18 Days ➳ Riley McDonough/ Before You Exit Fanfic

15.

a/n: i suggest listening to never seen anything "quite like you" by the script (on repeat) while reading this chapter. also, very important author's note at the end so make sure to read that.

March 16th // 8th day

R I L E Y

Today was the day.

The velvet box felt warm against the cold skin of my palm as I stood near the shoreline of the beach. The water was quite restless today, waves splashed against my ankles and, no matter how high I tried to roll them, my jeans were still getting soaked.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would propose to a girl at the age of twenty, but here I was, waiting for Connor to bring her to me so that I could finally make her mine for the rest of my life. For the rest of her life.

I didn't even have time to arrange things. There were no fairy lights strung around tiki poles, or a thousand bouquets of flowers, or even a picnic basket full of food. It was just me and the ring and, in a way, it was enough.

My gaze scanned the road, trying to see past the sun's glare. Sunsets in Florida really did seem different. It usually took longer than it should for the sun to sink below the horizon and disappear behind the navy blue of the ocean, and the orange and pink hues in the sky were so much more vibrant than I've ever seen them before in other parts of the world.
A long honk of a car horn broke me out of my thoughts and my jaw tightened as I saw Connor's black SUV parked a couple of meters away from where I stood. He had his signature pair of shades on and he gave me a small nod from his spot behind the wheel. Things were still the slightest bit tense between us ever since our little talk the other day, but he was still my brother and I was still his. He wouldn't let me do this all on my own.

Beside him in the passenger's seat sat Jade who had my red bandanna wrapped around her head to cover her eyes, serving as a blindfold. I could almost hear her pestering my brother with questions about what was going on from where I stood and I was just about to let out a chuckle, but when Connor helped her out of the car and I saw what she was wearing, my breath hitched in my throat and my chuckle nearly turned into tears as I noticed her wearing a long white dress.

It wasn't a wedding dress because not all white dresses were for weddings and not all wedding dresses were white, but the sight of her in the wispy white fabric was enough to make my eyes water and I had to turn away for a moment and wipe some tears away because I didn't want Connor to see me cry, but I failed and his smile was unshakeable as he saw me doubled over with emotion.

"I chose the dress," Connor mouthed to me and I couldn't help but crack a smile while continuing to wipe tears away. They were falling more furiously now and it didn't seem like they were going to stop falling any time soon.

"Can I take this off now?" Jade suddenly asked and I wiped my face one more time before I nodded to Connor, allowing him to remove the blindfold and he untied it with careful fingers, stuffing the cloth in his back pocket once he had finished undoing the knot. "So, what's all this about?"

I noticed Connor perk his eyebrows at me, high enough that I could see them hovering above the frames of his sunglasses, as he waited for me to respond to her question with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets like they always were.

A couple of strained noises escaped my mouth while I tried to search my brain for the right words to say, but it took longer than expected and Jade's expression mirrored Connor's; confused and not sure of what to do.

"Uh, you guys should walk for a bit. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful evening," Connor replied and I let out a grateful sigh before I sent him a smile and a nearly unnoticeable nod which he didn't hesitate to return. "I'll just go grab a bite somewhere and come back for you guys, yeah? Just call me." He raised his thumb and his pinky finger to imitate a calling motion, holding his hand next to his ear, then he jogged off, back to his car and away from us.