wasn’t living at all. I’d been merely passing time, but she’s changed everything for the better. Now, there’s a reason to look toward the future and to be excited about it. Each day that I wake up with her in my arms fills me with hope we can enjoy a long, happy life together. I’m going to marry her and I don’t plan on waiting long to make it official.
I bring her to Mario’s, the same restaurant I took her on our first date. The sight of her sitting across from me makes my chest ache, I’m filled with happiness. I honestly don’t know if any man has ever loved another woman as much as I love Janny.
“Do you know how much I love you?” I ask, my question coming out of the blue.
She pauses with her fork midair, tips her head to the side and looks at me. “I think I do. Do you know how much I love you?” she asks, a smile hovering around the corners of her mouth.
“I think I do,” I reply, winking at her.
“I wonder what we’d both be doing if we hadn’t bumped into each other that night,” she mentions, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. I take hold of her hand, caressing the back of it with my thumb.
“I don’t know what I’d be doing if we hadn’t met when we did. I guess we owe it all to Quake.”
After dinner, we decide to walk to Decadence, the same dessert bar we went to all those months ago. The box with her engagement ring is burning a hole in my pocket, but I’m waiting until we’ve had dessert to ask her if she’ll be my wife.
I’ve had a nagging migraine for the past hour and I’m trying to forget about it. I don’t want anything to ruin this night for us. I need it to be perfect.
My arm is wrapped around her shoulders as we slowly stroll down the sidewalk. It’s early yet, only seven o’clock and there’s a decent crowd of people moving along with us.
“Do you want children?” she asks me. I’m a little surprised by this question because it’s never come up before.
“I do.” I pull her to the side, away from the flow of the pedestrians passing by. “I want to raise a family with you and only you.” I tap her on the tip of her nose with my index finger and bask in the warmth of the huge smile she directs at me. While I gaze in her eyes and fantasize about having a daughter who looks just like her, my vision blurs for a moment. I blink a few times but I can’t seem to make it clear. I raise my hands up and rub my eyes when a sharp pain tears through my head and has me gasping. I grip both sides of my head and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Kyle, what’s wrong?” Janny asks, placing her hand on my arm.
I open my eyes to look at her and my vision is still distorted.
I open my mouth to tell her what’s happening, but I can’t seem to get the words past my lips.
My heart begins to race and I start to panic.
What’s wrong with me?
Her eyes are wide with worry and her lips are moving, but for some reason I can’t hear what she’s saying. It’s almost like I’m underwater; I can hear some, but nothing concrete.
I open my mouth to say something, but no sound comes out. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to speak; my lips can move, but they don’t know how to form the words I want to say. When my gaze connects with Janny’s panicked one, pain like I’ve never experienced tears through my skull.
I fall to my knees and hold my head in both of my hands.
This must be it.
These must be my final moments on this earth.
I need more time with Janny, time to get married and start a family.
I look at her one more time, focusing on her angelic face. Her beautiful cerulean eyes are the last thing I see before dark spots take over my vision—Janny—she’s my last thought when the blackness takes me.
To be continued...
Prologue
“I’m falling for you, Janny.”
“Kyle, what’s wrong?”
His lips move, but no words leave his mouth. Panic fills his eyes.
“I want to be with you and I don’t plan to let you go.”
“Kyle, what’s happening?” I yell, my voice is laced with fear.
Our eyes meet. His breaths are quick and shallow.