Parting Chances (Fighting Chance #1) Read online

“Mom gets sick all the time. Most smells upset her. I couldn’t imagine what a complete Thanksgiving meal would do.”

  “What are we doing then?” I know it was a stupid thing to be upset about considering what was going on with my mom, but it was the one holiday I looked forward to every year and this very well may be the last holiday with Mom alive.

  “I thought we’d go out. Head to the bar down the street and watch the game there. They have the best food in the area.” My dad seemed excited about this, and I wondered how much time he spent there. It’s not like Mom would notice. Since I’ve been home, I haven’t seen her awake.

  “A bar? We’re going to a bar on Thanksgiving?” This was stupid and ridiculous and ugh! Why was this happening to my family? Not that I would wish this on anyone, but it just seemed so unfair at the moment.

  “I know it’s not ideal, but it’ll be fun, promise.” Dad gave me a small smile, and I could see how much he was hurting so I gave in.

  “Will we still decorate?” The house looked so depressing right now with no fall decorations up, but I assumed Dad didn’t know where they were packed away at and probably didn’t care that the house wasn’t festive.

  “Oh, I figured we just wouldn’t do that this year.”

  “Mom would want us to. Please?” And when Dad shook his head, I stood and marched my way to the basement where the Christmas decorations were packed away. One by one, I carried boxes up the stairs and into the living room. Dad must have seen that I was not to be messed with, because he started unpacking the boxes and assembling the artificial Christmas tree. We had gotten it years ago when Mom was first ill, and she couldn’t deal with the smell of pine. I figured that was probably the case now, so though I adore real trees, the fake one would do. Maybe I could get Kyler to get a real one with me. Or Eli…

  No. No, Haley. We are not going to think about Eli right now.

  Dad and I worked for the next few hours transforming our house into a winter wonderland. Well, minus the snow of course. It was beautiful and just like it always was, which made me a little happier with the holiday.

  “Mom would love this,” I whispered to the empty room.

  ***

  Around nine o’clock, Dad headed into his office to get some work done. I wasn’t sure if Mom was on a schedule or if she ever woke up anymore, but I wasn’t going to leave this house until I talked to her. I peeked around the door and saw Meg sitting in the chair by the window. She smiled when she saw me.

  “Hi,” she said as she set her book down.

  “Hi.” I glanced at Mom, who was sleeping. “Does she ever wake up anymore?” I hadn’t wanted to ask Dad that question, because I didn’t know how he would react. And I’ve seen enough of his tears to last a lifetime.

  “Oh, she is on a weird schedule. She sleeps a lot during the day but is usually up through the night. It happens with the medicine she’s on.”

  Well, that was a relief. She was still somewhat there.

  “If you want,” Meg continued, “you can stay with her. I would love to take a shower and get something to eat.”

  “Sure. That’s fine.”

  She smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her. Dad had told me she was staying here 24/7. She had taken up in the spare room but mostly spent her time on the recliner in my parents’ room, except for when my dad was occupying it. I didn’t even want to think about how much that cost, but if my mom was happy, then it was worth it.

  I crawled into my dad’s side of the bed and wrapped an arm lightly around Mom’s waist. She stirred slightly and turned to face me.

  “Randy?”

  “No, Mom. It’s me.” Her eyes cracked open, and a grin dusted her face.

  “Haley, when did you get here?” Her voice was scratchy, so I reached over to the table and grabbed her cup of water, holding it up for her as she took a sip. “Thank you.”

  “Um, I got here yesterday afternoon,” I told her as I set the water back down.

  “Yesterday? Why didn’t you talk to me then?”

  “You were sleeping. I didn’t know your new schedule.” Though, if I had been paying attention the last time I was here, she had said she was staying up throughout the night. But I had thought that was only to binge watch shows.

  “Yeah, the medicine.” She waved her hand at one of the many bags hanging above her head.

  “I get it. I just wish you would have told me about all of this.”

