After washing me, he covers my body with a blanket and kisses my forehead.
"I love you, Gabi," I hear him whisper right before falling into a dream.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alex
"Why are you staring at me like that? It's creepy," Gabi asks playfully when she opens her eyes and sees me in front of her, having studied her beautiful face for the last two hours while she was asleep.
"I can't believe you're real," I say with a smile, and it's true. I woke up a couple of times during the night, simply to check if Gabi was here, and it wasn't just a dream.
"You'll have to get used to it. You said I'm the prisoner of the bed," she reminds me, and we both laugh.
"I thought you wouldn't remember that." I reach out a hand and touch her cheek. She closes her eyes in pleasure. Her skin is so tender and soft under my fingers.
I can't believe I can actually touch her. And not only feel her but also kiss her, hug her, make love to her. I almost convinced myself that it would never happen.
And now that I have her, I want to spend the rest of my life with this woman.
"Marry me," I say, and she immediately opens her eyes, looking at me with shock on her face.
I continue stroking her cheek. "Marry me. I'm serious."
"You can't be serious. You don't know me."
"I know you well enough to understand that I want to spend my whole life with you."
She stays quiet for a moment, studying my face, trying to decide if I'm serious.
"What if you change your mind?" She frowns, still looking at me with disbelief.
"I will never change my mind." I shake my head in response.
"How do you know?"
I lean closer to make deeper eye contact with her.
"Gabi." I exhale deeply, too tired to argue with her, brushing my thumb over her lower lip.
I don't want this battle between us. I know that I’ve already lost. She won my heart and my soul forever.
"I have been waiting my whole life for you," I whisper. " I'll never let you go."
A slight, satisfied smile appears on her face, slowly, as if she's afraid to show it.
"What if I'm not sure?" I hear the words I’ve been the most afraid of. Luckily, I know the answer.
"I have all my life to prove my love to you. Ask whatever you want," I say seriously.
I knew she would probably have a thousand questions after what happened. And I am ready for that. This girl has to understand that I'm asking her to marry me for real.
"Why did you quit swimming? Was it because of Alison?" The most hurtful question comes first.
"Yes," I exhale, fighting with myself not to close my eyes. This pain is still unbearable. "I couldn't do what I loved anymore. To be honest, I couldn’t do anything. I thought I didn’t deserve to do what made me happy when she was dead because of me."
She listens carefully, looking deeply into my eyes, and then places her palm on my hand.
"I'm with you," she whispers, and those are the most beautiful words I've ever heard.