𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙇𝙑𝙀
—𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴—

𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙎 𝘽𝙍𝙔𝘾𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙎 dreaming; maybe she had been for a while, and just hadn't gotten the sweet pleasure to wake up by the wails of her alarm clock. Or maybe it was something else more serious- a comatose state that she was trapped inside, doomed to forever dream of a life and love that could never possibly exist in a world like this. Or this was the afterlife, and she had somehow passed in her sleep quite a while ago and she hadn't realized it yet. But Bryce Dylan knew, deep down in her heart, that there weren't princes outside of books and stories, at least not the knight-in-shining-armor ones. Because those princes saved women in distress and turned their lives into one that an ordinary little girl could only imagine having- they swooped in to save the day, and everyone lived happily ever after in the end.

But this was real life. Despite what she had thought, this wasn't a dream, or a coma, or even the afterlife; that was something she'd have to face the consequences for. Something always went wrong, Bryce learned from a young age. There would always be a wicked witch or evil force in the story that brought down the castle after everything was perfect and peaceful. And now that she was staring into the honey-colored eyes of Danny, she swallows back her pride, and the urge to say 'but I'm scared to love you'.

"I don't deserve you," Bryce murmurs, placing her warm hand upon his cheek. He places his over hers, leaning into her touch. "I'm so in love with you, Danny. And maybe it's too early to admit that, but I've never felt this way about anyone in my life, and this is one thing I've been sure about since the day you showed up at my home with flowers in your hand. I love everything about you."

Danny couldn't have been more relieved- in fact, he was blushing, and a wide grin was tugging at his lips. All of the worry that he had previously contained was now released, along with a sigh of complete and utter contentment. This was what he had been waiting for. Oh, if only Rafe could've still been there with him; Danny had so much to tell him, but no time to do it in. His heart ached, but it felt complete at the same time- Rafe was in a better place now, and was most likely cheering for him from above.

"Now that we've gotten that over with," Danny says, his voice dropping a bit as he smiles. "Do you think this pilot would be lucky enough to get a kiss?"

Bryce giggles, shaking her head as she placed her forehead against his. Shock waves radiated through her body, like soothing little pinpricks that somehow erupted in the spot where their skin met. And so she took him by the collar, closed her eyes, and pulled his lips to hers.

Bryce's body was on fire- a warm sensation spreading in her chest, and spreading throughout every ounce of her being. It was sweet and smooth, like melted chocolate. His lips were soft against hers, and moved perfectly in sync. But as the moments ticked on, she knew that she would have to pull away to take a breath. If this was what drowning felt like, Bryce didn't think she'd ever come back up for air.

Their lips parted, and Bryce opened her eyes. Danny still had his eyes closed, his lips twitching upwards into a smile that could've won an award. "How lucky am I to have found you?" He murmurs, winding his fingers into her soft hair.

"Under no circumstances do I want to let you go," Bryce says, before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek and laughing a bit. "But we have work to do, Danny."

---

It was dark now. The sun had set nearly an hour ago, disappearing beyond the horizon with the tides growing lower. All of the nurses in the joint-home were upstairs with Evelyn at the moment, watching a movie with many bags of popcorn and some cream candies that Candice had quickly whipped up before work that morning. The Johnson woman was still in her slump, but had managed to get through her first day back at work— so now the girls were giving her a relaxing night; all of them, with the exception of Bryce.

Bryce sits at a desk downstairs, in a room just past the back patio. She got a full view there of the moon, and the bright-shining stars outside. She was currently writing on her last page of paperwork; taken from a stack that she had brought home from work to complete to have a moderately easy day tomorrow. And as she figured her signature at the bottom of the page, she sighs a breath of utter relief.

"Finally," she mutters, placing her pen on the mahogany desk, and adding the paper to the finished stack. Now that she was done, Bryce would be free to change into her pajamas, and take to Evelyn's side while sitting in the comfort of her friends. But as she stands up and pushes her chair in, a soft knock on the back door of the home gains her attention.

With furrowed brows, she turns and begins walking in its direction. The door was see-through, which allowed her to see the stranger standing outside in the cool air. Bryce swallows, stopping clear in her spot.

Although she wasn't an absolute genius, and couldn't automatically jump to conclusions, she had already assumed the name of the man that stood just ahead of her. When their eyes met, Bryce's lips parted, and he removed the Air-force cap from his dirty-blond, shaggy hair. She moves forward with hesitance, opening the door to meet his gaze. Her limbs were locked in place, although her heart was beating out of her chest.