  “Oh, Haley. I didn’t want you to worry. You have so much going on right now.” She smiled softly at me. “Speaking of which, tell me about Eli.”

  At the mention of his name, my grin grew so much that my cheeks started to hurt. I curled into my mom’s side and spilled every single detail I could about him and us. Well, if there ever was an us.

  ***

  Dad and I spent Thanksgiving Day at the bar as he said. The owner made a spread of delicious typical Thanksgiving food. I was thankful I didn’t have to eat a burger and fries. There were only a few other people there with us, mostly guys from the community college who had to work and old retired regulars. And though it was definitely not the same as a usual Cavanaugh Thanksgiving, I enjoyed every moment of it. Dad and I still yelled at the TV while watching the games. It took my mind off everything, and I enjoyed the day with my dad…and his new friends. Which again, made me wonder how often he was there. He didn’t drink anything but soda, which was apparently his ‘regular’ as the bartender asked when we first got there. I guess Dad needed to eat, and since Mom was sick all the time, this was the closest place. And he did need friends and a place to be away from the drama that was our lives.

  That night, I loaded my bag back in my car. I had said my goodbyes to Mom earlier while she was awake. Dad pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.

  “Drive safe, kiddo. I love you.”

  “Love you too. I’ll let you know when I get home.” I stepped out of the hug and gave a quick wave as I got into the car. Dad waved back and stepped onto the sidewalk as I pulled away from the house.

  As I drove home, I could only think of two things. One, I couldn’t wait to see Eli again, which also made me wonder when I would see him. And two, I prayed that this wasn’t the last time I saw my mom alive.

  Ten.

  Ten days. That was the last time I spoke to Eli. My heart was in the pit of my stomach as I entered the student union on the Monday after Thanksgiving. I honestly wasn’t even sure if he would be there. Chemistry wasn’t until the afternoon, but I knew he had a morning class and he usually hung out in the union afterward. We would meet up for lunch and go over whatever Chem notes I had from the previous lesson. Or he would quiz me for the exams. It’s not like he needed to be quizzed. The guy was a genius at that stuff. Why he was even taking basic Chem was beyond me.

  Walking through the student union, I scanned the usual locations Eli sat at. He was nowhere to be seen, and my heart dropped. Maybe he was avoiding me. I mean, why else wouldn’t he even text me in ten days? That had to be the reason. Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have let those walls drop.

  I sulked into Union Bean and got a spiced chai cider. If anything could lighten my mood even just a little, it was this delicious drink. As I headed back to the main doors, a high-pitched laugh echoed through the building, causing not only me, but everyone to turn in that direction. I wish I hadn’t. Eli was sitting in our usual spot by the wall of windows, and with him, was Kathryn. She was laughing at something he had said. To his credit, he had a semi-pained look on his face when everyone twisted their heads to see who that sound came from. My feet refused to move from the spot. My eyes wouldn’t tear themselves away from them. Kathryn was touching every open spot of skin she could find on Eli. I thought I had seen her glance in my direction, but I doubt she saw me with the many people milling about. She leaned in close to Eli’s ear and whispered something that made his neck turn pink. Her hand kept sliding slowly up his thigh, pausing for a moment to grip it tightly in her small, perfectly manicured hand.
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  Finally my feet started moving toward the door. My heart was left crumbled on the floor and my gaze was still locked on them. Another loud giggle came from Kathryn and Eli’s eyes shot up again to see how many people were staring at them. Even though there were at least fifty people wandering around, his eyes locked on mine. They widened in surprise, either that I was there or that I had seen him with her, I wasn’t sure. But I wasn’t going to stick around long enough to hear some pathetic story. I made a beeline towards my car, thankful I had driven that day instead of walking. I thought I heard someone yell, “Hales, wait” as I slid behind the wheel. I kept my gaze locked in front of me as I tore out of the parking lot.

  Two minutes later, I curled up in my bed, unshed tears building in my eyes. I buried my face in my pillow and tried to wipe the last half hour from my mind. It wasn’t easy, especially since Kathryn’s high-pitched giggle continued to echo throughout my head. I wasn’t sure how long my face was in the pillow, but I had managed to cry all the tears out and get a raging headache.

