“Baby, why are you crying?” I asked softly, rubbing Drella’s shoulder. She just shook her head and rolled away from me. I frowned and sat up, sighing softly.

“Drella,” I said quietly. She sighed and sat up too, facing me. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tear stained. Her mouth scrunched up a little and she crawled back over to me, gently hooking her arms around my neck and placing her head on my shoulder. I carefully wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into my lap. “What’s going on?” I asked. She sniffed and lifted her head up.

“I was just thinking and got myself sad,” she said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“Oh,” I breathed out. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. She shook her head and placed it back down on my shoulder.

“You’re so warm,” she said with a light sigh, squeezing me. I smiled and turned my head, bending it around so I could kiss her head.

“You okay?” I asked softly, rubbing her back, just to make sure. I felt her nod against my head. “Want me to make you breakfast?” She nodded again. “What would you like?” I asked. She just snuggled into me more, not answering. I knew what that meant. “Waffles?” I asked with a small chuckle. She nodded again. I smiled and pulled away, placing my hand on her cheek and staring at her significantly. There was something in her eyes, but I couldn’t decide what it was and if it was a good or a bad thing. She smiled weakly and I leaned forward, kissing her forehead before sliding out of bed. I turned around when I reached the doorway, glancing back at Drella. She was climbing out of bed, too, walking in the direction of the bathroom while wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. I smiled softly at her even though she couldn’t see me, and then I turned back around, continuing my path to the kitchen.

I turned on the lights and wandered over to the fridge, yawning when I opened it up. I pulled out the milk and eggs. Then I pulled the waffle mix out of the pantry, stirring all of the ingredients into a bowl. As I went to crack the egg on the side of the bowl, I completely missed, slamming it into the counter, the egg completely crumbling in my hand. “Ugh,” I scrunched up my face, carefully turning around and discarding the egg fragments while washing my hand out in the sink.

Two days ago I finally did it—I had bought a ring. I didn’t know when or what I was going to do, and the pressure of it was driving me insane. I knew Drella was mine, but I was still terrified to ask her officially. I silently wished that Mike were around more, so he could help me man up a little. But as time went on we were becoming more and more distant. I didn’t know how to fix it.

Between wanting to ask Drella to marry me, worrying about my relationship with my brother, and meeting the due date for the album demo, my nerves were frazzled. I cleaned up the spilled egg and tried again, this time successfully getting it into the bowl without a mess.

As I waited for the waffle maker to heat up, I let my mind drift again. Was Drella having second thoughts about us? Was that why she was so upset this morning?

I knew I was thinking ridiculously, but the closer I got to asking her, the more worried I became that it wasn’t going to work out. My confidence was lowering to unthinkable levels, unthinkable because we have been dating for so long and I shouldn’t even have to think twice about this kind of thing. I guess it was just natural instinct to be nervous.

The waffle maker lit up, indicating that it was ready. I stirred the mix another time and poured a quarter cup of it into the maker, closing the lid and letting it cook. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Baby,” she said quietly, coming up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my middle and rested her head in the space between my shoulders.

“Hi,” I said, placing my hands over hers. I gently gripped her fingers in my hands and pulled her arms away; I dropped one of her hands so I could turn around and face her and then I grabbed it again. She smiled up at me and leaned up, kissing the corner of my mouth.

“Vic,” she said quietly. “I texted Mike,” she said.

“You did?” I asked worriedly. “Was he nice to you?” She nodded.

“I don’t like how things are, Vic. I want him back and I think you do too,” she said quietly.

“Me too,” I murmured. “What did you say?”

“I just want to talk to him. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, darling,” I chuckled. “I think he’ll listen to you better, anyway,” I reasoned. I frowned a little and dropped her hands, turning around and taking the waffle out of the maker. I poured more mix and then closed it again. I turned back to Drella who had a frown on her face, too.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am. Why?”

“Mike,” she muttered. I nodded and sighed.

“I just don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything, Vic. I promise.” She hooked her arms around my neck and leaned closer to me, so our faces were inches apart. I didn’t really believe her, though—why else would Mike ignore me and not her? Every time I tried to reach out to him he never responded. “I asked him to talk and he said okay. I’m going to meet him in an hour and a half, at a Starbucks by his apartment,” she said.

“Okay, that’s good,” I nodded. I sighed and leaned forward, so our foreheads were touching. I closed my eyes and loosely wrapped my arms around her waist.

“It’ll be o-okay,” she said. I opened my eyes and raised my eyebrow at her. “Sorry,” she laughed a little. “I had a thingy in my throat.”

“Oh,” I murmured.

“Breakfast now?” she asked with a smile. I nodded and turned around, turning the waffle maker off and slapping the cooked ones onto paper plates. She grabbed a plate and the bottle of syrup and I followed her to the small little table we had in the kitchen.

Drella was awfully quiet during breakfast; she was normally very enthusiastic whenever I made homemade waffles. Today, she just looked very thoughtful. It was probably about meeting Mike soon.