"I've heard so much about you," the woman says, her voice shaky and her eyes glossing over. "But never did I think I'd have the pleasure of meeting you, mister McCawley."

"I presume you're misses Dylan," a small smile falls upon the lips of the man, a chuckle falling out. His country accent dripped from his lips like molasses, which reminds Bryce of Danny. "Evelyn has told me every detail about you, so I should know you like the back of my hand."

"H—" Bryce is cut short by a throb in her throat. It stopped her breathing for a moment, making her bring her hand to her mouth. A tear escapes her eye, before she removes her hand. "I'm sorry. How are you here?"

"You wouldn't believe what I went through to get back," his voice shakes. "It was a close call, but I made it out. My Captain isn't aware I'm alive yet, I came straight here— but I'll be giving him a visit tomorrow . . . and Danny, but you probably don't know who that is."

"I do, actually," she laughs, a few more tears making an appearance. "More than you'd know, but that's another story for another time."

"Now that I'm back, I've got plenty of it," the man looks at her, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. "Wait, are you and Danny . . . ? Well, I'll be— I never thought he had it in him to talk to a girl."

"He's quite the charmer," Bryce tells him, placing a stray hair behind her ear. "And he'll be so happy to hear that you're okay. I'm happy to hear that you're okay— here I am, crying, and I've never even met you! What a grand person you are."

"Don't go crying on me now, I haven't even gotten to know you yet." He states, shaking his head.

Bryce can't help but pull him into an embrace, imagining the look of complete joy that will cross Danny's face when he sees that his best friend is alive. "Thank you for not dying. Really, I don't know how they were going to live a happy life without you, Rafe."

Rafe wraps his arms around the small woman's torso. "I'm sure you took good care of them while I was gone, Bryce. I look forward to getting to know you, I'll be needing a partner in crime."

"At your service," Bryce grins, pulling away as she tips her invisible cowboy hat. "Now, stay right here and I'll go get the woman of the hour."

Bryce turns, trying to keep a casual look on her face as she takes to the stairs, and makes her way to Evelyn's room. All of the nurses look at the raven-haired woman as she opens the door, their faces lighting up.

"Finally, Bryce!" Candice grins, yelling in a whisper. "We've been waiting for a while on you."

"I'm so sorry, but there's a package downstairs for Evelyn," Bryce lies, which catches Evelyn's attention. The brunette raises a questioning eyebrow, expecting Bryce to continue. "It's at the backdoor, the postman forgot it earlier and is asking for you to sign. It'll take just a minute, then she'll be back, I promise."

With a stiff nod, Evelyn stands from her spot on the floor. She hands Rose her bowl of popcorn, giving them an assuring smile, before exiting the room.

"A package at this time of night?" Evelyn asks her friend, confused, getting a nod in return.

"Have fun," Bryce comments, watching the woman descend down the stairs. The moment Evelyn's eyes find the back door and she gasps in utter disbelief, Bryce moves into the room of nurses, and closes the door behind her.

"You're lying to us, Bryce Dylan," Candice stands, placing her hands on her hips as Alyssa— a bleach-blond nurse that Bryce didn't know too well— flips on the lights. "Now tell me right now why Evelyn is 'going to get her late-night package'."

"Rafe is alive." Bryce says, the excitement reaching her eyes. "He's alive, and he's at the back door waiting for her!"

"Oh my gosh!" Candice squeals, pulling Bryce into a hug. "Wait," she pulls away, looking at the woman, "why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I wanted Evelyn to see for herself," Bryce shrugs. "But all that matters now is that he's back, and I can't wait for Danny to—"

And then there was a knock on the front door downstairs, and a familiar voice that made Bryce ten times happier.

"Bryce?" Danny says from outside, which could clearly be heard from Evelyn's open window. "You left your handkerchief in my car!"

_______

❝ things are gonna get heated in
the last chapters, i'm so excited omg.
people are gonna die and i can't handle
my emotions. anywho, i've edited the
intro and epigraph if you want to check
that out for spoilers because they almost
come right out and spoil everything. but
i know how i'm going to end everything
and i know you guys will need tissues. the book will be finished hopefully tomorrow, as i'll be updating some chapters today,
so get super excited!! ❞