Mr. B. Urie

25

Ariella's POV

Well. Jesus Christ! Sorry, but I'm very overwhelmed right now. I mean, Brendon just asked me to marry him. I'm screaming on the inside, and of course I want to say yes, but I also want to make sure my dad is okay with it. Especially after the last fiasco where I stopped talking to Brendon and he apparently almost married another woman (I'm a little fuzzy on the details still).

And let's talk about me being in a coma. So, apparently, it's been two weeks . . . When I was out, I had no concept of time. To me, it felt like minutes and years all at the same time. Not to mention how confusing it was! I could hear little snippets of what everyone was saying, and any time I heard Brendon, my heart soared. Sometimes he would ask me questions and I'd try to respond, but it was like my brain was detached from my body. Do you know how frustrating that is?

It's the most frustrating thing ever, and it's still sort of lingering. There are foggy patches in my memory of recent events and my speech is a bit slurred. I don't even want to think about what's going to happen if I try to walk . . . I'll probably need some physical therapy.

"Ariella, you're awake!" My dad smiles down at me as soon as he sees me.

"You know, it kind of just felt like a really long nap." I let out a breathy laugh and pat his cheek. He shakes his head and his smile falters.

"I thought I'd lost you," a stray tear falls from his eye and I wipe it away. "After your mother—"

"Dad, I'm okay. Don't worry, Brendon takes good care of me, you know." I look over my father's shoulder to where Brendon stands, grinning like an idiot.

"Speaking of Brendon, I think he has a question for you . . ." My dad smirks, pulling away and waving Brendon forwards.

"Ariella Garcia Alvos, I have taken this time we've recently reconnected in very seriously. You obviously don't hate me anymore, and I'm glad for that. Seeing you have a seizure, and basically die for a few moments before my eyes has taught me one thing: I am too scared to ever lose you. I don't know what I'd do without you, after all, you're the love of my life. That's why I have this very simple yes or no question for you . . . Again." Brendon drops down on one knee and pulls out a familiar-looking ring. I think I'm going to cry. The gold plated ring—encrusted with three small diamonds and one emerald stone as the centrepiece—belonged to my mother. "Will you marry me?"

I struggle to sit up in the hospital bed, after all, it's only been a few hours since I woke up. I'm sure that the doctors would tell me that it isn't wise to do what I'm doing, but I really want to stand up and kiss him. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!" I practically scream. Brendon looks like the happiest man alive, placing my mom's ring on my ring finger. Then he stands up and crushes me into a hug. I should be fragile after being in a coma for two weeks, but all I feel is ecstasy.

Then his lips meet mine, and it feels like it's been millennia since we've kissed. It feels incredibly wonderful, and I never want to miss it again. The world stops for us, and when we finally pull away, only because air is essential to living, we just stare at each other.

And then a doctor walks in. "Ariella! Great to see that you're awake," he smiles kindly, but also looks like he's about to throw everyone out of the room. It is a bit crowded, what with me, Brendon, my dad, Taya, Darren and Sarah all here. Now adding the doctor, that's seven people in a room that's really only big enough for four.

"Darren, Sarah, could you wait in the hallway? We'll catch you up after." Brendon must sense the doctor's claustrophobia too because he's the one to address them. Sarah nods and drags Darren behind her. He looks sad that he can't stay, but even without them, there's still not a lot of room.

"Alright, young lady, we can release you tomorrow, we just have to do a few tests to make sure you're still doing okay, and then you're all set. How are you feeling?" The doctor says, looking over his spectacles at me.

"I feel fantastic!" I beam up at him, sitting back down on the bed. My legs were starting to feel weak and I don't really want to fall over and worry everyone all over again. "And I'm recently engaged," I say, flashing him the ring and running a hand through Brendon's hair.

"Congratulations." He deadpans. I'm not sure what the reason for his lack of excitement is, but I'd rather not ask. "I'll be back in an hour to take you to the MRI, until then, I think you should take it easy. Too much excitement can be overwhelming when you first wake up from a coma."

"Alright, thanks doc." I lie down to assure him that I'm not going to run a mini-marathon in the hallway or something equally as stupid. He nods and walks out of the room promptly. As soon as he's gone I turn to my dad, "Hey, can you see if you can smuggle me a cheeseburger or something? I'm starving!"

"Sure thing, kiddo. Taya, do you wanna come with me?" Obviously, my dad gets the hint that I want to be alone with Brendon. I feel bad for sending Taya away too, but as soon as I get out of this place we'll have a girls night to make up for it. She glances at me, then nods and follows my dad without a word.

"Now that we're alone . . ." I smile up at Brendon and he raises his eyebrows, almost in question. I scooch over in the tiny hospital bed and pat the space beside me. He lays down beside me and strokes my hair gently.

"I love you," he whispers.

"We're getting married," I grin with giddiness. His lips meet mine again, and I don't think I'll ever get enough of his taste. The only thing that puts a damper on this is that we're still in a hospital, but I'll take being alive over never seeing Brendon ever again. What's another day to wait? We've been waiting for so long already.