, but is overwhelmed with her fears and the uncertainty of their future together.
Will their relationship be strong enough to overcome all the obstacles...
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Today was the day Riley was finally heading back to Chicago. After nervously gulping down some breakfast, she grabbed her suitcase and rolled it down the hall to the elevator - ready to leave the building she'd been calling home for a while now.
And now, approximately 4 hours later, she'd finally landed in the windy city. Riley walked out of the airport with her suitcase in hand, looking for the car that was supposed to be picking her up. She got in it, giving the driver the address of where she wanted to go. The drive was almost an hour long because of the traffic, the downside of booking a middle of the day flight, but Riley sat in the backseat silently waiting to get there.
Once the car stopped, Riley paid and thanked the driver before grabbing her suitcase and bag from the trunk. She rolled the suitcase all the way up to the building, dragging it to the elevator that brought her up to the floor she selected. The only noise she could hear was the sound of her suitcase rolling on the floor and her own heartbeat. Being back in the familiar building brought so many memories and Riley suddenly became nervous.
She stuck her key in the door, quickly unlocking it. The girl waited a few seconds, letting out a deep sigh before she pushed open the door. The apartment was plunged in silence, making her remember a very specific night from a year ago.
A YEAR EARLIER
"Riley, I don't know what's gotten into Voight, but I can talk to him. I understand your concerns and I know how hard you worked to get in the unit. You know I don't want to get in the way of that but we've been together for over a year and I'm not ready to give all that up - especially not because of Voight. And for your fears, you know that we can work on that Riley. I knew when we started going out that you were a work in progress," His lips curved into a smile as hers mirrored him, loving that he remembered her words. "And I want to work through them with you. I understand that you don't want to be the girlfriend in the waiting room, Riley, but that fear goes both ways and I really think we can figure it out. At least if we want to."
"Jay." The girl whispered again, "What's that?" She pointed to the box on the floor, tears still flowing from her eyes. She didn't want to believe it was what she thought. Riley was barely able to concentrate on his words - all she could see was the small velvet box that could very well change everything.
Jay got down on one knee, reaching out to grab the box. His fingers very slowly and carefully opened it as he showed it to her. He looked up into her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I want to marry you, Riley. I want to be with you and I want to build a future with you." He had prepared this whole speech to her, but after everything she just said - he found himself speechless.
With a lump in her throat, she forced her next words out. "You deserve someone who isn't scared to say yes to that question, Jay."
"I don't care if you're scared, Riley." Jay croaked out, a tear falling from his eye. "I care about your answer, everything else we can work out."
