A/N: Luke killed me with that pic he's so fkn adorable omfg. Anyways, on to the final chapter ;)
Luke.
Everything hurt. I felt the stiffness of my bones, the parchness of my throat, the heaviness of my eyes, and all I could think about was how much this hurt. I could feel my senses come to life, reviving from a dullness they’ve been sulking in for a great passage of time. There was a soft hum in the air, as well as a strong antibacterial scent wafting through the room.
I wondered where I was, if I was still locked in the basement I’ve been residing in these past few months. I felt like I had been asleep for years, and part of me questioned if any of it was even real.
I struggled to open my eyes, my eyelids blinking rapidly at the harsh fluorescent light that illuminated above me.
“Fúck, that’s bright.” I muttered, my voice no more than a whisper due to the dryness of my throat. There was a stirring beside me, and I looked down to see curly, brown hair splayed out everywhere, with the face I have come to love dearly hidden from my view.
“Beth?” I called out softly, bringing my hand to her hair as I ran my fingers through it softly. I almost cried at the sensation, actually feeling the soft tresses of her hair, and how they would run into a small knot every few passes. I relished in the feel of my fingers combing through her hair gently, the strands gliding past the texture of my skin.
I felt.
“Beth, babe, please wake up.” I asked her again, this time rubbing my hand on her shoulder. I couldn’t stop touching her, missing the feeling of contact with an overwhelming passion. It just wasn’t the same before, and I knew she felt it too.
“Luke?” she grogged, lifting her head up slowly as her eyes squinted at me. I smiled at her, reaching out my hand to pass along the smoothness of her cheek.
“Hey, love.” I greeted, an immense feeling of glee surging through me.
She smiled back at me, leaning into my touch.
“You’re really here.” she murmured, her eyes closing again as she leaned into me. I moved my hand to wrap under her arm and bring her closer to me when she winced.
I retracted my hand quickly, looking at her in confusion.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, uneasiness overcoming me as I became worried about the brunette beauty I called mine.
She shook her head, moving her body back away from the bed as I was met with the sight of a sling draped over her arm.
“It’s just because I fractured my arm after jumping off Jenkins’ back when the gun was fired. I landed incorrectly.”
“So then you’re hurt.” I argued back. She rolled her eyes at me, waving me off.
“I’m fine. It's coming off in a few days.”
"Why don't I remember any of this?" I asked, puzzled as my mind tried to reel back to that moment. But it was all blank.
"You were fading. I remember looking over at the wall as Jenkins choked your body, and you were grabbing your throat, sliding down the wall as the real you was being strangled to death. Then you started to fade, and I panicked. I pulled on Jenkins' arms but I wasn't strong enough. I saw Holden hold up a gun in my direction, pointed at Jenkins and I jumped off before he fired. When I looked back at the wall, you were gone. My arm was screaming in pain, but I didn't care. Something was wrong." She paused, mindlessly running her right-hand fingers along the creases of the white sheet that was covering me.
"What happened after that?" I asked her softly, trying not to push her as her expression quickly became sullen. I placed my hand over her fidgeting one in reassurance.
"I hadn't noticed the paramedics come in behind the police, all I could hear was the constant, monotone beep. It took me a moment in my state to realize it was a flatline." She sniffled, her eyes beginning to water as she reached up to wipe her tears. I beat her to it, brushing away gently the drops, feeling the liquid glide against the skin of my fingertips.
"You had died, Luke." she choked out, clutching my hand tightly. “The paramedics resuscitated you, and you came back; but for a few seconds there you were really gone, Luke. I had really lost you.” she started crying, her head leaning forward as she buried her face in the comfort of the sheets.
“Please don’t cry, Beth. Look. I’m here right now. I’m alive. I’m really here. Everything’s fine. It’s all over now.” I cooed, brushing her hair with my fingers as I attempted to soothe her. She kept her head down for a few moments, slowing her breathing as she brought herself back to a relaxed state.
“We can talk about something else if you’d like.” I suggested, my fingers still combing through her hair since I was yet to be over the sensation of it. I had been withdrawn for so long from the sense of touch.
She stayed quiet, her sobs stilling to a silence as I listened to her heavy breathing.
