(Carter's POV)

I watched her, I watched her eyes burst into tears as she rushed out of the restaurant. My heart welled up for her, squeezing as she fled the scene.  I never meant to hurt her, but she was unreliable. Erin, wasn't ever going to be the one no matter how much I loved her. There was too much holding her back.

I fiddled with the food on my plate for a moment. I should be happy. The smile on my face was forced. I didn't mean to hurt her. Why the hell was she here? Why was Erin Rose here the night I decided to propose. I look at the woman in front of me, she stares at the ring as if the diamond I got her just wasn't big enough. I cursed myself, I knew it wouldn't be but I kept the ring,  I made sure everything was perfect, but I made sure it was for the girl I had wished Kylie would be. Her blonde hair, though fake, matched Erin’s almost perfectly. Her green eyes called to me almost the same song as Erin's, her lips were different and I was reminded of that everytime we kissed.

I made a mistake. I sit here trembling trying to think of things to say, I couldn't ruin this night now. Id thought about this for weeks. Giving up on the idea of ever being with anyone else I did what I had to, to make Kylie the one. Our pictures would be happy, the wedding will be over the top, and if I set a budget I knew she could blow it out of the water. Shaking my head I tried to get out of my thoughts. My mind wandering back to the look on Erin's face as she ran out of her. My gut was turning and maybe it was from nerves of proposing but maybe something was telling me I needed to run after her. I needed to see if she was okay.

It wasn't my job though. I had the girl I needed to take care of Eri…..Kylie. I mean Kylie.

Kylie deserved better though. She deserved a man that wanted to swoon her off her feet as well as give her everything in the world. I could only seem to muster up the energy for one or the other. She paid no attention to me though as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and begins snapping selfies of her and her new ‘bling' as she was calling it. I glanced at the watch on my hand as I try to take another bite of my food. I wasn't in the mood to sit her much longer but I wouldn't rush Kylie. Id found out over the last few months that it didn't matter how late we were, if you rushed Kylie she would explode. I didn't want to deal with her princess attitude right now. I didn't want to deal with it ever.

Maybe if I snuck out for a moment she wouldn't realize. I knew I was correct but my heart wouldn't let me do that to the poor girl. I shook my head reaching my hand across the table, placing it on her wrist. She looks up at me, anger flooding her eyes that I had interrupted her. Soon it changes to an expression of love as she smiles, her eyelashes fluttering, both because they were too heavy and because she thought it was cute.

“I'm going to go outside to take a breather for a second, my nerves from proposing are still intense,” she nods her head turning back to her phone. Maybe Erin would still be there. I glanced at Kylie before pushing myself away from the table. I loved the mornings she would wake up right next to me, no makeup, no attitude, just smiles. We would sit in bed for hours since I never wanted to leave that moment. She so nice to be around sometimes and other times it was pretty much a living hell, especially if her hairdresser messes up her hair.

I left the dining room without anyone really noticing, what would others think? They would think I was horrible for ditching her after proposing, but like New Yorkers, California people were just too caught up in their own lives to realize anything.

The rain outside was welcoming, at first it was a light sprinkle, but i've lived her long enough to know it was going to get worse and quick. I scanned the beach for tourists, if I knew anything about Erin, this is where she would be. A young couple with their son that looked to be about five runs through the rain and the water, chasing the birds that are looking for a place to shelter out the storm. A small smile makes it to my lips as I watch the young happy couple. That's what I had hoped for in my life but boy had I messed up.

Scanning a little further down the beach was two girls, sitting solemnly as the rain pours down. It was a little harder now, just as I had expected it, but still it was welcomed. I could barely make out Clara’s curls that were now drenched with water and flowing in different directions as they start to straighten out. She was hugging Erin  and it looked as if her shoulders were heaving. As if she was crying. My heart broke once again.

I wanted to go over there, to comfort her, to make everything okay. I had made a commitment to Kylie though and this felt like a betrayal. But Erin  had been my best friend for so many years. That didn't just wash away in the pouring rain. I took the first step, my nerves still anxious as I close the distance between us. The sun had set, the lightning and street lights were the only sense of direction. Erin  and Clara needed to get out of this storm now.