  Awesome, just awesome.

  And there was incessant pounding coming from somewhere in the apartment, which wasn’t helping any. Was Kyler home? I could have sworn she was at class. The pounding wouldn’t stop. Oh, please don’t tell me some rodent got in and is in the pantry or something. With the need to investigate, since seriously, it was annoying, I threw the covers off myself and padded down the hallway, my eyes scanning the floor just in case something ran out at me. When I got to the living room, I realized the knocking was coming from the door.

  Duh, Haley, what else would it be?

  Still keeping my eyes trained on the floor, because now my brain was certain there was a rodent running around, I made my way to the door. Without looking through the peephole, I flung the door open, doing anything to get the pounding to stop. My bloodshot eyes met Eli’s crystal blue ones. Before I could open my mouth to say anything to him or slam the door in his face, he rushed at me and pulled me into a hug.

  My arms instinctively wrapped around him, my head rested against his chest. He tightened his hold while he kicked the door shut with his foot. He placed soft kisses in my hair but never said a word. And I would have started crying all over again if I had tears left. I’d pretty much cried enough for a lifetime in the last few months.

  “Are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened?” Eli spoke so fast, I was barely able to hear the questions he was asking.

  What’s wrong? What happened? Is he serious?

  “Is it your mom? Did something happen?” He kept going. “Please, Haley, tell me what’s wrong.” He thought these bloodshot eyes were from my mom? Because I was the only one who had just seen him all snuggled up with Kathryn?

  I broke out of his hold and backed up until I was almost in the kitchen. “What’s wrong? Are you being serious right now, Eli?” He started walking towards me, confusion etched on his face, when he reached a hand out for me. I held mine up. “Just stop. Stop. Why don’t you just go back to Kathryn?” My voice betrayed me at the end by cracking. He stopped, and the confusion etched deeper.

  “What are you talking about?” He sounded slightly pissed. Why was he mad? “Hales, I saw you in the union, and you looked on the verge of tears. You didn’t stop when I ran out after you.”

  My mouth dropped open, and I felt like he had just been slapped with a stupid stick. “Are you serious right now? Was Kathryn’s hands all over you just a figment of my imagination?” I screamed it at him, my voice echoing off the walls.

  The room was silent as Eli took in what I said, and then the laughing started. Eli doubled over, clutching his stomach and letting out the loudest laugh I’ve ever heard.

  Yeah, so glad he found this all funny.

  I stormed past him and into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. My bed still messed up from earlier was calling to me, so I scrambled under the covers and pulled the pillow over my head to silence Eli’s laughs. If I had been paying attention, I would have remembered to lock my bedroom door so he couldn’t get in, but I was in such a daze from his reaction I forgot. Now as he opened my door and stepped slowly inside, I groaned. But instead of yelling again or crying, I grabbed the pillow next to me and whipped it at his head. His reflexes were quick, and he caught it easily, but the surprised look on his face made me grin slightly.

  “Just go home, Eli. We have nothing to talk about.” I maneuvered the pillow back over my head and hoped to hear the door close. It did, but two seconds later my bed dipped, and Eli slid under the sheets with me. “What the hell?” I shrieked.

  “Um, I think we have two different stories of what happened today.” He put the pillow I threw at him under his head and turned to face me, his face now inches from mine. I wanted to move away, but his hand slipped around my waist holding me still. “So, I’m going to tell you my side. I honestly don’t even want to know what story you came up with in that pretty little head of yours.” He tapped my head lightly and chuckled. “Noah, Kathryn, and I all have class together on Monday mornings. I always go to the union when I’m done to wait for you. I did the same thing today I’ve done all semester, except Kathryn followed me, which I hadn’t realized until I had secured our spot.”

  Our spot. I kind of love that. Wait. Focus, Haley.

