Until Autumn

A grin pulls at Thorne’s lips and my heart instantly swells with love. He looks over my shoulder to the bag that sits on the small counter. “Are those my clothes?” he asks.

I look back and nod. “Yeah, they had to cut them off you because they were drenched in blood.”

“Can you get them?”

My brows furrow as my lips pull up in disgust. “Really?” I grumble, not exactly wanting to fiddle around in a bag of bloodied clothes. “Why?”

“Just do it,” he grumbles, shaking his head.

I groan and get up and as I walk toward the counter, Thorne’s voice fills the room. “I realized something today,” he tells me. “As I was lying on the floor, trying not to pass out and thinking that might have been the last time I ever saw you, I realized that I can’t do this without you. I love every single part of you and I never want to be without you.”

“I know,” I whisper, grabbing the bag and untying the handles as I walk back toward him. “Is it insane to feel like this when we’ve only been together for three months? When I looked up and saw that you’d passed out, my whole world crumbled and I thought you were gone. These past four hours have been the worst hours of my life. I can’t … I don’t want to let you go.”

“Never,” he whispers, taking the bag from me. “The next bastard who tries to end me better come with a two for one special because I don’t intend to ever live without you. If I’m passing on to whatever exists after this, I want you there with me.”

I nod and can’t help the twisted grin that spreads across my face. “I mean, that’s kind of morbid, but I get what you’re trying to say.”

Thorne rolls his eyes, letting out an irritated huff but can’t help but grin right back at me. “Would you shut up and let me say what I have to say?”

“Fine,” I grumble. “But hurry up. I haven’t had a chance to kiss you yet, and the longer you make me wait, the worse it’s going to be for you.”

The bag of destroyed clothes is tossed aside and not a second later, Thorne’s eyes are back on mine. “Before you asked if it was insane to feel like this after just three months, and yeah, I think maybe it is, but how insane would it make me to have known the very first day I met you that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life?”

“Now that’s really insane,” I tell him as he takes my hand and gives it a warm, loving squeeze.

“Then I’m insane,” he tells me. “Because that’s exactly what happened. The second you stepped out of that elevator, every little piece of me finally made sense. I felt lost before you came storming into my life, but with you here, I feel as though anything is possible, my life finally is filled with clarity, and love. You’re my whole world, Autumn, and today, when my life was slowly slipping away, I promised myself that I was done waiting.”

My brows furrow as I search his eyes. “Done waiting for what?”

“Waiting to make you mine,” he tells me, bringing up his other hand to reveal the most stunning diamond ring that I’ve ever seen. I suck in a gasp, staring down at him in shock. There were plenty of things I thought he was going to say or do, but this certainly wasn’t it. Though, I knew it was coming. How could I not? We’re so perfect together, but I’d assumed a few more months before he finally got sick of waiting, and even then, that’s very soon in a relationship.

“I want to marry you, Autumn,” he tells me, his voice unwavering and determined, though still filled with the telltale signs of just waking from surgery. “I want to watch you walk down the aisle, and I want to vow my everlasting love to you. I want a home. I want a family. I want a whole damn future, and I want it all with you. So, I don’t care if it’s insane. Maybe it’s too soon, but I can’t wait a second longer. I need to know that you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives because, without you, it’s just not worth it.”

Tears fill my eyes as I look down at him pouring out his heart. “Are you sure?” I ask, wondering just how much he’s thought this through. Is he just asking because he suffered a near-death experience and is desperately trying to cling to everything pure in his life?

“Yes,” he tells me, a smile splitting across his face. “I’ve never been so sure. I’ve been walking around with this ring in my pocket for two months now, just waiting for the right time to finally ask you, and now that I have … fuck. It feels good.”