All Of Me

Final Chapter (58)

Tripp's POV

I didn't know what to say. My heart was pounding, and her blue eyes were searching mine for something. "Brooke, I-" "Mama!" Luke cried down the hall and she sighed, "I'll be right back." She rushed down the hall and into Luke's room. He whined for a minute or two, and her soft voice traveled down the hall, soothing him, until the house was quiet once again, aside from the deafening sound of my own pounding heart in my ears.

"Sorry," She apologized with a shy smile and cheeks flushed as she walked to the sink, nervously filling the dishwasher with sippy cups and pacifiers.

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around at everything I had missed. Frames on the wall full of pictures. Paige and Brooke, the three of them together, Luke's first birthday, the day he was born. I had imagined myself in those same frames two years ago when she bought them and hung them on the wall of her first apartment.

Life had other plans for us then, and even though it wasn't fair back then, life was giving us another chance now.

And I had to take it.

"You're a great mother. I knew you would be." I managed to speak.

She laughed a little and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before closing the dishwasher and pressing 'start'. The dishwasher hummed and she turned around, leaning against the counter. "Thank you. Sometimes I feel like he can't stand me. He tantrums so much." She laughed. I laughed along, but the words stung. I wish I had been there all this time to help her. I wish he knew me as his father.

We made small talk. About her hair, my job, how Socks was keeping my mother company now, and it hit me somewhere between conversations about life and our son, that we were grown now. We're definitely not in Gracetown anymore, Toto.

"I still love you Brooke, and I love our son." I spoke quickly, and the words surprised her just as much as they surprised me. "Tripp," She looked down and began shaking her head. Now's the time, dude!

"Just hear me out, okay?" I paced backward, and then back to her, closer this time, removing my soft cap. "I hate that I missed this." I gestured around the living room, dining room, and kitchen, all connected to each other in the small apartment.

Brooke's POV

My heart stopped and I felt like I should pant just to get enough air. After a year and a half, here Tripp was. In my kitchen, gesturing around, telling me he hates that he's missed out on mine and Luke's life.

"I died the day you left, Brooke." He admitted and my heart ached. A little piece of me died then, too. Okay, a big piece. All of me.

But how could he possibly make up for all the lost time? "You've missed so much," I choked back sobs and suddenly, he was in front of me. "And I don't want to miss any more. I want to spend the rest of my life making up for lost time." He waited for my response, and when one didn't come, he captured my chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting my head back.

I knew what he was about to do, but I didn't want to stop it. I wanted him to kiss me. I needed it. I had needed it for a long year and a half. So, I braced myself for the title wave of emotions I was about to feel.

He leaned in close, and I closed my eyes, but the kiss didn't come. I opened my eyes after a few moments, and he was staring at me. "Do you remember what we said in that hospital room the last time I saw you?" I nodded, and smiled at the memory.

He sighed and looked around, rubbing the back of his neck, and I wondered what he was about to do, when suddenly, he was on his knee. I gasped, not expecting it, but somehow, deep down inside, I felt like life had been preparing us for this moment ever since I watched him walk out of the hospital room.

He took my hands in his, and gave me a nervous smile. "Brooke Greenburg, I love you. I've loved you more passionately, and more deeply in these past five years than anyone else could in the entirety of their life. And I will continue to, for the rest of my life, no matter what your answer is, but," He kissed my knuckles, and continued. My throat was tight, and my eyes burned with tears.

"Will you marry me?" The words didn't leave his mouth good before I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him with all my heart and soul. "Yes, I'll marry you. I'll marry you, Tripp." I said it over and over, to make sure the point got across. To make sure it wasn't a dream. To make sure he heard me.

And for the first time in a year and a half, all of the pieces of me were in the same house again. Luke, Tripp, Paige... All of me.

THE END.