Worth the Chance (Watertown University #2)

32. Garrett

Chapter 32

Garrett

M y mothers words weigh heavily in my mind. ‘If I could see myself loving her, then it’s ‘worth the chance’. That sounds utterly terrifying but considering my mind drifts back to El every other minute maybe she’s right. Even El said something about me not giving us a chance. Fuck me, I’ve made a mess of this. With a sigh, I heave out of bed. Another night of little sleep, tossing and turning while I think about the beautiful girl I let go so easily.

I quietly tiptoe down the stairs, assuming my mom is still asleep. I creep out the back door and nearly yelp when I see a figure sitting in one of the chairs on the back deck, my hand flying to my chest.

“Mom, I figured you’d still be sleeping.” In the thick of it, after Aubs passed my mom wouldn’t get out of bed until at least eleven in the morning.

“I don’t sleep in so much anymore.” She pats the arm rest of the seat next to her and I move to take the spot. “There’s something about the quiet of the morning.” She hums as she takes a sip of her coffee, she’s covered in a big fuzzy blanket since it is the end of November the air is quite cool. “Plus, for my job I usually start at eight in the morning and I like to get up around six to have some me time.”

“Where are you working?” I didn’t realize she was working again. For a while we lived off my dads income and then savings plus my moms unemployment.

“An insurance agency. I get to work from home three days a week, the other two I go in.”

“Wow, that’s great, mom.”

“Thanks” She takes another sip of coffee. “You know, I’m sorry for everything, Garrett.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” She grabs my hand in hers. “I know it might be too late but I want to be in your life Garrett. I want to be a good mom. If you’ll have me.”

“Of course. I’d love for you to be in my life.” I squeeze her hand back. “Maybe you can come to a game one day. If it’s at Watertown you can stay with me.”

“I’d like that.” She smiles at me. We sit in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the birds chirping and the wind bristling through the trees.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do about this girl?”

“I think, I think ’m going to risk it. I don’t know if it’s love yet but I think about her all the time, mom. Her laugh, her smile, her eyes and so much more.”

“She definitely sounds like she’s worth it.”

“She is.” I say it more to myself than anything else. She definitely is.

Mom and I spend most of the morning just sitting in our chairs and catching up. Eventually we head inside and eat cinnamon rolls before I have to hit the road. On my drive back to campus, I think of everything I can say to Eliza to try and convince her to give me a second chance. I have a feeling it will be more about actions though so I brainstorm everything possible to show her I want to give us a chance for real this time. So far on the list is baking her something, watching every episode of New Girl or begging on my knees for forgiveness. None of those ideas seem like the one but it’s progress.

Thankfully, we don’t have a game tonight because by the time I get back to campus I’m exhausted from the three hour drive and minimal sleep I’ve been getting for the past week. We have an away game tomorrow so I’m hoping now that I’ve settled on winning El back my mind will give me some kind of reprieve.

I got slightly more sleep last night but still not my typical amount. However, I do wake up with a little more spring in my step from the sleep and the decision to make El mine again. I eat breakfast before heading to the athletic center parking lot to get on a bus to our game.

“Someone’s in a good mood.” Bryan smirks as I get out of my truck with a grin on my face.

“Holidays do that to people.” I shrug.

“Did you and Eliza really break up?” Alex walks up to where we’re standing and my mood instantly falls.

“Where did you hear that?” While I know El ended our fake relationship as well we didn’t exactly publicize that.

“Someone commented on the school's hockey instagram.” He whips out his phone and sure enough on a picture posted this morning of me on the ice from the last game someone commented, ‘seems like we know why Garrett was off last week, his girlfriend and him are no longer an item.’ My fists clench at my sides, my jaw tightening even more as I read the username. IvyPerry. There’s no way El told her that we’d broken up. I can’t imagine they’ve rekindled in the last week.

“So is it true?” Alex asks warily .

“Kind of. But not for long.”

We win the game three to two. My focus was better than last week, still not the best as my eyes kept drifting to the stands where El usually sits and disappointment flooded me each time when I saw a group of guys sitting there cheering for the opposite team.

Despite that, I was able to fuel my feelings into two goals. Since this game is just under a two hour drive from campus we’re headed back there tonight. Thank god because I have some more brainstorming to do and prepping for Eliza’s return. Well, I’m assuming she’ll be headed back to the house tomorrow since we have classes on Monday but I could be totally wrong. I’m half tempted to text Ryan and see if he knows but I know that’ll look fishy.

He already sent me a text on Thanksgiving night that had my spine straightening. It said, “Happy Thanksgiving G-man. Tried to check in on you by asking El how you are but she got snippy with me. What did you do to her? JK she can be sassy. How are you?”

While I know Eliza can be sassy I would never describe her as snippy. There’s an ache in my chest knowing that I’m the one who has her acting that way. I’ve made a right mess of this whole situation but I’ll fix it. I’m still not sure exactly how, but I will.