Engaged

Chapter 16: Swirls

His eyes softened once he saw mine. "Tay, I've been in love with you since we were kids. When you pulled be back from that fire, and I cried all over you. And I mean all over you, other than praying that more people would walk out of that building like a bunch of superheroes, all I could think was, 'I'm going to marry her because she's perfect'. We were kids then! And I never let that go.

"And the older we got, the more perfect you became. I didn't just beat up your asshole boyfriends. I also beat up the sweet ones behind your back because I didn't want those stupid boys to even imagine having a forever with my future wife." I laughed a little. 

"And when we started dating, all I could think was, 'she's finally mine'. I never said anything because you were so obsessed with us being paired. If I thought there was a chance we wouldn't be paired, I'd have proposed a long time ago. Because I already know, there's no one in the world I'll ever love more than you."

My breath escaped me in one fell swoop. "Eli," I forced out. I can't believe my voice cracked so much with just two syllables. My tears just dropped once again, and I didn't even attempt at anymore words. I was choked up enough. I could tell trying to control myself is a futile effort.

"Fuck what the Elders say Tayla," he told me, voice cracking too. Oh baby. Our bond untwisted itself a little once more. "I'm going to the courthouses and ending this sham of an engagement tomorrow. I'll be the first in history to reject my fated, but no will can keep me from you. I won't allow it." 

I lightly shook my head, but I was agreeing with him. We can do this.

I must have lost my mind.

"We can move out of Applonia and go where ever in the world you want. His eyes watered just a little bit and my chest clenched. He doesn't have to cry. I don't want him to cry. I'm already crying enough for the both of us. He hadn't cried since the day of the explosion. Not even when he messed up his arm. 

But his face just shows him suffering more than anyone's suffered in their lifetimes. I just wondered if this was all because I was planning on leaving. What am I to do? Stay?

The look he sent me hurt me even more. Our bond twisted painfully and I screamed and jumped in his arms as if us being closer would stop the twisting, but all it did was cancel the visual. It wasn't me who made that happen was it? It twisted again.

"Stop Eli!" I croaked, squeezing him, only for him to squeeze me back.

I won't leave. I won't leave. I won't leave you.

I tried to send to him, but once again, he blocked me out.

We both screamed in pain before his warmth took over my conscience. 

"Tayla, I need to get this out," he said, seating me down, once the pain subsided a little. 

He crouched down and kneeled in front of me, grabbing my hands and kissing my knuckles. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small powder pink, velvet box.

My heart stopped. Then started beating overtime. 

He opened the box and there stood a rose gold band. A rose gold band with the one large diamond, front and center, with two sightly smaller diamonds on either side of it. Those were surrounded by much smaller diamonds, that went around the entire ring. 

That's a lot of diamonds.

That must have been expensive. Just how much exactly does he make? I knew it was a lot but... That much?

"Do you know that I was planning on giving this to you when I gave you Teddy?" he said behind my ringing ears. He threw me a sheepish face. "I kind of chickened out."