Page 57 of Coming Unraveled
“Thanks.”
She and Brooks each take another sip of beer then she turns her attention to the water, but she can feel Brooks’ eyes raking over her, searing her through her skin. His hand moves to reach for hers again and she welcomes the warmth and strength of his hold.
“Tell me something no one else knows.”
Her attention jerks away from the water and back on Brooks’ inquisitive face. She ponders for a moment, knowing that most of her secrets were now bared to the world to see, open and bleeding out.
“Um, I don’t really know of anything.”
“Sure, you do. Here, I’ll start. I love being a doctor and I love working with kids, but when I was younger my dream was to be the guy on television that knew everything about every sport playing behind him.”
“You wanted to be a sports commentator?”
“Yep, but my parents thought it was silly and said that if I was interested in sports then I needed to play them. I picked baseball and the rest is history.”
“Does it hurt to think about not being able to play anymore?”
He moves his fingers around hers, lacing and unlacing the appendages as if playing a song with the movements.
“There are days where I wish I was still able to play, I did have fun, but all those disappointments brought me to you. My parent’s nasty divorce, my move to Atlanta to live with my grandmother, the injury, it all meant I was destined to be in this moment. This moment with you.”
“Brooks,” she whispers as his words weave through her heart. All of his disappointments aren’t disappointments to him at all; they are all stepping stones, learnable situations that put him where he needed to be. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
“Your turn, sweetheart.”
She inhales deeply, allowing the cool air to flow through her lungs, filling the space, before she expels it from her chest.
“You can’t tell anyone, Brooks.”
He grips her hand tighter as he nods, silently asking for her to continue.
“I had a small memorial set up for the baby I lost.”
“Oh, Everleigh,” he consoles, his thumb rubbing against her knuckles, as he feels for the teenager she had been, losing a baby she hadn’t wanted, a baby conceived out of hate, but that she loved none-the-less. Because she knew Brooks would understand that she would have loved the child regardless of the situation. “Where is the memorial?”
She finally pulls her eyes from his light brush strokes on her knuckles and gazes into his eyes. “Here.”
It’s then that she relaxes when she watches his smile grow, the sun dimming across the horizon pouring a beautiful orange glow onto his face.
“This is your favorite place from childhood. It makes sense.”
“And I wouldn’t have to explain it to anyone.”
“How often do you come visit? The memorial?”
“I try to come at least once a year. Even in college, I made a trip.”
“Would you…I’d like to go see it, please.”
“Ok.”
“Ok?” he questions, surprised by her easy response.
“We can go tomorrow,” she volunteers as she takes another sip of beer, catching the waitress from the corner of her eye carrying the tray of mussels.
“Tomorrow,” he smiles. “Now, explain to me what you know about this Lost Colony I keep seeing everywhere.”
She chuckles before launching into the story with Brooks’ fascinated gaze never leaving her face. Everleigh regales him with the tales of the English men and women, left on the island while their Captain went back to England for supplies.
