Pregame

by Taylor Wade

  “Nope,” I answered, waiting for a follow up question.

  “Alright, well, I’m doing some studying over there,” Gabe pointed to a table across the room with a few books and a laptop strewn across the top. “So after you get your drink if you want to come over and we can talk or whatever that’d be cool.”

  Gabe sounded like he was feeling awkward, stumbling over his words slightly. I laughed, “Okay, I’ll be there in a few.”

  “Great.” Gabe smiled, and strolled back over to his table.

  Although there was nothing left between us romantically, I still like Gabe as a person—but not when he was drunk, for obvious reasons—and I wouldn’t mind catching up. I felt a little bit responsible for his fight with Reese and I wanted to apologize for getting involved. If I hadn’t said anything than maybe Reese would have never seen him.

  “I’ll have a venti unsweetened iced coffee, please.” I told the barista and gave her my name.

  I paid for my drink and added some milk and sugar before heading over to Gabe.

  “Hey,” he said when I sat down across from him. He seemed surprised, like he hadn’t expected me to follow through and come over.

  “What’s up?” I asked, taking a long, refreshing sip of my coffee. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been good,” He replied, sounding like he meant it. “I met someone, actually. So don’t worry, I’m not trying to keep you away from Wes.”

  He smiled, and there was no sadness or anger in his expression. He seemed to mean what he said, and whomever he had met was clearly making him happy. I was happy that he had found someone to love him like everyone deserves to be loved.

  “I’ve seen you guys together a few times. You look happy. Both of you.” I nodded, smiling to myself, and he continued. “But I will kick his ass if he hurts you, Brookelyn.”

  He was teasing and I giggled, knowing Wes would never hurt me. “I don’t think you’ll have to, but I appreciate the incentive.”

  “Hey, you called me Brookelyn,” I said suddenly, realizing that it was one of the few time’s he’d ever used my real name.

  “Well, yeah, that’s your name,” Gabe laughed.

  “But you always called me beautiful before,” I pointed out taking a sip of my coffee.

  Gabe smiled, understanding what I meant, “Ah, yes, well I’m not too sure that my girlfriend would like that too much.”

  “You do have a point, Harris,” I smiled, “Now tell me about this girlfriend of yours!”

  Gabe chuckled, “Well she actually likes me which is a step up from my last girlfriend.”

  My smile vanished into a frown and I instantly felt horrible.

  “I’m just kidding, Brookelyn!” Gabe laughed at my reaction, “Don’t worry about it!”

  I gave him a mock glare but smiled, “Whatever. Tell me about her.”

  “Well, her name’s Bethany and she is a senior as well, but she goes to school in the city. We met a few weeks ago during thanksgiving break. My father was doing business with hers and my parents invited them over to dinner. We hit it off right away. She’s great. She actually wants to be an interior designer someday. So, she’s kind of perfect for me,” he revealed a bit shyly.

  “I’m really happy for you, Gabe. You deserve it.” I told him and gave his hand a squeeze above the table.

  “Thanks, Brookelyn. I appreciate. Really.”

  I smiled, “I’ve got to head home but keep in touch, okay? It was nice seeing you.”

  I got up and Gabe did too, leaning over and giving me a friendly hug. “Take care of yourself, beautiful.”

  Gabe winked and I rolled my eyes as I walked away, “As original as ever, Harris.”

  He chuckled behind me, and I smiled, making my way over to Elle’s car and heading home only looking around me once. Baby steps.

  NINETEEN

  “Ready?” I asked Wes as we pulled up into the driveway to my parent’s house.

  “I think so,” he replied, looking anxious. “Anything I should know before we go in?”

  I laughed, it was cute how nervous he was to meet my parents.

  “Everything will be fine! My parents will love you! You’ll probably get the third degree at first but once they see how much I love you everything will be fine,” I told him and leaned across the seat of his truck to kiss his lips.

  Wes let out a long breath, “Let’s do this.”

  We walked up the pathway to the front door and I grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. The door was unlocked so I walked right in, dragging Wes along behind me.

  “Is that my baby I hear?” I heard my mom call out as she turned the corner from the kitchen and came towards us. She held her arms out and pulled me into a long hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. How are you, honey?”

  My mom held my face in her hands and searched my face, “I’m okay, Mom.”

  I could tell she didn’t quite believe me. She and my father had been freaking out since they found out about my run in with Jesse, not that I could blame them. If I got a call telling me my daughter was in the hospital badly beaten up, only to find that it was her boyfriend who did the damage, I would be worried too.