“So what have I missed?” I questioned her, steering the topic away from my temporary death. She lifted her head, the whites of her eyes stained red from her crying. She perched her chin on her right arm, her left arm off from the bed since it was in a sling. I moved my hand to rest against the base of her neck, my thumb gently rubbing over the crevice.
“Well, Jenkins funeral was held a few days after everything happened. No one attended besides Holden, and surprisingly his ex-wife. She and Holden ended up in a big argument, but in the end they resolved their issues and now Holden has moved away to go back and live with her. On Calum’s end, Oklahoma University now refuses to admit him, so he lost his internship and he also has to pay a rather hefty fine for the Atropa belladonna.” she explained, significantly more calm now. I nodded, taking in the new information but puzzled at the amount of time that must have transpired for all these events to occur.
“And my parents?” I asked her, gulping and once again realizing how dry my throat was. Where was the water when I needed it?
“They’re outside in the waiting room. Do you want me to get them?” she asked, already moving to get up. I nodded my head, but grabbed her arm, holding her back.
“But first, can I ask you something else?”
She nodded, sitting on the edge of my bed now as she grasped my hand. “Of course.”
“How long have I been out?” I asked her. She sighed, playing with my fingers that rested in her hands.
“About a month. You were in an induced coma as they tried to get all the toxins from the anesthesia out of your bloodstream so that it could be clean again. You also suffered some trauma from when Jenkins tried to strangle you so you had to recover from that as well.” she revealed, taking me by surprise.
“I was asleep for a month…” I murmured, mainly to myself as I tried to wrap my mind around it. A whole month had passed by and I didn’t even feel it.
“What’s it like?” she asked.
“What’s what like?” I questioned, lifting my gaze to meet her’s.
“Being asleep for that long.”
I took a deep breath, intertwining my fingers with hers. “I feel like I just woke up from the dead. Which apparently I did but…” I ran my free hand through my hair, trying not to marvel at the sensation of feeling the strands of my hair again as well. “It was all dark. I was in a dreamless state. I have no recollection of anything. The last thing I remember is standing with you in that room as Jenkins started choking me, and then it all goes black after that.”
“So you weren’t even aware of anything that happened this past month? All the visitors you’ve had, and the words they spoke to you? You didn’t hear any of that?”
I shook my head. “It’s like I really was dead.”
She let out a deep breath, leaning forward as she rested her head on my stomach, my arm moving to glide over her back. “Well I’m just really happy you’re here now, Luke.”
“Me too, baby.”
We laid there in silence, my hand still running across her back as she curled her arms to herself while she laid on me, an uncomfortable position most probably for her since she was being hindered by her sling.
“Hey, Beth? When you go get my parents, can you also get me a cup of water please?” I requested, the burning sensation in my throat becoming unbearable.
She let out a small giggle, lifting her head up as she moved into a seated position.
“I’ll go do that right now.”
**
1 week later
“Oh my gosh, I’ve missed this so much.” I groaned, pushing Beth back against the bed as I pressed my lips once again to her’s.
“You act like we haven’t kissed in months, Luke.” she laughed, pressing another kiss to my lips before she started moving down my neck. I tilted my neck, exposing it more for her and tried to hold back the loud moans from pleasure I was so tempted to release.
“You don’t understand.” I gasped, reaching for her waist as I pushed her further up the bed, crawling over her. “I couldn’t feel anything. Emotionally yes; I knew I loved you.” I started, pressing another kiss by her collarbone as my hands trailed up against her sides, slipping under her shirt. “But this… I couldn’t feel the softness of your skin, or the smoothness of your lips.” I explained, lifting one of my hands to her cheek to make her face me so I could kiss her again. I could feel my breath hit her face, almost taken aback by its warmth. I had to get used to that again.
“It was weird. I could feel you. Just like this. But it’s not the same. This feels so much more… passionate.” she described, her hands slipping under my shirt as she ran her cold hands over my back. I shuddered at the touch, both from pleasure and the temperature.
“I just remembered both our parents are downstairs and can come in any moment.” I groaned, my head falling to rest in the crook of her neck as she let out a small laugh.
“Way to ruin the moment, Luke.”
