Worth the Chance (Watertown University #2)

38. Eliza

Chapter 38

Eliza

L ast night Garrett and I watched Love Island while cuddling in my bed. We both ended up falling asleep and I was embraced in a cocoon of warmth all night. I loved it. The sun streaming through my curtains woke me a few minutes ago and I’ve been enjoying the moment, watching him sleep. I lightly run my fingertips up and down his arm, stirring him awake.

“Good morning, baby.” His voice is deliciously raspy.

“Good morning, boyfriend.”

“I like that.” He cups my cheek, smiling that gorgeous smile at me.

“Me too.”

He presses his lips to mine and I instantly get lost in the kiss. Everything about it feels right. He pulls back way too quickly for my liking. I frown at him, letting him know my disappointment.

“I know. I wish I could stay here forever but I have practice.”

“You’re going to practice after last night?” Concern rushes through me. I don’t know much about injuries and the protocol for letting your body heal but one night doesn’t seem like enough, even if he claims it wasn’t that serious.

“I’ll probably just stretch and meet with the athletic trainer again.” He reassures me. “Even if we’re injured we’re expected to be there to show support.”

“Just be careful, okay?”

“Promise.” He links our pinkies together.

Before he leaves for practice we make breakfast together. Well, he makes breakfast and I watch. He makes us egg sandwiches on a bagel with a side of berries. It’s so nice to be getting back to us, an even better us than we were before.

“You’re not busy tonight, right?” Garrett looks over his cup of coffee at me.

“No. I’m not. What’s up?”

“Okay, keep your schedule open for me.”

“I suppose I can do that.”

“It’ll be worth it, promise.” He gets up to clear his plate but places a soft kiss to my forehead first. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you later.” This time he kisses my lips.

“Bye!” I call as he jogs out the door.

Since I have a few free hours on my hand I decide to text Mia and see if she’s around. I need to fill her in on the events of the night before.

Me

Hiii! Are you doing anything

Mia

Nope! I’m free for a bit. Want to go to The Blue Bean?

Me

Yes! Meet you there in 20!

Mia

See you soon !

Mia and I walk up to the coffee shop at the exact same time. We embrace in a quick hug and then duck inside to get out of the cold. December is in full swing and the air has a bone deep chill to it. We place our orders and then grab a seat in the back of the shop. Luckily, it’s pretty empty today.

“Spill.” Mia says as soon as our butts hit the seats.

“I might have a boyfriend.”

“Shut up!” Mia squeals. The couple placing an order looks our way concerned.

“Mi! Sh!”

“Sorry but I called it!” She shimmies in her seat. “Tell me everything.” And I do. From his mom finding us making out, to all the things he said about me, to falling asleep in each other’s arms.

“I’m so happy for you.” Mia grabs my hands in hers.

“Thank you.”

Garrett didn’t disclose where we were going but told me to dress comfy. So, I put on my flared leggings and an oversized hoodie. He then offered me a different hoodie since he apparently likes seeing me in his clothes. I’m not going to complain though since I enjoy wearing them and they’re the perfectly oversized fit on me.

We drive along the back roads of Watertown and into the next town over. The tree’s are all bare, their leaves long gone. Most people hate this time of year, where everything’s dead but I’ve always enjoyed the beauty of the seasons. Sometimes things have to fall apart to be put back together even better. I think that’s applicable to a lot of things I’ve experienced in life so far.

As the sun starts to set in the sky we pull up to a local ice cream stand. One of the ones that you know is homemade .

“Garrett, what?”

“I called ahead.” He states simply. “I explained everything we would need. The owner said it was no problem. She has gluten free cones, an unopened thing of sprinkles that says gluten free on it and fresh, safe flavors in the back she can scoop from.” I stare at him dumb founded. This man. He’s so incredible.

“You’re amazing ya know that?”

“I don’t know about that.” He shrugs. “C’mon let’s go get you a treat.” We walk up to the stand hand in hand.

“I’m surprised this place is open.” Most places that have the outside ordering are closed in the winter.

“I know I was too but the owner said she feels it’s never too cold for ice cream.”

“You know what? I agree with that.” We both laugh. As we approach the counter a sweet older lady greets us.

“Hi there! Are you Garrett and Eliza?” She beams at us.

“We are.” Garrett shakes her hand.

“It’s so nice to meet you.”

“You as well.”

“Eliza let me tell you what flavors we have available for you.” She looks down at a list she has on the counter. “We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, purple cow, and chocolate chip. We also have a soft serve machine out back that we use for allergies.” My eyes go wide. Soft serve was always my favorite growing up.

“I’ll have a soft serve twist in a cone with rainbow sprinkles, please.”

“Of course, dear. How about you?” She looks at Garrett.

“I’ll do the same. I’ll take mine gluten free too.”