  My mother was a lot like me when it came to appearances. She had the same dirty brown hair, and the same pert nose. She was about an inch shorter than me and her lips were a bit thinner. I got my plump lips from my father, as well as my eyes.

  “You must be Brookelyn’s boyfriend that we’ve heard so much about!” My mom said, turning to Wes and pulling him into a hug that took him by surprise.

  “Mom, this is Wesley Walker,” I told her, using Wes’s full name which earned me a glare, “Wes, this is my mother, Debbie Lane.”

  “It’s really great to meet you, Mrs. Lane,” Wes replied when my mother finally released him from her hug.

  “You as well, Wesley. You can call me Debbie,” she told him, motioning us to follow her as we made our way over the kitchen. “Come say hello to your father, Brookelyn.”

  “Hi, Daddy!” I strolled over to where my father sat at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other.

  “It’s so good see you Brookelyn Bear,” my father told me, standing from his chair and wrapping me into a tight hug.

  “Daddy, this is my boyfriend Wes Walker,” I told my father, doing more introductions. “Wes, this is my dad, Dan.”

  “Hello, Sir.” Wes stuck out his hand and shook my father’s. “It’s great to meet you, Mr. Lane.”

  “I’m glad to meet you as well, Wes. Why don’t you take a seat and we can all chat?” My father recommended, and I braced myself for the million questions my parents would be asking Wes.

  My mother came over with two steaming coffee mugs and handed one to Wes and me. She went back over to the counter and grabbed her own mug, bringing over a plate of bagels and pastries as well.

  “Oh, great I’m starving!” I said, kissing my mom on the cheek as I grabbed a chocolate croissant. Wes grabbed a bagel and began to butter it, sending out a sheepish thank you to my mother. I couldn’t help but smile at my boyfriend’s worried reaction to being with my parents.

  “So Wes, tell us about your family,” my father said. “We know that your brother was in prison with Jesse but Brookelyn here assured us that he wasn’t guilty of what he was accused of. We trust that she is telling the truth. But that’s all we know about your background.”

  I shot my dad a look for bringing up Reese being in prison but he just shrugged his shoulders.

  Wes cleared his throat and took a drink from his mug. “Well I grew up about an hour from here with my mother and my two siblings. Reese, my brother, is a few years older than me, and our little sister Ariana is a senior in high school at the moment.”

  “What about your father, dear?” My mother asked curiously.

  “He took off after my sister was born. He wasn’t ready to be a parent, despite having already been one for seven years. He’s remarried now with two little girls
. He doesn’t live far from here actually. Only about thirty minutes away. Ariana’s living with him this year.”

  “Oh, wow. How does your mother feel about that?” I shot my mom a look telling her to stop asking questions but she was unaware.

  “My mother passed away almost two years ago, ma’am.”

  “Oh, we are very sorry for your loss, Wesley. I apologize for prying.” My mom told him, frowning about the loss of his mother.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Lane. I don’t mind your questions. Ask me anything you’d like. I want you to be comfortable with me dating your daughter,” Wes replied, and I saw both of my parents smile.

  “Isn’t he great?” I said, beaming up at Wes. He gave me a crooked smile and shook his head. For the first time ever I was seeing Wes Walker blush. It was beautiful.

  “I have to admit, I was a bit worried about all of the tattoos,” my dad said, taking a bit of his Danish. “But you know that saying. You can’t judge a book by the cover.”

  I rolled my eyes at my dad’s cliché. He was always quoting different saying to get his point across.

  We finished eating and my parents asked Wes more questions about himself. He told them that he was a business major with a minor in accounting, which I could tell impressed them. He told them his plans to work in a large corporation someday, hopefully making his way up to CEO over time. My parents, as well as myself, were intrigued by everything he told us. After the first few minutes of awkwardness past, there was something fascinating about watching Wes talk about his future, and the way his eyes lit up when he spoke. I had never realized how determined Wes was when it came to his future. He had always struck me as the kind of person who would rather live in the moment. His aspirations only made me more smitten with him.

  After brunch we all went our separate ways. I had an appointment with my lawyer, and although Wes had planned to come, my father had invited him to a round of golf at the country club down the street. I laughed picturing Wes playing golf but I was sure that after a few holes they’d end up grabbing lunch and a couple of drinks like my father usually did. Wes was nervous about spending time alone with my father but he also knew he couldn’t decline his invitation. I could see that my father genuinely liked Wes so I assured him that everything would be fine. My mom had prior plans to get her nails done with Elle’s mother so I was on my own.

