Chapter 35
After a long night of tossing and turning, I’m tired and running on fumes.
As I’ve said before, my parents are just plain awesome.
Elijah and I sat with Julien as he told our parents about their relationship.
Of course, both Mom and Dad welcomed Elijah into our family with open arms, and Mom insisted Elijah stay for dinner.
It was good, real good, to see my brother happy and relaxed.
Like finally, for the first time, he was able to dump the weight of the world from his shoulders and just be in the moment.
After dinner, we all played a board game and then watched a movie.
Elijah left around midnight, and Julien and I stayed up for a couple more hours talking.
We both conked out on the sofa. Not the most comfortable place to sleep, hence the restless night.
Julien talked me down from my anger at Liz.
Just another tally mark on how many times I’m going to mess up when it comes to her.
I felt horrible about the way I yelled at her and the guilt has been eating me up ever since.
Part of me wanted to run out of the house and grab her into my arms, beg her to forgive me, and tell her how much I love her.
The other part of me needed more time before I faced her because I’m a coward. I don’t know what to say to her.
It's six in the morning, and I hear Ryder’s Challenger outside. I'm already dressed for school, so I step out onto the front porch. He parks in Liz's driveway, but I don't see her and Hailey's car. What’s he doing here?
“Hey, man. What are you doing here so early?” I yell out to him from the front porch. Ryder stops mid-step up the pathway to Liz's house and turns toward me. I jog down to meet him.
“How’s Julien?” he asks me.
“He’s good. Did Liz tell you?” I wait for his answer before I blow a gasket because if she told him when she wouldn’t tell me, I will absolutely lose it.
“Nah, man. I already knew. She didn’t have to tell me anything.”
“You knew? Did Julien tell you?”
“No, Jay. I figured it out a long time ago. It wasn’t that hard to see what was going on.”
His pointed jab scores a direct hit. I’m Julien’s twin brother. I should have known. I should have been there for him, and I wasn’t. Another thing to feel guilty about.
“You saw her last night then?”
“Yeah. She came by and we talked.”
“Then what are you doing here now?”
“Jay, what’s with the third degree? I can see Elizabeth whenever the hell I want to. I don’t need your permission.”
I eye him suspiciously because I feel like something’s up. “Is Liz okay?”
“No, she’s not.” Ryder glares at me for asking such a stupid question. Of course she’s not alright. I treated her like a grade-A asshole last night.
“Look. I would love to stand out here and talk, but I promised Elizabeth I would pick her up this morning for school.” He turns around and starts walking.
“Ry, wait. Let me come with you. I need to apologize to her.”
He keeps walking. “Do you think that’s a wise idea? Maybe you should give her some space.”
“No. I’m not going to give her some space. She’s my girlfriend. We had a fight. I want to apologize.”
Ryder pivots and pushes against my shoulder to stop me from following him. “Whatever, Jay. But if she wants you to leave, you leave. Understand. Otherwise, I’m not letting you take one step inside.”
I grit my teeth in annoyance. “Yeah. Fine. Got it. I just need to see her.”
We walk up onto her front porch together, but the door opens before Ryder gets a chance to knock. A tall man, who resembles Liz's dad, stands in the doorway.
“Can I help you?”
“I'm here to pick up Elizabeth for school,” Ryder informs him.
“Who are you?” I ask, because I’ve never seen this man in my life, and I have lived next to Liz for over a decade.
“You're friends of Lizzie's?” he asks us.
“Yes,” Ryder and I both reply.
“I'm Daniel, John's brother. Lizzie's uncle. Please come inside.”
We step across the threshold. The house is eerily quiet. Usually everyone is up by now.
“Where's Liz?” I ask, looking around.
Daniel rubs the back of his neck like he's unsure of what to say. “There's been an accident,” he begins, and his next words have me falling to my knees in despair.