“Do you want me to take you?” I asked.

“Take me where?” she canted her head to the side.

“To meet Mike.”

“Um,” she shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip. “I can just go myself. It’s okay.”

He must really hate me, then, I thought, letting out a small sigh.

“Okay,” I said. We threw out our plates away and I quickly cleaned up the small mess I made from making breakfast.

“I’m going to get ready,” she said. I nodded and she disappeared into our room. I sighed. I walked lazily into the living room and picked up my guitar. I set it in my lap and played a few chords, strumming quietly. I must have been sitting there for a while, losing my thoughts in the sound, because before I knew it I felt Drella loosely wrap her arms around my shoulders. She leaned her head over my shoulder and kissed my cheek. I smiled and turned my head to face her, mumbling a “hi.”

“Hi,” she responded. “Vic, are you happy?” she asked quietly.

I nodded. “Promise?” she asked even quieter, leaning over me more so she was clutched to my back and her hair was in my face. I smiled and nodded again.

“Yes, Drella. Why?”

“I’m just making sure,” she said, pulling away. She touched her palm to my cheek and smiled happily at me. Her eyes were sparkling. I loved her so much. It was almost pathetic. But I didn’t even care. If my love for her made me “soft”, I would be the most comfortable shoulder to lean on. Sometimes I couldn’t get over how much this one girl meant to me. I leaned forward and kissed her. She smiled, so did I.

“I have to go,” she said. She kissed me again and then relaxed around me.

“Okay. Um, I hope things go well,” I said lowly, looking down a little. She touched her fingers to my chin and picked my head up. She was always picking my head up.

“They will,” she promised. “I love you,” she sang.

I shot her a toothy grin. “I love you too.” She leaned forward and kissed me quickly and then jumped up.

“See ya soon!” she exclaimed. I nodded and watched as she rushed out of our apartment, the door slammed behind her and for some reason I found myself staring at the door for a few more minutes, even after she was gone.

“I’m going to do it tonight,” I declared, setting my guitar down in its stand. A wave of energy flowed through me—whether it was positive or negative I didn’t know. I just felt like I needed to stop being a wimp and man up for once, and make it happy. We loved each other. We were serious about each other. Why not make it even more official? We already lived together, we already knew that our futures didn’t exist without each other.

I smiled to myself and darted off to my room. I took a quick shower, feeling even more refreshed after it. I decided to leave my hair curly today, because I knew she liked it that way better. I put on regular pants and a t-shirt for now, because I had no idea what I was going to wear later. In fact, I still had no idea how I was going to do it. I put the ring in my pocket, though, to keep it safe and secure. I grumbled to myself, wishing that I had Mike for advice. Maybe if Drella went through to him, I could hold off another week or so and he could help me.

I shook my head and sighed. I really fucking needed my brother.

But, then again, I knew Drella so well. I knew what she would like—and I knew that no matter what I did, she wouldn’t hate it. It wasn’t the way I asked her that mattered; it was that I asked her. I just needed to man up and do it, use the confidence that she has given me over the years.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I walked back to my guitar, picking it up and delicately running my fingers across the strings. I always did my best thinking when I was playing. I closed my eyes and strummed along.

I lost myself playing—I jumped when I heard my phone ring. I set my guitar down and saw that it was Drella.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hi, Vic. I’m on my way back,” she said.

“Okay Drella. Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said softly. Then, she hung up. My eyebrows furrowed, I set my phone down on the counter and bit my lip. I wondered how meeting with Mike went. Did she get through to him?

As usual, my thoughts made me comatose. Within seconds I heard Drella entering the apartment, even though it had probably been ten minutes.

“Hey, Drel—” I paused, seeing Mike following in behind her.

“Mike,” I muttered, looking up at him but then looking away. He looked miserable; that only made me feel worse about things between us. If he didn’t want to be here—and it was clear that he didn't—then I wanted him to leave. It hurt to see him all hateful like this.

“Hey,” he mumbled. I pursed my lips into a tight line and shook my head, avoiding his eye contact. We were supposed to be brothers but when I saw that he wasn’t looking at me either it felt like we were anything but that. He just didn’t care, did he? I sighed, looking at Drella.

“Uh, what’s up?” I asked. I didn’t think Drella was going to be able to convince Mike to come here, and before I would have been glad but now that he was here the negativity in the atmosphere was suffocating and I didn’t enjoy it one bit.

“Vic,” Drella said quietly. I looked closer at her and saw her eyes were watering and her bottom lip was trembling.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong baby?” I cooed, taking a small step towards her. I saw, from the corner of my eye, Mike’s face twist painfully as he stared at me crossly. My eyes flickered away from his and I shook my head, focusing back on Drella.

“It’s okay, Drella, just tell him,” Mike encouraged. I turned my head and stared at him in confusion.

