The next day, I slept in until almost noon. I turned my head a little and my eyes met Nick's, he was staring at me.
"Hey creep," I smiled.
"Hey yourself sleeping beauty."
"How long have you been staring me at me?"
"Only an hour or so."
"Because you have nothing better to do?"
"Because I love you and I had to make sure your eyes would open."
"I'm not going anywhere Nick. I'm here, forever," I took his hand in mine.
"How do you feel?"
"Pretty good actually, since how after the bath last night you put me to bed right after."
"Good, now here are your pills, drink this whole glass of water-"
"Thank you." I told him as I took the glass of water sitting up. "You go shower and do what you need to do. I'll get ready for the day. You did say you had a surprise for me, correct?" I wiggled my eye brow.
"Yes, and no going down the stairs by yourself."
"I won't," I smiled.
As Nick got into the shower, I picked out what I was going to wear. I wanted to look nice, it seemed like forever since I've worn anything but sweat pants and tee shirts. I pulled out yellow and white sun dress, a pair of white flip flops and my denim jacket to put over it in case it would be chilly. This time of year, I knew it would be anything but.
"You want another shower?" Nick asked coming wearing only a towel.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I am kinda hungry though," I told him raising my eye brow.
"Good, I'll go get some breakfast. Go slow," he warned as he kissed the top of my head.
"I was trying to be teasing with you. But I really am hungry I guess." I went into the bathroom and took my shower. I didn't feel like spending a lot of time with my hair, so I squirted some gel and scrunched it up to make it look playful and light. I then spent about ten minutes on my eye brows because they were a mess from not being touched in a month.
"What in the world are you doing in here?" Nick asked walking in. I was still in my towel and applying lotion on my face.
"Being a girl. I can't believe you're still with me after looking the way I do."
"You're beautiful. I have some breakfast down stairs. I'll come back up in a few minutes, I have to get some things ready.
"What in the world are you doing Mr. Carter?" I asked now brushing my teeth.
"You'll see," he kissed my cheek and left the room. I applied a light bronzer on my cheeks because let's face it, I looked like a ghost still. A little light eye shadow and mascara and I was set to go. As I stood up in the mirror, I glanced again at the long red scar on my chest. I gently ran my fingers across it, I didn't even have time to look at it last night when I showered from being tired.
"Weird," I said to myself out loud. Inside me held another person's human heart. I knew nothing of whose it was, where it came from but that it seemed to fit me perfectly and that I was greatful. I thought I'd feel somewhat different. I always followed my heart, it was a good heart for the most part; just not physically. And now, I was almost afraid of this one.
I slipped the dress on, my sandals and gave a quick glance in the mirror. I didn't look as toned as I did before everything; but I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was working out again. I actually thought I looked too skinny; that's a good sign. I stepped out of my room and walked to the top of the stairs.
"Nick?" I called out. Within a few seconds he appeared at the bottom and looked up. He stood there staring at me me for a moment, his mouth slightly gaping open. "Why are you looking at me like that? Should I wear something else?"
"NO! I mean," he began up the stairs. "You look breath taking." He put an arm around my waist as I held onto the banester and we began to walk down. My legs shook a little, still from weak and not using them for a while. "Still with me?" He asked as we neared the bottom. I nodded my head and smiled.
"It looks like a nice day," I said looking out the window.
"Perfect day, come on I cut up some fruit and yogurt for you." He guided me into the kitchen and we sat at the table to eat.
After finishing our breakfast, Nick and I got into my car and he had a grin on his face the entire time. "Where are we going Nick?" I asked giggling.
"The perfect place, for a perfect girl," he reached for my hand and held as he drove; only letting go briefly to shift gears. It was a fifteen minute drive but I had an idea as soon as he turnd out of my street where we would be going. The beach. Pulling into a deserted parking lot, Nick shut the car off and got out. He opened the drunk and pulled out a large duffel bag and a guitar case. He didn't often play the guitar and I was curious to what was up his sleeve.
I got out and met him on the other side of the car, he took my hand and we made our way down to the beach. There were only a few people where we were, it was a Tuesday so I'm sure people were working. Finding a clear spot, Nick set his things down, pulled out a large blanket for the bag and laid it out on the white sand. It was a hot day, the ocean looked more than inviting to go in and I almost wished I had worn a swim suit. Nick handed me a bottle of sun screen and I was surprised he thought of all this. He then pulled out his guitar.
"What are you doing Nick?"
"I wrote this song while you were in the hospital..." he said almost shyly and plucked a few strings.
***Time is going by, so much faster than I,
And I'm starting to regret not
Spending all of it with you.
Now I'm, wondering why,
I've kept this bottled inside,
So I'm starting to regret
Not telling all of it to you.
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...
You're never gonna be alone.
From this moment on,
If you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall.
You're never gonna be alone!
I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.
I'm holding on with both hands,
'Cause forever I believe
That there's nothing I could need but you,
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...
You're never gonna be alone.
From this moment on,
If you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall.
When all hope is gone,
I know that you can carry on.
We're gonna take the world on,
I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.
Ooooh!
You've gotta live every single day,
Like it's the only one,
What if tomorrow never comes?
Don't let it slip away,
Could be our only one,
You know it's only just begun.
Every single day,
Maybe our only one, what if tomorrow never comes?
Tomorrow never comes...
Ooooh!
You've gotta live every single day,
Like it's the only one,
What if tomorrow never comes?
Don't let it slip away,
Could be our only one,
You know it's only just begun.
Every single day,
Maybe our only one, what if tomorrow never comes?
Tomorrow never comes...
Time is going by, so much faster than I,
And I'm starting to regret not
Telling all of this to you.
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know...
You're never gonna be alone!
From this moment on,
If you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall.
When all hope is gone,
I know that you can carry on.
We're gonna take the world on,
I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.
I'm gonna be there always,
I won't be missing one more day,
I'm gonna be there always,
I won't be missing one more day.***
*Lyrics: Never Gonna be Alone, Nickelback *
As Nick strummed the last chord he looked deep into my eyes. I had tears freely falling down my cheeks. It was probably the most beautiful song I ever heard; and not just because Nick wrote it for us. Before I could say anything, Nick had reached into his pocket and pulled out small box, got onto one knee and took my hand into his.
"Hailey, I have loved you since I met you. You were a complete stranger who opened up to someone who was as messed up as me and you took me into your heart with open arms. I am forever grateful for everything you have done for me. I truly believe that we are soul mates and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me be the man I've always wanted to become; without you, I'm just another wave in the ocean. Lost." He then opened up the small box and held out to me. "Will you make me the happiest and luckiest man in the world and Merry Me baby?"
I got up onto my knees and through my arms around his neck; clinging onto him as though he would disappear. "Yes!" I kissed his lips passionately. "Yes, I love you so much!" I said and kissed him again. His arms enclosed around my waist.
"I love you," he whispered and put the ring gently on my finger. It was a white gold band, two small diamonds sat either side of a larger diamond in the middle. Not too big at all because he knew I was more of a simple girl. It was absolutely stunning.
His lips then met mine again and he gently lay me down on the blanket and kissed me as though it would be our last day on this planet.
~*~*~*~The End~*~*~*~
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you for everyone who stayed with this long series. I wanted to go into the wedding and the rest of Nick's and Hailey's happily ever after; however I felt as though this story needed to be closed. If I have anyone intersested in a fourth story, regarding their wedding and seeing if they do make it through; than perhaps I will write more for this. But I have more stories in my head to write and other stories to hopefully finish soon.
Again, thank you and any feed back please write!
Again, thank you and any feed back please write!