I felt the steps getting easier as I got closer. Something about Erin  pulled me in. I was like a fish caught on a fishing hook, getting reeled into shore.  By now I could feel the thunder and the lightning. We needed to get off the beach. Tourists rushed to their cars to take shelter or head back to their hotels but for some reason. Erin sat still. She didn’t fade into the sand, she didn’t move as the rain begin to pour so hard it hurt. Clara did her best to shield the both of them. The wind was whipping now, the sand rubbing our skin like sandpaper. This was going to be a crazy storm. Once I reached the two girls I grabbed Erin’s shoulders, her mind must have been elsewhere because she didn’t even turn around to see who it was. Clara looked at me, smiled before moving from her friends side.

“Head towards the restaurant and I will get her. Take cover and call an Uber so you guys can get back to your hotel safely. This storm is going to be brutal.

“There wasn’t a tsunami warning or anything what is going on?” Clara had to practically shout to get her voice over the storm, but Erin never took her eyes off of the angry sea.

“No, this is just a coastal rain storm, they can be pretty bad. Just wait the night out in the hotel and it will be cleared by tomorrow morning,” I was even shocked at how calm I was. I knew I needed to get Erin off of the sand soon, the water from the waves crashing closer to us than it had been before. Hopefully she would listen to me though.

Clara did as I said, she took off running down the beach as fast as she could against the wind. Her heels making it difficult to travel through the sand so finally she stopped… took them off, and continued her journey towards the restaurant. I turned to Erin, she was my focus now.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” I started by apologizing as the guilt was eating me up inside and I wasn’t sure I was going to be be able to handle it for must longer. She didn’t budge. Her eyes still captivated by the lightning that struck the waves every so often, the water splashing around its energy. Twirling and swirling until it crashed against the beach in a mess of directions. “I should have never left,” It felt like I was yelling at her, but I knew I had to so she could hear me.

Slowly she turned to look at me, her eyes filled with tears, her cheeks red and swollen where they had ran freely before the rain washed them all away. Her hair was soaked by now and her mascara was slightly smudged under her eyes but in this moment she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I wanted to kiss her so bad, and as cheesy as it sounds, a storm like this was perfect. I found myself leaning forward as if my body had made the decision but my brain wouldn’t follow.

“I should have picked you,” She muttered, and it was so quiet I nearly missed it, but my eyes so focused on hers felt the words in my heart.

I grabbed her hand in mine and felt the ring. The ring another man had given her, much like the ring I had just Given Kylie. I shook thoughts of her away, I’m sure she hadn’t noticed how long I had been gone. My heart drips onto my forehead as the rain quickly pushes it away soaking my skin.

“No, let’s not worry about that now, I need to get you out of this storm,” She nods, maybe she had finally had enough of it. I quickly wrap my arms around her, my body taking over as I manage to get her to the side of the road. Clara was waiting an Uber parked under the patio of the buildings. All they needed was Erin. I looked at her before handing her off to Clara. Her face broke my heart, her eyes never meeting mine. It was like she was ashamed of me, or something she had done. I lean down and kiss her cheek before whispering in her ear.

“We will see eachother again, not get home and keep yourself safe,” The words came easy. My body shaking with fear that something might have happened to her if I hadn’t rushed out. My own thoughts could have kept me at the table for days before I would have snapped back to reality. I turned to look at the storm once more. It was in it’s full force as the rain continued to pelt the ground, as if the world too was angry.

Erin didn’t say anything as she jumped in the Uber, but Clara nodded, mumbled a quick thank you before closing the door behind her. The Uber slowly pulled away from the curb and begins down the road towards their hotel. I hoped they weren’t too far. I shook my head to get the water out of my hair the best I could before heading back into the restaurant. I wondered what Kylie would say when she saw me. I also wondered what I was going to tell her when she asked why I was soaked.

Guests were staring at me as I made it back to my table. Kylie was still preoccupied with her phone to pay attention to my sopping wet suit. I would have to get this dry cleaned I thought to myself. I quickly pulled my jacket off hoping that would help with some of the drips on the carpet of the nice place. I’m sure they were just thrilled with my attire. I tried getting Kylie’s attention but it was to no avail. I pulled my wallet and phone out of my pockets to see if they too were ruined. My phone turned on, it still worked but the outside of my wallet was soaked. I might need to get a new one. I pulled out the cash I had brought to pay for the meal, threw it down on the table before placing my hand on Kylie’s wrist once again.