“This isn’t about Mike?” I questioned. I had assumed that Drella had brought him here to try and resolve things—even though I didn’t even know what we were trying to resolve.

“Vic,” Drella said again, placing the inside of her hand on my cheek and pulling me back to her. “I went to him for help, because I didn’t know what to do… I was afraid because your band will take off soon, and I didn’t want to burden you, and I don’t want you to be stressed and—”

“Slow down, baby, it’s okay. What’s going on?” I cut her off gently, confused entirely. Drella would never be a burned to me. But now I understood why Mike was here—Drella used to always go to him when she had problems; he would help her with them, especially back before Drella and I started dating. Maybe this meant Mike was trying to come back.

But I shook my head slightly because I couldn’t think about that right now. “Vic,” she sighed and looked down. She blinked and tears fell from her eyes. But she had a small smile on her face. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

I stared at her for a long time—probably too long. “You’re pregnant?” I whispered back, just to make sure that I heard her correctly. She nodded and bit her lip expectantly, her eyes still watering. Her hands were clasped together tightly in front of her, out of nervousness. I gently traced my fingers down her arms until I got to her hands. She let me separate them and I took them in mine; I held them up and lifted her wrists, hooking her arms around my neck. I dropped my hands and she kept hers securely around my neck. I put my hands on her waist and pulled her up into me, so our faces were inches apart. A large smile formed on my face, causing her to smile, too. “You’re pregnant!” I whisper exclaimed.

Tears dripped out of her eyes but her smile was excited and happy. She nodded a few times, then she leaned forward so our foreheads were resting against each other’s.

“Are you okay with this?” she whispered shyly, blinking a few times.

“Drella! Of course I am!” I wrapped my arms around her even tighter, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. “…are you?” I checked. She nodded and kissed me again, but then we both just smiled against each other’s mouths, unable to contain it. “Oh, God, I love you,” I cried softly, still smiling but my eyes were blurry because of tears. She laughed a little and sniffed.

“I love you, too,” she mumbled, tightening her arms around my neck and burying her face into my hair. I rocked her back and forth as she kissed into my hair over and over and over. I smiled and pressed my lips to the side of her head, closing my eyes. After a moment, I pulled away. I took her head in between my hands; she was gleaming at me. Then, I slid my hands down until they were at her waist. I grinned at her and then knelt down, so I was eye level with her stomach. I traced my fingers across her belly and looked up at her, grinning. She giggled and ran her fingers through my hair. I placed a prolonged kiss on her abdomen; then, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. “I love you so much,” I mumbled against her.

I unwrapped my right arm from her, shoving it into my pocket. My hand delicately toyed the ring in my pocket. I bit my lip and looked up at her, suddenly feeling inspired.

“Drella,” I said lowly.

“Yeah?” she asked softly, touching her palm to my cheek.

“I… I was going to wait for tonight, but I, uh,” I paused, looking down for a second before looking back up at her. I bit my lip a little and adjusted my position, so I was on one knee instead of two. “This seems like a pretty good time,” I continued with a small smile. The corners of her lips twitched upwards into a smile because she knew what I was doing. “Drella,” I gulped a little. “I love you, with all my heart. And I can’t believe—well, I can believe it—we’re having a baby together… we’re starting a new life together… and I just,” I cracked a wider smile and shook my head at my rambling. I buried my head into her stomach and kissed her belly again. With a wide smile I pulled away and looked up at her, pulling the ring out of my pocket and holding it up towards her. My fingers were shaking and you could almost notice. “Marry me?” I finally asked breathlessly.

“Yes, Vic,” she exhaled, grinning at me widely. “Yes, of course,” she repeated. I beamed at her, gently taking her left hand and slipping the ring on. Her smile broadened even more as I stood back up to be at her level; she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and I held her tightly, mumbling “I love you”s into her hair. In that moment it was just me and her. I forgot about the shit with Mike and the shit with the band—all that mattered was our future that was clearing up day after day. I could really see it now—of course I always could see it, because without her I didn’t even have a future, but now it was just crystal clear.

We pulled away from each other and both sniffed, I dried her happy tears and she dried mine. I gulped, knowing that it was time to face Mike. I felt bad for kind of forgetting about him while Drella and I had out moment—but, then again, I shouldn’t have to feel bad. He was here for a reason and I was hoping that that reason was to make amends, so we could all be a part of each other’s lives again, like old times, before mom and dad died.

But maybe that wasn’t his intentions at all. Maybe he hated me—for whatever reason—and he was only here to support Drella, our little Switzerland, where peace momentarily resided between us just for her sake.

But I guess that peace couldn’t last.

Because when I turned to acknowledge him, maybe see if he was going to stick around for good so we could be brother’s again, so we could make our future in a band together just as crystal clear as my future with Drella, I frowned—he wasn’t there.

Notes

Sorry for the delay!

Ahh the next few chapters are going to be heavy with drama, I think. This ends at chapter 10.

Thanks for reading! xo