Dedicated to all my readers who have commented and voted! Y'all got me to 3k, so thank you, thank you! <3

I'm currently writing Chapter 29, and it makes me realize the story is almost over. So many exciting things for you to read very soon... Get ready!

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~{Chapter 19}~

It has been two weeks since I have planned the big surprise for Beth with Sam. I kept my promise to Beth and told her how things went, but I did not say anything about her surprise.

Sam and she have gotten to what seems like a better place. Beth has been telling me how much better it has been, and I just simply smile and listen to her talk. I do not dare say much because I might give it away.

Tonight is the night. I am so excited to see what Beth's reaction will be. Over the past week, I have seen her happier than ever before. She seems really happy with him. The only question left is: does she love him enough to already basically commit herself to him?

I slip on some dark blue jeans and a white blouse. I put on a black blazer and a red necklace, along with red heals. I curl my hair and put it in a half up and half down hairstyle.

After I finish, I hurry downstairs to the garage and get inside my car. I pull out of the garage to pick up Beth. I invited her to a nice dinner for the celebration of my upcoming birthday. We are going to a neighboring town, so she will not have a chance to suspect anything.

"Hey, Kate," she says when she gets inside my car.

I smile at her and say, "Thanks for agreeing to come."

"Are you kidding? It's my best friend's birthday celebration; how could I ever bear to miss it?"

I laugh at her response. "Well, I appreciate it."

"I've been meaning to ask you something. How are you doing?" Beth asks.

I smile. "You know, I'm actually doing pretty well. It got tough for a few days, but I pulled through."

"How's Matt?"

"Last time I checked, he presented his new single to his manager. He tried something new, and he called me about it."

"That's good. Did he say when he's coming to visit?" she asks.

I sigh. "When he has a hit."

"That could take a long time," Beth says.

"Yeah, I know. He's determined to get this done, and I support him all the way," I tell her.

"Okay," is all she says.

She lets it go there, and we sit in silence for the rest of the drive. I can tell she is concerned and skeptical, and I understand her feelings. I mean, his promise was pretty crazy, but I trust him.

"Here we are," I say when we get to the restaurant.

We both get out of the car and walk inside. We are seated almost immediately, and I quickly take out my phone to text Sam and say we have made it. Our plan is in motion.

Beth and I sit and talk and eat dinner with pleasant conversation. I manage to not seem nervous during the main meal. After the waitress takes our dirty dinner dishes, we order dessert, and I feel myself getting a little tense from nervousness.

"Are you okay? You got a little tense," Beth says.

"I'm perfectly fine. Just fine," I say quickly, mentally smacking myself in the process.

She raises an eyebrow at my response but says nothing. I take a quiet sigh of relief and eagerly wait for the dessert to come. When it does, I give a small wink to the waitress, and she winks back.

Beth gives me a puzzled look at this small exchange, but she is soon staring at her dessert. I look down to see what Sam decided to have written on her dessert.

Beth, please follow this map to an unknown destination. I have something special planned for you.
~Sam~

She looks up at me and gives me a suspicious look. "Do you have anything to do with this?"

I let a small smile form on my lips and simply say, "Shall we follow the map that is stuck in the middle of your dessert?"

She grabs the map and quickly eats her dessert. When she is finished, I stand up and gesture for her to follow me out to my car. We do not have to bother with a check because Sam took care of that.

I text him, letting him know we are leaving the restaurant. When we get inside the car, Beth eagerly straps herself in.

"Hurry up, Kate," is all she says.

I laugh and say, "Relax."

She turns and glares at me as I start the car. "My boyfriend has a map for us to follow somewhere, and he has been acting like a freaking weirdo this last week. He's had a smile on his lips this whole week. I need to know why!"

I laugh as I drive out of the parking lot. "He could be planning a breakup with you."

Beth smacks me on the arm. "Why would you say that to me? What happened to my amazing friend who always thinks positively?!"

I laugh even more and say, "Take a chill pill. It was just a joke. Relax and take deep breaths. Where does the map say to go?"

For the next hour, we follow the map to all the places they have gone on dates. We collect small things throughout the little trip, and Beth is getting extremely impatient with the drive and my sarcastic comments.

As we get closer to our final destination, I say, "There's a blindfold behind you. Put it on."

"How can I trust you?" she asks.

"Would you like to ruin whatever Sam has planned or not?" I say.

She quickly grabs the bandana and ties it around her head, covering her eyes. I smile to myself. She really does like Sam.

I park the car at the designated spot and almost sigh at the sight in front of me. Sam is such a romantic. We are at the place where they first met; a lake outside of South Hart. There are lights glowing on the small dock where Sam is going to ask her the question. It is dusk, so it is not too dark or too light.