  “She sat down next to me and started rambling on and on about her Thanksgiving break. I tried to tell her that I was meeting you there, but she wouldn’t listen. In fact, after I mentioned your name, she got all touchy with me. I kept hoping you would get there soon, and when I looked up, there you were, standing near the doors with tears in your eyes. When you ran out, I immediately followed. I’m pretty sure Kathryn called me an asshat as I ran away from her without saying anything, but you were more important.”

  “But why did you let her keep touching you? Why didn’t you brush her off?” Even as I asked, I can remember how tensed up he had gotten when she had touched him. Maybe he really hadn’t enjoyed it.

  “She touched my leg for all of five seconds before I saw you and left her. Honestly, at that point, I was more worried about you. But had you not been there, I would have told her I wasn’t interested in her like that and she needed to stop.” He tugged me close, and this time, I let him without putting up a fight.

  “Why does my imagination get the best of me?” I murmured into his chest. It rumbled under my head with his laugh, and I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling.

  “Why would you even come to that conclusion in the first place? Did you forget our conversation before Thanksgiving break?”

  “Well, we haven’t talked in ten days. I thought maybe you changed your mind. That I was too much drama or something. I figured if you liked me we would have at least texted at some point. Even just to say Happy Thanksgiving or something.” It was still the only thing I couldn’t figure out. Sure, I could have sent him a text, but let’s be serious here, I was a girl, and I was going to wait for him to say something first. Especially after that phone call where I laid it all out for him.

  “I thought you knew.” He looked down at me, and I just gave him a shake of my head. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Every Thanksgiving, my family goes out to my grandparent’s cottage up north. There is absolutely no cell service up there and no wifi. Believe me, I would have texted you all week if I could have.”

  My heart thundered in my chest at his words. This was really happening. This crazy thing between me and Eli was finally happening. My brain was finally on the same page with my heart, and this amazing guy was going to be mine. The only thing left was who was going to make the first move? I’m pretty sure I had made a fool out of myself enough times now. There was no way I was going to jump on Eli and attack his lips with mine. Although it was taking every muscle in my body to keep me where I was and not do that exact thing.

  “So is that the only reason you were upset? Your mom is still doing okay?” His words brought me out of my happy bubble. With a sigh, I snuggled into his chest and told him all about my Than
ksgiving weekend and what I had learned and just how not well my mom was doing.

  When I was done, tears had started to soak Eli’s shirt, but he just held me closer and kissed the top of my head. After all the crying I had done in the short time today, my eyes burned and begged to be closed and rest for a while.

  Just as I was beginning to drift off, I thought I heard Eli whisper, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.” A smile formed on my face, and I fell off into the most restful sleep I’d had in weeks.

  Late Friday afternoon, I loaded my car with the goodies Kyler and I baked for the trivia event. I tossed my overnight bag into the trunk and headed over to the boys’ house. Kyler had been there since that morning, making sure the workstations were set up and we had everything we needed for the weekend.

  She was one for schedules and maximizing the most of our time. I was one for getting in as much sleep as I could before starting this weekend.

  After a short drive, I pulled up in front of the house and unloaded the car. The front door slammed, and I glanced up to see Eli strolling towards me.

  “Hey,” I said as he approached, a grin breaking across my face. We had our classes together and our typical study date, but that week was all about the awkward. He still hadn’t made a move, though there was much more flirting from both our ends. Why the hell hadn’t he kissed me yet? I didn’t know how much longer I could take the tension that had continuously built between us since freaking August. I’m all in. I told him that.

  Come on, Eli. Kiss me!

  “Kyler said you probably needed help.” He took a look at my trunk and whistled. “Damn, she wasn’t kidding when she said we wouldn’t have to leave this weekend.” He reached for the bags, brushing his arm against mine, bumping his hip into mine. Every spot he touched was like fire. Once he had an armful of bags, he smirked at me and carried them into the house.

  A sigh escaped my lips. So that’s how the weekend was going to be. We had the night shift too, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep my hands off him for much longer. Seriously, did this boy know what he did to me?