“Sounds great. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later she comes back with two cones decorated in an array of colored sprinkles. After we pay, we take our treats back to Garrett’s truck, climbing in and facing the open field to watch the sunset .

“Mmm. I haven’t had ice cream in a cone in forever. Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” We both eat our ice creams silently for a bit. Letting the light sounds of the radio play in the background. The sky in front of us is fiery tonight with hues of yellow and orange engulfing the sky.

“Aubree loved sunsets.” Garrett pipes up as he finishes the last bite of his cone. I look over to him and there’s a mist over his eyes. I reach out and thread our fingers together to let him know I’m there for him. “In the summer we’d go to the pond in our neighborhood to sit and watch the sunset almost every night.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“It was.” It looks like the memories wash over him. “In the winter it would freeze over and everyone in the neighborhood would skate on it. Aubs begged mom and dad to let her learn for years. Eventually they gave in. She wanted me to do it with her, gave me these puppy dog eyes that I couldn’t say no to. She’s the reason I even got on the ice in the first place.” One tear rolls down his cheek. I reach over with my free hand, wiping it away with the pad of my thumb.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” He gives me a weak smile. “I want you to know everything and I want to share her memory more.”

“She does sound pretty great.”

“Oh yeah you guys would have gotten along great.” He laughs. “You both love to give me sass.” I smile at that, giving sass is the little sister right of passage.

“Anyways, she was the best. She was so kind, always wanting to give back even at such a young age. When she was seven she got diagnosed with Leukemia.” I can’t help the small intake of air as the words leave his mouth. How awful. No person, especially child , should have to go through that. I squeeze his hand harder. “It was awful, of course, but the outlook was good. They thought with treatment she’d beat it. She was even making progress but then it started to spread until it was taking over too much of her body. She ended up passing after she turned eight.”

“Oh Garrett, I’m so sorry.”

“Losing someone at that age, it’s awful. I guess you’d know.” Our situations are slightly different but losing a dad and a sibling are both terrible things to go through, especially as a child. “She passed probably around the same time your dad did.” Aubree and I would be about the same age and I lost my dad when I was seven, so it seems like that’s the case.

“I bet he’s watching out for her, wherever the other side is.” Tears well in my eyes and I try to blink them away.

“I like the thought of that.” Now, it’s Garrett wiping away my tears.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I love your big heart.” We both take a moment to silently collect ourselves, watching as the sun fully disappears from the sky. “After she passed, things were tough at home. Mom turned to booze to numb the pain. Dad was messed up but he tried to be there for us, for a little bit, anyways. I didn’t know it at the time but he was doing drugs. He was normal around us for the most part the first year after she was gone but slowly he started to become more and more angry. He had a short temper. He never hit us or anything but he would yell at me and belittle me. Always thought it should be me who was taken from them instead of Aubs, as if I hadn’t wished the same thing.”

“Oh Gar. That’s not a good way to think.”

“I know that now but at the time it was hard to not feel that guilt. I’ve been talking about it with my new therapist.”

“Therapist?”

“Yeah. I told you I was working on myself and I found I have a lot of things I need to unpack in my life. I want to be a better person El. For you, for myself.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” He blushes. “Well one day my dad ended up robbing a local convenience store at gunpoint.” I gasp, my eyes going wide. “I know.” He nods at my response.

“The day it happened, I saw him leaving the house. He shoved a gun in the pocket of his jacket. I thought it was odd, I didn’t even know he owned one. Later that day he came home disheveled and was counting piles of cash on the table. I was only twelve but something didn’t sit right with me about it. I went up to my room and turned on the television and on the news they were talking about how they were looking for a suspect in an armed robbery in my town. Before they even described the guy I knew it had to be my dad. So I called the number on the screen.”

“Less than an hour later, cops were taking him out of the house in handcuffs. He figured out it was me pretty quickly when one of the officers clapped me on the shoulder. He’s forever held it against me, claiming I’m the one who ruined his life, ruined our family.”

“You didn’t.”

“Even if I did, I couldn't regret it. Just because our family was ruined didn’t mean the family who worked hard at their business should be ruined. They deserved more than that.”

“You’re a really good guy. You know that?”

“Thanks, baby.” He offers me another weak smile.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s still in prison. He actually sent me a letter a week before Thanksgiving.”

“Wait…” That was right before he broke things off.

“Yeah. It’s exactly what you think. I let it get into my head. Used it as a reminder as to why I shouldn’t fall in love. That good things always break. ”

“What… what changed your mind?”

“My mom. We had a long, deep conversation about the past. I’ve learned that my future story doesn’t have to be like the past.”

“Thank you for sharing everything with me.” This conversation, while heavy, was so important for us. Now, I can understand why Garrett has felt the way he has for most of his life. It allows me to know him better.