Page 42 of Somewhere Between Falling

“Yep.”

“How was it?” he asked, getting up from what looked like an extremely uncomfortable chair. I couldn’t believe he was willing to stay. I mean, I guess I could because he was, well, Tobias. But it still amazed me that he would do it for me.

“It was good. I’m glad I came. He’s pretty cute. He has red hair like me.”

“Good. It was good you were here.”

“Thank you for bringing me,” I said, reaching out for his hand.

“Are you in a hurry to get back for anything?” he asked as we walked out of the hospital.

“Nope.”

“Good. I think we should talk.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

He took us to The Lost Cajun, and we ordered a plate of beignets and two café au laits, just like that first day.

I took a sip of my coffee, trying to stall as long as possible.

He’s the one who finally broke the silence. “When does your internship start?”

“Well, there’s been a change of plans,” I told him, realizing that I had made the decision after talking to my dad. There really was no other choice. “I’m actually going to London.”

“Really?” He smiled as I nodded.

“I haven’t told my mom yet.I know she might not approve, but I really don’t want to go to law school and I’m tired of not doing what I want because I’m too worried about what others will think.”

“So what do you want to do?” he asked, and I could hear the double meaning. He wasn’t just asking me what I wanted to do with my life; he wanted to know where we stood now.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know yet. But I know that I’m never going to figure it out doing what others tell me to do,” I said. Before he could ask me to delve deeper into that, I asked him, “What about you? Any big summer plans?”

“Interviewing for jobs.”

That surprised me. “I thought you were staying at Parkhurst?”

“I’ve been exploring a few options,” he said nonchalantly.

“Anything close?” I asked, curious.

“Mmhmm,” he mumbled. “One that I’m particularly interested in is only thirty minutes away.”

I tore off a piece of a beignet and chewed on it carefully, thinking about what that meant. If he wasn’t at Parkhurst, that opened up possibilities that I didn’t want to let myself consider just yet.

After we finished our coffee, neither one of us was ready to leave yet, so we went for a walk. It was a warm evening; the inky sky was clear and full of stars.We didn’t talk much, just walked around aimlessly trying to soak in as much time together as possible because things could all be very different in a month.

Somehow, we ended up at the bench where we met for the first time. That day seemed so long ago, when really it had only been a few months. So much had changed since that cold December day.

We sat down, then he put his arm around me and I rested my head on his chest. It didn’t matter if anyone who saw us recognized us anymore. We sat in silence while I tried to compose my thoughts because I knew it was time for an explanation. I owed him that.

“I feel like I need to explain myself to you,” I said, turning to face him the best I could. “I know I have been difficult.”

“Somewhat,” he said pointedly.

“And you’ve been very patient with me.”

---