I undo my seatbelt and walk over to Beth's side of the car to help her out. I grab my camera before I lead her to the dock and have her stand facing the lake. Sam is not anywhere in sight, just like how we planned.

"You can take the blindfold off, now," I tell her.

She eagerly takes the blindfold off and frowns when she does not see Sam anywhere. "Where is he? Why are we here?"

I simply say, "Look at the lake."

She sighs and looks back at the lake. "I don't see anything o-," she trails off as she watches a sign slowly light up letter by letter. "Kate, what's going on?"

"Just keep looking at the sign."

She is engrossed by the sign, so I slowly and quietly walk away from her. As I walk away, Sam passes me, and I give him a smile and a nod.

I go behind the trees near the dock. I can hear everything, and I can see the sign.

Beth, how did you like the walk down memory lane? This is your final destination; the lake where we first met. Turn around.

Beth slowly turns around to a smiling Sam. I can make out his face pretty well because of the lights, so I turn my camera on and start snapping photos of them.

"Beth," Sam begins. "I first met you when you were going through a rough time. You allowed me to sit next to you and help you. You didn't even know me, yet you trusted me. After we started dating, I began to ask you questions. I asked you extremely personal questions, yet you didn't leave. You simply asked me to lay off a bit. That's when I knew..."

During his pause, Beth quietly asks, "Knew what?"

He takes his ring box out and says, "I knew that I wanted you to be mine, but I knew it was too soon. That's why I'm asking you to take this promise ring. I love you, Beth. I can't imagine life without you, but I do know it's too soon to get married. I just want to know if you can promise to marry me in the future."

I snap more pictures. I can barely see Beth's face, but I can see soft tears rolling down her cheeks. I snap a picture.

She takes Sam's hand in hers and says, "I love you too. I would love this promise ring."

Sam almost jumps for joy, but he manages to slip the ring onto Beth's ring finger. I snap a picture. Beth gives him a hug, and he lifts her up off her feet and swings her around before gently setting her down and giving her a small peck on the lips.

I guess you could say he swept her off her feet. Yes, I do know that was a horrible joke.

I come out of my hiding spot and am almost pounced on by Beth.

"Thank you," she says.

I smile. "I'm not the one who asked you. I'm happy for you, Beth. I'm going to get going so y'all can enjoy each other."

She smiles, and Sam says, "Thank you, Kate. It means a lot to have you help me and approve of me."

I laugh. "Let's just make sure my approval isn't for nothing."

He laughs, and I walk away from the happy couple. I never thought I would see Beth in love again. It just goes to show that life will not always turn out the way you want it to.

I drive back to my house and recline on my couch while watching a TV show. My phone is out, and I text Matt for the first time in about a week or so.

Hi, just thought I'd ask how you're doing and how the song is going.

I set the phone down after I send the message and watch the show. As soon as the show is over, I go up to my room and sit at my window seat. Instead of getting ready for bed, I open Wattpad and start reading a new book.

I am drawn in by the story. It puts all my emotions to the test because of how complicated the character becomes and how complicated her life becomes. It is almost like my life.

My life has been complicated, yet I would not change it for the world. The pain and suffering I have been through has carved me into who I am today.

Ring, ring.

I snap out of my thoughts and answer the call. "Hello?"

"Kate! I'm so glad you picked up!" Beth exclaims.

I laugh. "How are you doing? Why are you calling me?"

"Well, Sam just dropped me off, and I have to talk about my night with my best friend because she helped plan my big surprise! Seriously, you're the best."

I smile. "Hey, it was all Sam's idea. I just smoothed over a few ideas and helped him set up. He's the right one for you."

"I'm thinking the same thing as you. Anyway, I just want to tell you that it was probably the best night of my life, and I'm so happy to call you my friend. Sam and I were wondering if you want to come to one of the neighboring towns tomorrow. It's our way of saying thanks. Plus, it would just be a fun trip."

"Which town?" I ask.

"Bark. If it's going to make you feel better, the bookstore in Bark is bringing up-and-coming writers in tomorrow. You could do some scouting around."

I smile. "Count me in. Just promise me that I won't be third wheeling."

"I can't make any promises," she says before hanging up.

I laugh and plug my phone into charge before going to the bathroom and getting ready for bed. I slip under my covers when I finish and pull my hair into a messy bun. I turn the lights off, except for my lamp and pick my phone up to read a little more of the book.

I end up reading the entire book. I turn my phone off and start dozing off. Who knew a book could be so good?

I slip off into sleep, not realizing Matt did not answer my text. Little did I know that this was not going to be the only time he would ignore my texts or calls.