I lifted my head up, sending her a teasing smirk. “I mean we could continue, but I don’t think your parents would take much pleasure in walking in and seeing me pleasure you.” I winked.
She gasped, hitting my shoulder lightly.
“Being an apparition has made you quite a hórny bastard, Hemmings.”
“Oh baby you know I always want you.” I said, pressing another kiss to her neck. “But enough of this. If you get me more worked up, I can’t promise I’ll be able to control myself.” I winked again, pushing myself off of her. She sat up, using her elbows to prop herself.
“So what do you suggest we do now then?” she asked, giving me an expectant look. I glanced around my room, a feeling of comfort rising in me as I realized the normalcy of all this.
My eyes landed on a drawer in my dresser, remembering the contents of what laid inside… aside from my boxers.
I rolled off my bed, walking over to the dresser as I could feel Beth staring after me. I opened the drawer, hands ruffling through the boxers before my fingers touched a hard object. I smiled greatly as I pulled the small ring box out and turned around to face Beth, holding it out in my hand.
Beth’s eyes widened as she stared at what I held in my hand and looked up at me questioningly.
“You’re not proposing to me are you?” she asked, seeming slightly frightened. I chuckled, shaking my head as I moved to sit back down beside her.
“No, not yet at least.” I cleared my throat, rubbing my neck nervously as I moved to hold the box in my other hand, slowly switching it back and forth. “As you know, Laura advised that I should give you something meaningful as a graduation gift and I put a lot of thought into this. I didn’t want to get you some lame graduation frame or some gift card that you can spend anywhere. You were going to already be getting that from friends and family. I wanted something that only you and I would share, something that was important to us. Then when I got to thinking, I realized the most important thing to us is us. At least it is to me. But then how do you give that in a gift? So I told all this to Laura and she took me to this shop where her boyfriend had gotten her this really pretty necklace from that she says is her favorite and it’s this really nice, sapphire-” I cleared my throat again, moving my hand to run through my hair nervously. “I’m getting off track here.” I chuckled, trying not to sound anxious. “Anyways, we went there and she helped me pick this out for you.”
I shifted my body on the bed to face her, holding the ring box in front of me as I opened the lid, revealing the two silver bands that laid inside, outlined with two black, bold stripes. I picked one out of the box, handing one to her and grabbing the other for myself as I put the box back down on the comforter of my bed.
“I got them engraved. On the inside I got our initials, yours has mine.” I smiled at her, reaching over to turn the ring in her hand so she could see. Her gazed shifted to the inside of the ring, seeing the ‘lrh’ that was engraved in cursive there.
“It’s to show my promise to you, how I am committed to this relationship and how you’re really it for me, Beth. You’re all I want and all I’m ever going to want. I just hope it’s the same for you.” I continued, fiddling with my ring that remained on the tips of my fingertips.
She looked up, smiling at me as she held out her ring to me. “Can you put it on me?” she asked, a gleeful look present on her features as she waited for me to take the ring from her. I nodded my head quickly, not being able to hold back the smile that was itching to express itself. I grabbed the ring from her, slowly sliding it onto her ring finger where hopefully an engagement ring will soon go in years to come. She grabbed my ring that was still dangling by my fingertips and did the same for me.
“You’re so cheesy. This is so cheesy.” she laughed, her gaze eyeing the promise ring that laid on my ring finger with her initials carved inside.
I laughed in return, my gaze meeting hers.
“But you love it right?”
She nodded her head excitedly, leaning forward as she grabbed the back of my neck to bring me towards her, placing a kiss on my lips. I smiled into the kiss, adoring the passion that streamed within our touch.
“I love it and you. Always.”
A/N:
Are you crying bc I am
THIS WAS THE FINAL CHAPTER THIS BOOK HAS BEEN MY BABY.
okay well it's not quite over because I'm posting an epilogue but still...
I was going to do a sequel but I decided against it and instead am doing the epilogue a condensed version of what the sequel would have been.
So please vote and comment!!!
Also since this is over, I will be getting back to updating Reign and Self-Titled so if you've been waiting for those, the time has come for updates!
P.S. if you have any questions that I may have left unanswered, just comment it here :)
-M