  I grabbed my car keys from the key rack by the garage and admired my silver 2011 Toyota Prius. I loved having my own car without the worry of who could drive me where I needed to be. I slid into the leather seats and ran my hands over the steering wheel like a child with a new toy.

  I slid my auxiliary cord into my iPhone and blared Taylor Swift’s new album during the twenty-minute drive to the Morris and James attorneys’ office.

  Pulling into the parking lot to the large twelve-story brick building, I found a space near the entrance and headed inside.

  I got to the eighth floor and walked through the large glass doors into the office. I gave my name to the receptionist, an older woman with white hair and bright pink lipstick that matched the frame of her glasses. I took a seat in the waiting room while I waited for Mr. James to summon me into his office. The waiting room smelled like leather and coffee and there were numerous magazines spread out across the table in between the chairs. I reached over and took one that had the Kardashian’s on the cover and flipped through it while I waited.

  A few minutes later I was reading about Justin Beiber’s latest scandal when I heard footsteps followed by my name.

  “Ms. Lane, I’m glad you could make it,” Mr. James held out his hand and I stood to shake it, smiling politely. “Let’s head back to my office so that we can get everything settled, shall we?”

  I nodded and followed him to his office. His desk was neatly organized, and there was a folder placed in the middle with my name on the tab. I took the seat across from his desk and played with my hands, admiring the view from his windows.

  “Alright Ms. Lane I have filed the report and stated the events which you had described to have occurred at the residence of Mr. Wesley Walker. I need you to signed on the line below to verify the information is accurate.”

  Mr. James slid a paper over to me and I quickly read over the information before signing below.

  “The courts have accepted your petition for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order and have served Mr. Jesse Mayfield with the order where he is currently staying at his mother’s residence.” Mr. James told, his glasses perched on his nose as he looks over more documents. “This here is the order with the provisions stating what Mr. Mayfield is and is not permitted. You should take a moment to read this over before signing on the required space at the bottom of the order.”

  Mr. James handed me a document and my eyes widened as I read over the restraining order.

  Mr. Jesse Mayfield is prohibited from the following actions towards Ms. Brookelyn Lane in regards to the Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) that has been approved by the court:

  1. Mr. Mayfield is prohibited from contacting Ms. Lane in person, by phone, by email, or any other medium.

  2. Mr. Mayfield is ordered to remain outside of 100 yards of Ms. Lane at all times

  Should Mr. Jesse Mayfield violate the able provisions, the following actions will be taken:

  1. Should Mr. Mayfield violate the provisions stated by the court in the DVRO protecting Ms. Brookelyn Lane, he shall be held in contempt of court. The case will then move from civil court to criminal court and a criminal protective order (CPO) will be issued.

  2. Should the violated protective order involve police intervention, an emergency protective order (EPO) will be issued.

  3. Should Mr. Mayfield violate these provisions and the case is moved to criminal court, Mr. Mayfield will be considered a criminal and will be punished for the violation of the state’s laws.

  Ms. Lane should have this DVRO on her person at all times. Should Ms. Lane lose these documents, contact the court for copies immediately.

  Ms. Lane is encouraged to call the police immediately should Mr. Mayfield violate the provisions stated by the court and makes contact in any form.

  This DVRO will remain in affect for two years after the court has approved of the protection order. Upon the completion of this two-year period, Ms. Lane may extend or dismiss the order. A new DVRO may be renewed whether or not Mr. Mayfield violates these provisions.

  I took a deep breath and signed my name on the space allotted at the end of the document. “Is that everything?”

  “Yes, I’ll make you two copies of this so that you can keep one in your home and another in your purse. I will also make you copies of the police and court reports for you to keep with you at your residence as well. It is very important, Ms. Lane, that you keep this order with you when you’re out and that you contact the police immediately should Mr. Mayfield violate the order.”

  I nodded and Mr. James gathered the papers, leaving the room to make the copies. It was surreal to think that my safety lie in the hands of one document. I hoped that the last two weeks have shown that Jesse is planning to stay away from me and follow the provisions of the DVRO.

  “Okay, Ms. Lane here are your documents,” Mr. James said, handing me a stack of papers. “Please call me if you need anything at all. Do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or worries.”

  “Thank you, I will.” I told him and shook his extended hand before leaving his office. I waved to the receptionist on my way out and breathed in the chilly air once I got outside. The sun was shining despite it being December, and the warmth of the sunshine on my skin mixed with the cold was refreshing.

  I got into my car and folded the documents in half, placing them inside of my oversized handbag. I pulled out of the parking space and made my way home to my parents and Wes.