Status: Finished! (8/12-10/5)

Counting Stars

Nineteen

Mike’s POV- July 2014
Marisol was chatting away with a few of her childhood friends and I sat casually next to Isaac who was texting away on his phone. He frowned and looked at me.

“This is bad”

“What’s bad?” I asked him.

“The witch never comes to LA”

His phone began going off and he looked at it.

“They are quick”

It was his father in law.

“Hello”

I looked at him and he nodded and rubbed his face as he took my beer from me and took a sip of it. Never mind he drank it all.

“Yea I figured. You told them we were out of town with Marisol? God I love you guys. You guys coming by?”

He nodded and rubbed his wrist. You could see the small scars on his wrists. Those that met him would assume they had been done by the cat or birds he had, but nope he had done them to himself. Those were the 4 scars he had, two on each wrist. I didn’t see him full of blood but I saw Kara. Her blouse was covered in his blood and she was just sobbing. It took quite a while to get her to change. Marisol was crying and trying to get her dad on the phone. She needed money and he told her to deal with it herself. He hung up and she broke down in a hospital hallway. I walked over to her and told her I’d help. She refused at first and looked at me. I told her I was telling her I was going to help, I wasn’t asking for her permission and well when Isaac woke up he was a mess. He’s a strong guy and he’s the reason Marisol was able to write such nice songs for Imagine Dragons. When he heard all those song he apologized so much for hurting her. She just hugged him and nodded. She was never mad at him, she could hold a grudge when it comes to me or anyone else, but she will never hate her brother.

“Yea, no beer though. I really don’t want to deal with drunk teenagers right now”

He laughed and I rolled my eyes as he took my other beer away from me. Isaac drank when he was mad, and or annoyed. He was both right now.

“Yea bring your small one then. I’ll see you then. Kara is catching up with a few friends”

He nodded.

“Thanks...bye now”

He hung up and looked at me.

“Dad and the witch are looking for us”

“I need to call my neighbors then” I said pulling out my phone.

I called and they told me that there was a couple asking for us. I told them to tell everyone I was out of town. We were in Kenora waiting to celebrate my cup win. They agreed and I ended the call.

“There” I said.

He nodded and we walked over to the small crowd.

“Let’s eat” I said.

We all began eating and Marisol sat next to me.

“Mind if I sit here?”

“Nah, I can always use the company of a pretty girl” I told her.

She smiled and she began eating. She put a piece of watermelon into her mouth and I smiled at her. I touched my left pocket where the ring was and I gave her a smile.

“I love you” I told her.

She finished her piece of watermelon and smiled at me.

“I love you too”

I gave her a kiss and Rude began playing. She smiled and looked at Isaac and Kara who were dancing. As usual, Kara wore heels because she’s the height of an ant.

“Let’s runaway” I mumbled into her ear.

She laughed and turned to me.

“Where will we go?”

“Where do you want to go?” I asked.

She shrugged and I tapped her nose. I smiled when she scrunched it up and looked at me.

“We can go to Colombia if you want” I told her.

She smiled and nodded.

“I want to go and meet my grandparents and family”

I nodded.

“My cousin is a professional football player and he has a little girl. He’s married Mike, that’s like the perfect ending”

I smiled at her and I nodded. Her cousin was THE James Rodriguez, he didn’t live in the Capital like her grandparents. He lived in France and by the looks of it he would be playing in Spain or England by the end of the summer.

“What can I do for you to make this day better?” I asked her.

She looked at me and Counting Stars began playing. She smiled and nodded.

“Playing our song? Mr. Richards you get some brownie points”

I smiled and stood up. I reached for her hand and she smiled and followed me to dance. I began swaying her and she laughed lightly when I twirled her. I took the time to get down on one knee.

“How many does this get me?” I asked her.

She smiled and covered her mouth.

“A lot”

I laughed lightly and looked at her.

“Remember when we first met?” I asked her as I reached for her left hand.

She nodded and looked at me. She smiled and reached for a napkin.

“You were a blonde at that time and I thought I was way out of your league, but then you asked if I could buy you a drink” I said.

Isaac chuckled because he remembered. Jeff asked her if she wanted a drink and she smiled and looked at him and then at me. She then told him yes but only if I bought it.

“You were wearing a red dress, I think you still have it. It was a one shoulder dress and you had some black heels making me my height” I said.

I remembered, I couldn’t get my eyes off of her and when Jeff went to her I thought it she would end up going home with him.

“We exchanged numbers and I remember I couldn’t stop texting you. I was attracted to you since the day I met you and I loved the way you would talk when you got really nervous” I told her.

She laughed lightly and I smiled at her.

“I fell for you when you told me your life story” I said.

Her eyes filled up with tears and I smiled at her.

“That’s when I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with you because I wanted a woman as strong as you in my life”

The crowd slightly awed.

“You make me a better person Marisol. You are the strongest person I’ve met” I said.

She smiled at me and I gave her hand a squeeze.

“Softball was your life and I saw how passionate you were when you were in the outfield. Your dream was cut after your knee fracture and you moved on. You moved on but I see the exact same passion when you’re with the boys. Whether it’s them calling you that they miss home or just getting pictures from you when you’re half across the world with them. I see the exact same smile I used to see when you would help your team win”

I pulled out the ring and she looked at me in the eyes.

“When I first asked you about marriage you told me you never wanted to get married because you didn’t want to get hurt. As our relationship went on you told me you would marry me and only me because you knew I would never hurt you after I told you that True love stories never have an ending. You had…you had this wall that I somehow managed to break through. I’m not saying marriage will be perfect, but I can guarantee you I will never make you cry…not on purpose at least. It’s not Marriage…it’s an alliance” I said.

She smiled.

“So Marisol, will you make an alliance with me? ” I asked her.

She nodded.

“Of course I will. Yes…yes”

I smiled and slipped the ring in her finger as I stood up. I pulled her into a kiss and I pulled away. She let out a sob and I wiped her face.

“They’re happy tears”

I nodded and kissed her forehead.

“I love you” I told her.

“I love you too”

“So, go away so we can see the ring”

I laughed and pulled away. Isaac managed to get her from me and pull her into a tight hug. He told her something to which she nodded at and hugged him tight. She pulled away and I looked at the boys who were wiping their faces.

“So punk rock” I told them.

They frowned but smiled and congratulated me. It was a good day and not having Jake meant no problems there. Marisol’s dad wanted to talk with her, but there was no way I was going to let that man make my fiancé cry.