Chapter 17 {NATE}

                                    

                                          
I currently sat on the floor of Dani's house with a glass of red wine.  Our parents apparently thought it'd be appropriate for the occasion, and I wasn't complaining.  
"Can I have some?"  Sam deviated.  "I am 15, you know?"  
I began to laugh, but Jamie was less than amused.  
"Knock it off."  She spat as she flicked the back of his head, making me laugh even harder.  "You can have some juice from the fridge."  
It was still crazy to me how much Sam has grown since I last saw him in person.  It felt bittersweet.  But nonetheless, we were all happy again.  In a way, we were all kind of one big family.
My phone then began to ring, snapping me out of my thoughts.  I pulled it out of my pocket to see who it was, reading 'Crazy Joe.'
"I'll be right back." I excused myself, stepping outside onto the front porch.  
"Hello?" I finally answered the phone as I seated myself on the porch swing.  
"Aye, Mista' L.A., so you know how you was thinkin' bout trustin' me with ya car to drive it down," he began to inquire, making me already wonder what he was going to go off about now.  "right?" 
"Right." I agreed, waiting to hear the punch line.
"So I looked that up and uh, it's almost a 48 hour drive." Joe exclaimed, sounding bewildered.  "You sure bout this?"
I stifled a laugh, remembering the drive to New York when I left five years ago.  It was long and hard and yet, I don't regret a single second of it.  
"I'm sure."  I confirmed with a laugh.  "You'll like San Francisco, it's a hell of a lot better than New York City."  
I talked with Joe for a few more minutes, agreeing that he'd drive up within the next week.  After we got done talking, I decided it was time to go on a mission.  
Well, nothing as exciting as it sounded, but it involves talking to Jamie.  
I popped my head back into the house and scanned the room until I spotted her sitting beside Dani.
"Hey Jamie," I called, motioning her outside.  "Can you come out here for a second?"  
She gave me a confused look, but came outside to the front porch with me anyways.  
"Is something wrong?"  She questioned as she seated herself beside me on the porch swing.
"No, no." I reassured her with a laugh.  "I was just wondering if you know what happened to all those letters I sent Dani?"  
"Oh, of course, I almost forgot!" She squealed as she shot up.  "I put them all in a box in my room so none would get ruined."  
I wave of relief washed over me.  As long as they were here and they weren't in Dani's possession, I was happy.  My plans were for her to maybe read them when I was able to bring her home, but the second I saw her, my plans changed.  I had much bigger plans.  
"I'm gonna need them."  I grinned nervously as I turned my head to peak inside the house, earning a questioning gaze from Dani before I turned back to Jamie. 
There was a moment of silence as Jamie seemed to be in deep thought before I heard a quiet sniffle.  Was she crying?
"You know,"  She started as she wiped her eyes, smearing a line of makeup down her cheek.  "I almost gave up.  I know it's awful to say, but it's true.  I can't thank you enough for being patient with my daughter and bringing her home to us.  I know I've dealt with a lot of self blame the past five years, but I think we're finally going to be able to gain some sort of peace on the entire situation."
I let out a deep breath, dismissing what she'd been saying.  "There's no one to blame at all, especially not you.  Dani loves you and I don't think she could've gotten a better mom to be by her side."
"You're a good guy Nate."  Jamie stated as she shot me a weak smile.  "I'm just happy you guys are back."
Truth be told, I was probably even more happy that we were back.  New York was not for me and I know it wasn't for Dani either.  We were made for sandy feet and beaches, not bright lights and subway stations.  
I cleared my throat and began to fiddle with my fingers nervously.  
"What's going on, Nate?"  Jamie inquired as she grabbed my hand in a motherly way.  
I stifled a laugh.  Nothing was wrong, in fact everything was actually quite right.  I felt so surreal to finally just have all this weight lifted off my shoulders.  But now that Dani's home and safe again, I needed to make sure I could keep her safe forever.  
Slowly, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small box that had been there for years now.  A gasp came from Jamie as she squeezed my arm and clapped a hand over her mouth.  
"Look, I know it's not very traditional, especially given the fact that we really didn't date for long at all before she took off to New York..." I rambled, my fingers getting sweaty.  "But I wanna marry your daughter."
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AUTHORS NOTE
Guys I am not even exaggerating when I say this, I CRIED WRITING THIS CHAPTER😂 I didn't realize how long it'd been since I've written here and my lordddddd I missed my favorite characters and of course you guys as well🥺   Hopefully this little bit makes up for it at least a little..
I definitely owe you guys an apology, I seriously didn't realize it'd been since April of 2020 that I last updated.  That feels crazy to me.  I'm so sorry to everyone I've made wait this long, seriously.  I promise I will start staying more on top of updates, and if I don't you guys better yell at me😂  this story and Night Terrors will always have a special place in my heart though, I promise I didn't forget about you guys❤️ 
But on another note, what has been happening in everyone's lives?!  I know some of you have been here since the VERY beginning and that's crazy to me, how are you guys doing?  
Anyways, I also wanted to say thank you to everyone for sticking with me through this and I really hope this brings you a little happiness and peace, even if it's just for a chapter❤️ if you ever want to check out more of my stories, I have three new ones up on my page!  One is called Saving The Bad Boy, another is called Little Miss Popular, and the third is a bit of a how to book on the story of how Night Terrors got to where it is some tips and advice to help you get there as well.  That story will be taken down soon though, as I am working on an online course that will teach you step by step how to accomplish writing a book and gaining success on Wattpad! 
Again, thank you so much, I hope you all are having an amazing day, and don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed it❤️