(in)visible
Page 13
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I expected to see something dark and dingy, but I was hit with bright, aqua painted walls and a yellow couch with a rainbow of colored pillows spread across it. A flat screen television caught the corner of my eye, but I was too focused on how light the room was.
“Do you like it?” Betsy asked anxiously.
“I love this room. Is this where you guys hang out?”
“No sweetie. This is yours. You’ll find the bedroom and bathroom around the corner.” She pointed in the direction and I went that way. I opened a frosted glass door and found another bright room painted the same aqua. In the center was a huge bed with gray and white chevron patterned linens on it. The room had everything I would need.
“This is too much. I can’t believe it.”
“So you like it?” she asked again.
“I love it. Please tell me you didn’t do this just for me?”
“We have been meaning to get this space re-done, and this was the perfect excuse to do it,” Mark answered. “Now, put your bags away and we’ll go upstairs and have a chat. You might want to call Jake. He should be here too.” I wrinkled my brow with curiosity, but did as I was told. Thirty minutes later Jake was there, along with a pizza delivery boy who brought us our dinner.
As we sat around the dinner table, Mark and Betsy explained exactly what their expectations were, and it was everything a parent would expect. I wasn’t suddenly made an adult without limitations or rules and that was comforting.
Jake excused himself before he over-stayed his visit and I walked him to his car. He pulled me into a hug and we stood there like that for a long while, not saying anything at all.
“So this is really happening? You’re not leaving?” he whispered into my hair. I shook my head no then he lifted my chin and softly pressed his lips to mine. “And we really have all summer to be together?” I nodded yes against his lips, and this time he kissed me harder, pulling me in just a little tighter.
That night I slept like a baby, like I should have been sleeping for years. I woke up earlier than anyone else and made sure the dishes were in the dishwasher and that the house looked tidy. When Betsy came out of her room she smiled. “I could get used to this,” she teased, ruffling my hair as she walked to the fridge.
“When do you want me to come back to work?” I asked.
“Take the week, kiddo. Hang out with that awesome boyfriend and get settled.”
“Thank you so much.”
“So was it weird? Sleeping in a strange house and stuff?”
“No, in fact, it was almost too perfect. I don’t know what to do with all of this energy I have from getting a full night’s sleep!”
“Well, I could use your help with something,” she admitted.
A few minutes later we were both in the back yard pulling weeds out of a planter box that would become a garden after a trip to the home store. Mark came out to see what we were doing and as Betsy filled him in I found myself reflecting a little.
I was lucky to be here with these people in my life. I felt like I had finally found where I belonged and for once the burden of life was off of my shoulders.
The summer was exactly as it should have been. I worked a lot at the shop, and even though I insisted they didn’t pay me because a roof over my head was plenty, they still handed me a paycheck every week. Betsy and I had huge success with our garden and we had to come up with creative ways to use all of the tomatoes and zucchini we grew.
I saw plenty of Logan. His parents insisted I come over at least once a week for dinner. I had slowly been filling them in on everything that happened with my parents. “I feel terrible that we never knew,” his mom said as we ate her amazing peach cobbler.
“It’s okay. Everything is good now,” I assured her. I caught Logan watching me out of the corner of my eye. He hadn’t taken a bite and was absentmindedly playing with the food on his plate.
“What was that all about back there,” I asked as we sat on his front porch after dinner.
“What was what all about?”
“You didn’t really eat, and I can tell something is on your mind. I want to make sure...” he cute me off before I could finish.
“What? Make sure I’m not going to off myself?” he asked bitterly. I put a hand on his to calm him down.
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“You don’t have to say it. You’re thinking it. Everyone is thinking it, like I’m some sort of bomb that’ll explode when you least expect it.
“You’re wrong. I never think that about you. Yeah, I worry because I care. But I know you have come a very long way and you’re better.”
He eyed me skeptically and shook his head. “I can’t go back to school. Everyone will be thinking about it.”
“Maybe. Maybe at first, but then some other high school drama will come and you’ll be old news.”
He smiled a little at this. “Will you...I mean, will Jake care if I’m around you guys.”
“No. He’s one of the most understanding people I know.”
“That sounds like what a girlfriend would say. I’d kick my ass if the tables were turned.”
“I think you’d surprise yourself,” I said and then hugged him goodnight.
32
Jake held my hand as we waited for my plane to board. My parents had talked me into visiting them in the middle of the summer, and although I was hesitant, I turned in my ticket for a new one. The only problem was that the new ticket had an over night lay over and I was nervous about being in a strange city on my own.
My knees were shaking as the minutes grew closer. Jake pulled me close to calm me down. I was nervous about everything- being away from him, leaving my new home, and seeing how my parents were doing. They seemed good. I had to believe that they were.
We both stood when they called my flight to board. “Let me walk you up there,” he said, taking my backpack for me.
“I’m going to miss you for the next two weeks,” I pouted.
“I’ll miss you too, but you don’t have to miss me until tomorrow.” He pulled out a boarding pass and handed it to the attendant.
“I’m confused.”
“What? Did you really think I would let you stay in a strange hotel room by yourself?”
“What about your stuff?”
“I stuffed a change in your backpack when you weren’t looking,” he said with a wink then he kissed my cheek. I lifted my pack by the handle, and it really did feel a little heavier. The realization that I would have Jake all to myself for the next twenty four hours started to sink in, and the grin across my face had people staring at me.
We found our seats, his right by my side, and held hands as we took off. The flight was bumpy and I was thankful that I had him there to keep me from totally freaking out.
Once we arrived at our layover, we took the airport tram to the hotel I had reserved, but Jake had tampered with that too. I stepped into a room filled with daisies of every color, and a basket of chocolate covered strawberries sitting on the bed.
“What have you done?” I asked in shock.
“Mark keeps you on a tight leash. I want you all to myself, and I want you to know how special you are to me.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his warm lips to mine, parting them with my own, and deepening the kiss even more. His hands traveled up and down my back, finally making their way under the fabric of my shirt, and that’s when I pulled away and stopped him.
“Jake, I don’t...” he put his finger to my mouth to stop me from talking.
“I’m not expecting that, Meg. I just want to be close to you without all of that interfering,” he said, motioning to the window and the world outside of it. “I’d never pressure you into something you’re not ready for, and maybe I’m not ready either.”
I smiled as I brought his lips back to mine. “I’m such a lucky girl,” I whispered against his mouth.
“We’re both pretty lucky.”
And we were. This was our world now, and I knew nothing could tear that apart.
Copyright © 2015 by Talie D. Hawkins
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