When Forever Isn't Enough

I just stood there, completely shocked. My stomach squirmed in an uncomfortable way, making me feel sick.

I realized my mouth was slightly hanging open and I hastily shut it in, making a very sad attempt to compose myself.

"W-What?"

"I know it's sudden, and I'm not saying that we have to get married tomorrow. But I love you Leslie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that we're going to have to wait until after college, but I couldn't wait that long to do this."

I just stood there like an idiot. I knew that Tyler was waiting for my answer, and there was a voice in my head telling me to just say something, but my actual voice was stuck in my throat. And even if I had been able to speak, I had no clue what to say. I felt a familiar stinging behind my eyes and then felt a drop of water run down my face. This was just too hard for me. Tyler mistakingly took the tear as a sign of joy and smiled.

"I know you're shocked and you can take your time to answer. I was even surprised with myself for deciding to do this so soon," he leaned over and kissed me. "Leslie Montgomery, I want to be with you forever."

A thousand different things that I could have said were swimming laps around my head: "No", "I'm sorry but I can't, "Tyler, we need to talk." But again, I couldn't get anything out of my mouth. So instead, I said the one thing I didn't want to.

"Yes."

I definitely had to get my head checked out. I had some sort of problem.

Tyler hugged my, completely ecstatic. He was wearing a smile so big, that I thought his face would break in half. I was relieved to just get back in the car, thinking I might be able to drop the happy act and think of a way to get out of this, but I was wrong. Even in the car Tyler kept shooting loving looks at me and so my act continued.

By the time I got home I felt completely spent, or at least my mind did. As I tried to drift off into dreamland, I thought about my future. Be to be honest, my future seemed so unsure. I wasn't one of those people who spent their whole life planning how their future was going to be. I never had been. And trying to throw Tyler in the equation just didn't fit right.

I rolled over and took a look at the diamond ring lying on my nightstand. It just sat there, shining in the moonlight. It seemed so peaceful and wonderful. It was beautiful. Who would have thought something with so much beauty could ever possible ruin someones life forever? And the more I looked at the ring, the more I realized why Tyler didn't seem to fit. One thought just kept swimming through my head, making it very hard to fall asleep. It was a horrible, potentially dangerous thought. A thought that I knew was going to make things even harder. But it was the truth.

Tyler just didn't belong there.