A Collection of Stories

Star-Crossed

Anastasia

We made it to Rome by the middle of the week, stopping in Ireland for a safe place to sleep. Grandpa found us a house to stay in; somewhere Victoria could never get to us. We spent every waking moment together since we arrived. We’re in total bliss.

~

I lay in our bed, curled into the sheets. Vincent had told me to stay in bed all day; he said he was making a surprise for me. I ran my hands through my hair, trying not to think about what he’s doing, or the nightmares. Every moment I wasn’t with Vincent, I was having the same nightmare over and over again; my death, my horrible death.

I had fallen asleep when Vincent came back in. He crawled in next to me and pulled me against his chest, slipping under the covers with me. He ran his fingers through my hair, moving his lips across my face. I smiled faintly and snuggled into him, nuzzling his neck.

This is the boy I love, the boy who loves me.

He held me close, running his hands under my shirt. I shivered and looked up at him, pulling his chin down and kissed him. He kissed me back, rolling me onto my back. I smiled and pulled him closer, running my hands down his chest. He smiled and pulled back slightly, watching me.

“Merry Christmas, Ana,” He whispered, kissing my forehead. I stilled for a second.

Shit, Christmas.

His gift wasn’t even wrapped yet. I nuzzled his neck and closed my eyes. How could I lose track of time like that? He ran his hands though my hair, chuckling softly. “Ana, look at me please?” He whispered.

I shook my head, pressing closer to him. He tipped my chin up, kissing me softly. I squeezed my eyes shut as I kissed him back. He sighed and stroked my cheek. “Anastasia, please look at me? I wanna give you your gift.” He whispered.

I opened my eyes slowly and looked at him. He leaned in and kissed my forehead before sitting up. He grabbed something out of the bedside table, keeping his back to me the entire time. Vincent finally turned to me, a neatly wrapped box in his hands. I swallowed and looked at him, my hands shaking so much I pressed them into my lap. The box was small, but big enough to fit a pair of earing or a ring in it.

Was he going to propose?

My hands started shaking more and I clasped them together, trying to make them stop. Vincent looked at me and took my hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing my knuckles softly. I curled my fingers around his hand as he dropped one of his to grab the box. He looked nervous now, unsure of what to say. He opened and closed his mouth several times, attempting to figure out what to say.

“Anastasia,” He started, looking at our hands for a moment before looking at me. My breath caught in my throat as I looked into his beautiful eyes. “Ana, I know we’ve been together for a little over a year now. And I’m not sure that I should be giving you this now.” He mumbled, tightening his hand around mine.

He took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “Ana, I love you. I’ve loved you for so long; I don’t remember when I first realized it. And it feels so right what I want to give you.” He looked at me as he pressed the box in my hands, waiting for me to open it.

I shakily opened the box and stilled when I saw the ring inside. It was just a band of silver with our initials carved in it. It was perfect. “You don’t have to think of it as an engagement ring, you could think of it as a promise ring if you really want to.” He said quietly.

I looked at him as I fingered the ring. “You want to propose?” I whispered, felling the butterflies come back.  He swallowed tightly and nodded, kneading my fingers absent mindedly.