Stronger

Chapter 10

"Dad?" I barely whispered. He got a bright smile on his face. "There's my rock." He said. My feet moved before I could think and I launched myself into his arms. We hugged tightly. Tears were freely falling down my face. I sniffled. "H-how?" I asked when we pulled apart. "You hit your head. This is some sort of dream. Baby, please sit." He said while pulling out a chair for me. I sat down; still confused. He sat down next to me. "I'm so proud of you. You've been through so much and you're still so strong. I've been watching over you for a very long time and believe me when I say, I wish I could change your life. I had to watch everything you've been through and there was nothing I could do. I even tried to wipe your tears away on a few occasions. There are times where I was in the room and just watched you. I held your hand during the rough times and during the good times. You even thought you saw me in the hospital once, which is why you said my name when asked what will the middle name be. I can't change your life, I can only help you improve it. Your mom, yes she has made mistakes, but you need to give her a chance. She has changed. I promise you. I need you to promise me that you'll give her a chance. And get rid of that annoying lawyer too." He said. I smiled through my tears. "I promise, Daddy." He smiled back. "Now tell me about this girl that you've been seeing." He said. I'm sure I got a goofy smile on my face. "She's perfect, Dad. Her name is Izabella. She is also seventeen. She has the most beautiful voice and the prettiest eyes. She makes me feel stuff I never thought I could feel. I love her, Dad. But I'm scared that I'll never been enough for her. She deserves the world and how am I supposed to give her the world if she is my world?" I said. "Baby, listen. She already loves you. Just be you. If she doesn't love you for being yourself than she isn't worthy of yours in return. But don't worry she loves you baby. It's time for me to go. I want you to stay strong and make me even more proud. I love you, princess." I felt more tears run down my face as I hugged him. "I love you too, Daddy." I said and he started to disappear then everything once again, went black. When I opened my eyes again, I was faced with Izzy leaning over me. "Thank God!" She screamed and hugged me tight. We walked back to the house and I went straight to our room. I sat on the floor with my head on my arms which were rested on my knees. I thought about what had happened in the wood. Everything was the same about him. His hair, his eyes, his smell, all of him. When I was growing up, I was forced to hold onto all the good memories that I could even remember. Priscilla came in. "Hey, there's some-" She came in saying but must've stopped when she saw me. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked sitting next to me. "Not to be rude but can you just go get Izzy? I need her." I asked. She did as I asked and left. Shortly after, Izabella came in. "Baby." She said as she sat next to me. "Tell me." She pulled my arm so I'd look at her but I hissed in pain because she grabbed my wrist. She gave me a questioning look and the looked at my arm. She asked my why but I didn't say anything. She got a cloth from the bathroom and washed my wrist. "I saw my dad." I said. "What?" She asked, confusion evident in your voice. "I saw my dad. I could see him and touch him and smell him. He held me. When I fell in the woods, I woke up in this all white room and he was sitting there at this small wooden table. He told me he was proud of me and that he loved me. He also made me promise to give my mom a chance without the lawyers making me. I'm going to hold to it." I said. She smiled. Whether she believed me or not, she smiled. "He sounds wonderful, baby." She said before kissing my forehead. Priscilla came back in. "I came back to ask if you were alright." She said. I looked at Izzy. "Yeah, I think I'm okay now." I said. "Well there's someone here to see you. So come to the living room." She said then walked out. I washed my face and went out to the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch. "Hey. Can we talk?" She asked. We went out to the deck. "Look I know I've made a lot of-" She began to say but I cut her off. "You have my forgiveness. In order to move forward, mistakes must be forgiven and forgotten." I said. "Okay, well I guess I'll see you in a few days." She said. We hugged. She smelled like my father. He always smelled like mint and cologne. Gross combination but great smell. She left. I turned around and managed to get Aunt Missy to get Izzy in front of the door. I opened it as quietly as I could and screamed "Boo!" She jumped. I picked her up and carried her outside. "Okay! Let me go!" She yelled while laughing hysterically. "You'll forgive me, right?" I asked. "For what?" I grabbed her waist and pulled her into the pool. I swam to the other side and watched her get out. She was muttering what I'm sure were sweet nothings under her breath as she went in the house. A few minutes later, I went in. "Go shower, goofball." Uncle James said. Izzy was already in the shower so I waited by the door. "Hi!" I yelled when she opened it. She slammed it right back in my face. She eventually came out and I got in. After I was ready for bed, I laid down beside her. I knew she wasn't asleep. "Babe?" She didn't answer me. "Are you mad at me?" I said. "No. I'm plotting my revenge. Goodnight." She said. I laughed and went to sleep. On sunday morning, we were all either in the kitchen or living room. Priscilla went up to Mike. "I'll see you later." She said to him before leaving. As soon as she was gone, Mike jumped up off the couch. "I know what I wanna do for the proposal. I'm going to do it tonight at her mom's banquet. Her mom gave me permission and her blessing. I do need to go ring shopping though. Can you take me, Mom?" He asked. At first, Aunt Missy's eyes widened but then she got a goofy smile on her face. "Yeah." She said. They soon left and Uncle James took the girls with him somewhere. I found a red and black dress to wewr and Izzy found a blue and black dress to wear. We watched Pretty Little Liars until everyone came home and we got ready to leave. At eight, we wen to the banquet. At the end of her speech, Priscilla's mom winked at Mike. He went up on stage. "That was an amazing speech, Mrs. Turner." He said to her as she walked off stage. "Priscilla is the love of my life. I don't know what I'd do without her. She means the world to me. I would like to ask her to come join me on the stage." He said. Priscilla got up with a confused look on her face. They stood across from each other. "What's going on?" Priscilla asked. Mike got on one knee. "I know we've never discussed this but I've been thinking about it for awhile. I love you so much. Will you do me the honor of marry me?" Mike asked. Priscilla nodded frantically. As they celebrated, I looked over at Izzy. I acted on impulse and dragged Uncle James out of the room. "I want to propose Izzy." I said. He got a big smile on his face. "Go ahead. She won't be expecting it." He said. I walked back in and up to the stage. "Can I have your attention?" I asked. Whenever everybody was looking at me, I continued. "In my years, I have been through a lot. A month ago, I thought I was at my breaking point. However, I met Izabella and everything changed. Iz is the beautiful girl in the black and blue dress over there. She's my girlfriend but she's also one of my heroes. She has been through a lot as well as me. I don't even want to imagaine what my life would be like if I hadn't chased after you." I started walking towards her. "People say we're too young to know what love is. But I do. It's waking up and going to sleep next to you. It's holding your hand and seeing your smile. I don't have a ring yet but I wanted to ask you something." I said. Dismissing the fact that I was in a dress, I got on one knee. "Izabella Marie Jones, will you marry me?" I asked. She put her hands on her face to try and hide her smile and tears but I removed them. "Yes." She said. I spun her around. When we went home that night, Izzy and I went out on the deck to talk. "What're you thinking about?" I asked her. She took a deep breath. "Today. How we're engaged now. Rocky?" I hummed in response. "Do you think we're rushing things?" She asked looking down. "No I don't because you can fall in love in seconds or minutes. You can fall in love in months or years. It doesn't matter. When you love someone and you know they're the one you want to be with forever, then you know. And I know. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you think we are?" She shook her head. "I know I didn't give you a ring-" I continued. "Shut up." She said cutting me off. We sat there for hours. We finally went in as the sun was rising.