Page 15 of Dare to Need

Meeting his vacant gaze over the top of the taxi, I knew now was not the time to pester him about the things he decided to keep hidden. He had much more important things to worry about and I didn’t want to add to his burden.

I couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to have one of my parents fall ill. Just the thought of it made me want to throw up. I knew Garth and his father weren’t particularly close, but I also knew that Garth was a good man and whatever dynamic played out between his father and him was a moot point when his life was hanging on by a thread.

We started walking toward the jet where a black carpet lay before the ascending flight of stairs. Garth tucked me under his arm and I wrapped mine tightly around his waist.

Just as we reached the threshold, I turned to face him, anxiety nagging at my stomach. “I love you, Garth. And I want you to know that I’m here for you. No matter what.”

The tenseness in his shoulders dropped slightly as he huffed out a quick sigh. “I love you, too.” With a swift kiss to my forehead, he gestured for me to continue forward.

It wasn’t quite the response I was hoping for. But it was something. From the moment I saw his face crumple in the middle of his loft as his phone dropped from his hand, I was consumed with worry. That we were walking into a situation that I had no experience in how to navigate andIwas the one who needed to be strong and know all the right things to do and say. Just as he had done for me last year.

It wasn’t lost on me that we’d only been together nine months and they weren’t the easiest months of our lives. Anxious thoughts poisoned my mind into fearing that we wouldn’t be strong enough to make it through this. That whatever we were going to be met with in New York was terrible enough to rip us apart. And I couldn’t stand it.

My heart—that Garth so expertly crafted back together—suddenly felt fragile again. Like the slightest movement in the wrong direction could shatter it.

But there was no turning back now. As I took my first step onto that jet I lost all ability to walk away, to protect myself from what I felt was going to be certain heartbreak. I didn’t know why. And I sure as hell didn’t understand how his father being sick made me feel this way. But I did. And I couldn’t shake the feeling.

A blast of cool air from the cabin broke through my vicious thoughts. Goosebumps trailed over my skin as the frigid air met the sheen of sweat on my body from the Florida heat. Rubbing my arms up and down with my hands, I took a right toward the main cabin area where four large white leather seats faced one another. A bright redwood table with dark matte black fixtures sat between the four chairs—one of them occupied by Garth’s brother and my former professor.

Garrett was handsome in his own right. With espresso-colored eyes and sandy blonde hair, he was the spitting image of both their parents. But where Garth was both tall and muscular, Garrett sat a few inches shorter than him and had more of a runner’s body—long lean muscles.

Unlike the other times I’d seen Garrett, today his eyes were rimmed with red. A dark purple was painted under them where his skin was puffy and translucent.

He looked like hell.

“Hi Garrett,” I said, feeling small in the already tight space.

He gave me a small nod and said, “It’s nice to see you, Eva. Although I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Me too.”

I sank into the leather seat across from him by the window just as Garth slunk into the one next to his brother. Garrett started talking to him about the hospital and how their mother already booked rooms for all of us at a nearby hotel.

As they flushed out the details of the trip, I tried to settle into the opulence that surrounded me. I’d never flown in first class before, let alone on a private jet.

It felt strange that I was learning more about Garth’s family in one day than I had in the past nine months. I knew he’d struggled with the relationship he had with his father, but I had no idea his family had the kind of money one could use to afford a private jet with the family name written on the side of it.

My gaze flicked around the cabin, landing on the fine details of the space. It was curated with a combination of rich and neutral tones that made it seem too elegant for my jean shorts and t-shirt. Behind Garth and Garrett, there was another seating area with a long white leather sofa that faced a long cabinet made from the same glossed redwood of the table between our chairs. Along the top, two long slits were barely noticeable. But it looked as though a section of the cabinet rose from the center—it was probably where the TV was stored.

A luxuriously plush carpet lined the floor. Ivory swirls embedded against a deep maroon spread throughout the cabin from a central point next to Garth’s chair. It was so thick, I could feel the soft fibers rub against the sides of my feet exposed from wearing my leather sandals.

The entire cabin was lined with large oval windows that let the setting sun shine through. As I peered out the window, I had a sudden sinking feeling in my stomach that the setting of the sun on this day was more symbolic than astronomical. I just hoped the coming sunrise wouldn’t bring the heartbreak we all felt was painfully close.

“I heard congratulations are in order.” Garrett’s voice cut through my thoughts like a sharp knife as I whipped my head toward him.

“I’m sorry,” I said, confused given the situation we were all in.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he nervously swallowed. “Garth told me last week that you got the internship in New York you were vying for. He said it’s with a renowned wedding photographer, right?”

I glanced towards Garth, my heart dropping as he didn’t meet my gaze. Instead, he was staring at his phone, mindlessly swiping his thumb against the screen. Worry was etched into the creases of his face—where his lips were normally turned upward, they now tugged down in a scowl. And the tiny lines that graced the corners of his eyes that were caused by laughing too much seemed to be shadowed, making him look older than he was.

The weight of the world was on his shoulders and I didn’t have a clue how to fix it. So, I looked back to Garrett and hoped that the distraction technique he’d employed would work.

“Yes, her name is Deborah Montel. Her work is incredible, but I also love what she stands for. Most of her clients are celebrities or coastal socialites who pay her well enough that she can provide ten to fifteen pro-bono packages each year to couples who don’t have the money to afford her.”

Garrett’s brows rose slightly. “Wow, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t think many people would be willing to take that much time away from paying customers. When do you start?”

Taking a deep breath in, I tried to calm the nerves that were building as I stole another glance toward Garth. “I start at the beginning of September. But I’m hoping to move in the middle of August so I can get settled in and learn the layout of the city before starting. I’ve heard Deborah runs a tight ship and doesn’t like it when her staff is late and I want to make a good impression.”

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