“Sweetheart,” The word killed me to say, especially what had just happened outside. I was saying it to the completely wrong person. Kylie looked up from her phone, her face questioning why I was as wet as I was. I brush it off before continuing. “We need to get going, the storm outside if pretty bad,” She nodded her head gathering her things. Tonight we would head back to her place. Like we normally did.

(Erin’s POV)

    Why had he come out to see me? Why didn’t he stay in the restaurant? His entire life was no in there, especially the second he got down on one knee. My heart throbbed with both pain and confusion. My hair dripping against my bare skin. Normally this would drive me crazy, I would panic, do whatever I could to make it stop, but right now… I couldn’t be bothered with it.  Clara held my hand as the Uber driver, though slowly, drove us back to our hotel. His windshield wipers were going as fast as they could but the rain still proved to be stronger.

    I couldn’t believe I had sat out there for so long before Carter was finally able to pull me out of my trance. The water was calling me too it and the angrier it got the more I wanted to dance in the waves. I tried my best to not look at Clara, as she too was soaked and it was all my fault. We should have just went home the first time I asked to. I should have never been there. Ignorance is bliss and at this moment that was all I wanted. I didn’t want to know what Carter and Kylie were doing. She didn’t really love him and that broke my heart even more… because I did.

    “That is an insane storm,” Clara mumbled as she looked out her window squinting her eyes. She couldn’t see anything though. She was just as confused and nervous as I was. Her body trembling. She must have been cold. I wish I could comfort her right now, but there was too much going on in my own head that I couldn’t seem to find the words to say. The storm was insane, and I knew that. It was also crazy how long I had sat there not even bothered by it. I could feel the rain hitting my skin, probably leaving tiny bruises as it fell so quickly. I didn’t care.

    I nodded my head. The Uber driver pulled under the cover of the hotel before letting us out. Clara quickly paid him and I had to remind myself that I needed to pay her back. She had paid for dinner and our ride back. I needed to step up and even this out a little bit. I knew she would fight me on it so I let it simmer until another time.

    The young girl behind the desk gave us weird looks as we enter the hotel. Our shoes in our hands, our dresses stuck to our skin in awkward spots due to the rain, and our hair dripping onto the nice floor. Clara waves to the girl before she mutters off one of her quick responses.

    “Just singing in the rain,” The girl looks at her, giving her an even more confused look. I grabbed her arm before pulling her into the elevator. I didn’t know if I would be able to sleep tonight, but I did know my body was craving the nice warm sheets of my bed. But first I would have to take a shower. Clara hits the button and the elevator begins to slowly climb.

    Once we were back in our rooms I closed the blinds to the patio. I didn't want to see the storm. In my mind it had taken Carter away from me too soon. He needed to talk and I could tell it was important. His words flashing through my mind.

    I should have never left.

    I chuckled softly to myself. He was right. He should have never left but I was glad he did. Andrew and I had… or still have… a beautiful relationship and I couldn’t let Carter ruin that. I fumbled with my phone. I would try calling him again in the morning. He was three hours ahead so it would be nearly three in the morning for him. Hopefully he would answer my call, he wouldn’t be too caught up in whatever business he had going on.

    Clara and I went our separate ways, but not before she mumbled another apology as she hugged me. I wasn’t sure why she was apologizing. I needed to remember to ask her in the morning. But right now I needed to take my shower. I needed to go to sleep or do my best to attempt sleep.

    Everything felt like a dream. Like this hadn’t happened and the storm was just a part of my nightmares. But it was so real. Everything felt so real, and everything felt really wrong.

    Carter deserves a girl that will actually love him. Not some girl who was talking to her friends or someone on the phone right before he proposed about how she was just in it for the money.

    Why did he propose though? Did he feel like destroying his life on the wrong person? Did he think she was really going to be true to him? She could barely be true to herself, especially with all the time she spent on her phone instead of listening to him, I’m amazed she even paid attention long enough to hear him propose.

    But why did he have to propose?

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What do you think? Does is seem like Erin just can't win? How did you like this chapter and all the drama.
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