Darkness Before Dawn

chest contentedly.
    "Thank you," I whisper. "So much."
    He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head before pulling back and brushing my cheek with his thumb.
    "Anything, baby," he says, smiling as he taps the tip of my nose and leads me back out to the living room. "You haven't seen the kitchen yet."
    Movement catches my eye as I step over the threshold between the living room and the kitchen area, and I squeeze Cole's hand in apprehension.
    A loud gasp escapes me when "SURPRISE!" is yelled, followed by pink confetti tossed at me from all different directions. My jaw unhinges and my eyes dart to the people I love that are standing in front of me. And I forget about the history of secrets that plague this house because it is once again a place of happiness for me. When I tear my gaze from their faces, I notice the pink "Happy Birthday, Princess" banner that hangs over the white kitchen cabinets and the sprinkled cupcakes on the table in the center, and I'm transported back twenty-three years.
    Back to the day when ringing gunshots woke me up. My breathing shallows as I stare blankly at the cupcakes, envisioning the pink Hello Kitty alarm clock clearly on my nightstand. Running down the stairs and passing the very same banner that greets my blurry eyes now, the blood on the cupcakes, on the floor, on my clothes. My mother's lifeless gray eyes burning a hole through mine as large, loud men yell back and forth. My father being carried away over someone's shoulder and Mark's kind eyes and arms taking me away from it all. Taking me from one dark place to another. I blink the memory away and look back into the green orbs that have been my one constant in times of both despair and happiness, and I'm reminded of the reason I'm here. Aunt Shelley's words of wisdom ring true in my head, and I'm thankful that unlike me, Cole has never second-guessed us. He's never questioned whether or not we were better off apart because even during the years that I tried to keep my distance, he was there. Those truthful eyes that I've held on to during the most difficult times in my life have never left me. He's never left me, and I know he never will.
    My daydream is interrupted by various arms wrapping around me and kisses on my cheek.
    "Happy Birthday, Blakey!" Becky says quietly as she presses her cheek against mine. Greg and Aubry give us a group hug as Aimee takes my hands in front of me, and Cole stands off to the side smiling and letting them shower me with attention.
    "Thank you...so much. You guys..." I say, failing to create a coherent sentence through my emotion.
    "All right, all right, give her space!" Cole says, his voice dripping in amusement as he walks toward us and pulls me out of their circle.
    He turns me by the shoulders so I can see my friends and take in the decor again, before leaning into me. "Do you like your kitchen?" he murmurs against the spot right below my ear.
    "Yes," I reply with a shiver.
    "And the decorations are okay?" Cole asks quietly, concerned.
    I nod rapidly. "Yes, they're perfect," I whisper.
    He turns me around again, signaling our audience with his head before looking down at me and brushing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, his long stare rocking every inch of my body. Aubry walks up to us and gives me a hard wet kiss on the cheek. He walks off while laughing at my disgusted grunt.
    "Why do you always have to be the funny guy?" Cole asks Aubry, who's still laughing, making the rest of us laugh along.
    He takes a deep breath as he takes both my hands. His eyes grow more serious with each second that passes. "Blake, if you don't like any of this let me know."
    "I love it! Please stop saying that already! It's getting annoying," I reply, cracking a smile.
    His lips twitch and he begins to lower his body, making my eyes bug out of my face and my breath halter when he settles on one knee. New tears pool my eyes and my hands swing to my mouth, covering it before a throaty sob escapes me when I see him reach for a little black velvet box on the table.
    He takes a breath, his green eyes twinkling as he looks at me. "Blake, I feel like I've spent an eternity declaring my love for you and maybe I have. Hell, I'm sure I've been doing that for centuries. And as difficult as you can be, as stubborn as you are, and as big of a pain in my ass as you are, I wouldn't want to spend any of my time in any lifetime chasing after anybody else. You're it for me. You always have been and always will