She never knew (chapter 9)

She looked up at him with tears falling down her cheeks and creating a river on her jeans, and she could think of absolutely nothing to say. She didn't know whether she was angry, hurt, or just completely insane. She just stared for what seemed like forever.

"Listen Christina, I would have told you before, but I didn't want you to be upset. I know that by not telling you, things are worse now than the would have been if I had told you before, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She was still staring at him and yet could make nothing come out of her mouth. "Please, Christina, please just say something. Say you hate me, say you don't want to see me ever again. Just don't leave me hanging with the silence. I'll understand, I really will. Just please, don't sit there and not say anything." All at once, everything she'd ever felt for him rushed to her head. She was angry, she was hurt, she felt alone and let down. But most of all, she loved him and she knew that they would overcome this. But first, she had to let the anger out. She had to tell him how it felt to her.

"How could you not tell me something like this Miguel? Did you think that it would make things different somehow? That I wouldn't love you anymore? Or did you just think that it'd go away and you'd never have to tell me any of it? If that's what you were thinking then you were very sadly mistaken. I don't know what in the world was going on inside that head of yours, but I sure wish that I did! I love you Miguel! I don't know how you ever kept this from me. Why?!? Why did you do it? Do you not love me the way that I love you? Is that why you didn't want to tell me? Or maybe, maybe you thought that this was a way to get out of being with me, is that it? Do you want to be by yourself now? Now, after a year, is that what you want? Tell me! God please just tell me why you didn't tell me what was going on. Because it hurts, God it hurts. I don't think death would hurt this much!" and with that she ran to him and collapsed in his arms.

He held her and comforted her for hours. He tried to explain why he hadn't told her and how bad he'd always felt for not. He explained everything. How he'd gained time when they thought he'd only had seven months to live. Hours upon hours later, as the tears slowed down, he pulled her around to face him. And it dawned on him, he had his mother's ring in his pocket and he knew now why she'd given it to him before he left.

"I know that you're hurting right now. And I know that it's all because of me. But I love you, Christina. There has never been one minute since i've been with you that you haven't crossed my mind. There hasn't been one moment that I haven't seen your beautiful face and your incredible smile and wished that I could hold you all night long. What I'm trying to say, is..I don't think I could ever live without you. I don't want to. Christina, I know that we're still seniors in school and if you don't want to, I'll understand. It's just that, time is precious. I know that. And they always tell you what you want the most, you should go for no matter what. And Christina, I want to marry you. Would you..Christina, would you marry me?"

She was baffled! She was amazed! "Oh my! Yes!! Yes I'll marry you Miguel!" She was..she was going to get married! Oh, she would be the envy of everyone! She was going to be a wife!

"One more thing Christina." She looked at him, with a worried expression on her face that made him smile and brought a puzzled look from her. "Paul and his girl want me to come down to see them. I didn't expect to propose to you, so they don't know about this yet. But, would you go with me? We have four days out of school and that would give us some time together. The time that we really need. So, would you ask your mom and see what she says?"

"There's no need to ask, I know everything. And yes, if she wants to go, she can. After all, she is a newly engaged woman who's madly and passionatly in love." Startled the both looked up to the door where her mom had just answered them both. She was ecstatic! This was the best day of her life and no one, not a single person in the entire world was going to ruin it. "Oh, you guys, since I'm the mom here, even if you are going to get married, if you know, things get a little too hot, please use protection." Her mom smiled and walked off. Both of them blushing and laughing the stared at each other until Christina jumped up off the bed and kissed him so hard that he thought he was going to go blind. "I guess we'd better tell everyone else." She said with a grin and the walked out of the room hand in hand.