Beating Heart

Epilogue

-2 months later- 

It's been 2 months since I found out Seth's horrible secret, the one that haunted me for two years. It's February & today is mine & Mark's 4 month anniversry. He's taking us to where the wild flowers are. 

I've had non-stop nightmares since Seth's secret came out. I haven't been able to get any sleep. It just keeps replaying in my head everytime I try to sleep. So, most nights, I end up staying up late while Mark's arm is thrown around my waist lazily while I read a book. & some nights, usually on weekends, Mark stays up late with me, to usually around 4 am, & we talk. We talk about everything, from the weather outside, to the stupidest things. One weekend, Mark's parents took Sawyer out for the weekend, & we stayed home from school Friday, & had a huge Godzilla marathon. I'm not really a fan of Godzilla, but it was really good. I liked it more than I thought I would. 

We also haven't done it since Seth's secret came out. We've came close a few times, but as soon as we're ready to do it, that night replays over & over. I know it kills Mark everyday, & I really want to please him, but that's how it still haunts me by replaying. 

Seth isn't in our lives at all anymore. He switched to home schooling, because apparently Savannah has a huge mouth, & told everyone what happened. People went from writing stuff on my locker to throwing stuff at him, telling him to take care of his son. Basically the same thing that happened to me, but in a guy way. 

He also hasn't seen Sawyer. But a few weeks after the secret came out, I got an anonymous letter in the mail with three thousand dollars in it. I knew it was from Seth, even though there was nothing but money in it. I haven't touched a penny of it though. It's in a branch bank account on mine just sitting there. I don't know if I'll ever be able to use it. I might give it to Sawyer for college one day, if he wants to go. 

Mark ended up getting into Taylor University like he wanted. The day his acceptance letter came in, it came in a box. There was a small piece of paper on top saying "Congrats Mark!" There was a hoodie, two t-shirts, & sweatpants in the box, along with all of the papers he needed to fill out & hand back in. I'm so proud of him, this is what he's always wanted, & I'm happy to say that I'll be right by him while he achieves his goals. 

We'll be moving to Upland, Indiana where it's located, & renting a small apartment  that's walking distance from the college. I'll be staying home, with Sawyer until he goes to pre-school in the afternoon. I know he'll get along with all of the kids in the school, he's just a bubbly personality.

"Remember our first date out here?" Mark turns in his pick-up truck towards me. 

"Like it was yesterday," I smile up at him. 

"When I brought you here, I kept thinking, I wonder if we're ever going to come back here? If we're going to last long enough," he slides his hand on my knee, but I catch his hand in mine, & our fingers wrap together. "But now, I'm thinking, one day I'll bring you back here & propose." 

I laugh, but when I see that he's serious, I stop laughing & smile. "When will that be?"  

He doesn't answer my question though, his phone rings, & he says, "Yeah, we'll be right there." 

"What happened?" I ask. 

"Mom & dad need help on the SUV real quick," he pulls the car out of the lane, looking for oncoming traffic before heading out. 

We pull into Lowes parking lot, a hardware store that is basically a man's heaven on earth. We find his parent's, & Mark tells me to stay in the truck. This is weird, I think to myself. His dad hands him something, & his mom says something to him, but I can't hear what they say. Mark returns to the truck, & we pull out, & start heading back to where we were before. 

"Did you fix what they needed fixing?" I ask. 

"No," he says. "Dad ended up getting it fixed just as we pulled in." 

I nod, & turn my head to the window. I'm not sure I believe him, but I'm going to go with it, to see what this is all about. We pull back into the lane where the flowers are, & he motions for me to get out of the truck. 

"What are we doing?" I ask. 

"I told you how one day, I was going to bring you back here & propose," he says getting on one knee. I start crying out of reflects cause I was not expecting this at all. Never in a million years. "Ally Jane Matthews, I have loved you since I laid eyes on you. You are my everything & more. Will you marry me?" 

"Yes Mark!" I scream with joy, & he stands back up on his feet & pulls me in for a kiss. I'm the one doing most of the kissing cause I'm so happy, but I don't care. I get to kiss him all day long, everyday if I want too. 

He tries to pull away several times, but I just keep kissing him. I don't want to stop. He pulls away one more time & says, "I have to put the ring on."

"Oh yeah," I say dumbly, because I didn't even realize he had the ring. It's small. It's a white gold ring, with a tiny diamond. I love it though. He slides it on slowly, keeping his eyes on me the entire time he's doing it. I lift my hand, & let it sink in that I'm now engaged to my boyfriend. Or should I say fiancé? 

"Now," he says, pulling my hips to his. "We can go back to making out." 

"I'd like that," I say as we start kissing, our hearts beating in perfect rhyme. 

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author's note: 

THE END!!! 

I really liked writing this story. I wanted to make it longer in a lot of chapters, but every idea I got, it just never went with what I was writing in that chapter. 

Oh whale.

Anways, I'm kind of thinking about writing another love story, but I don't know yet. Maybe, maybe not, I'm still deciding. 

I also want to recommend a book for you guys to read, it's called Take Me On, by Katie McGarry. It's really good, & if you like this story, you'll like that book. 

comment, vote, recommend, cry. I love you guys, & thank you all for being such faithful readers! Y'all's are the best!