7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Darren

I opened the reusable bag on the counter and shoved the cans inside first, making sure the grocery bag wasn't too heavy. Older people weren't as strong. After opening another bag, I put the fruits and vegetables in there, careful not to bruise them, and then set the herbs neatly on top.

I'd been working at Country Pantry Grocers since the summer. Mom helped me get the job because she was a cashier there. I bagged, helped people load up their cars, and made sure the shopping carts were returned to the store.

It paid pretty decently, but I couldn't work more than three days a week during football training. But we had only two more games to go, so I could take on more hours after school, though training never was entirely over. I had to stay fit by working out and running. Then, I had football camp during the summers .

I used the money I earned toward my truck, which was running and now had tires, but it still needed a lot of work. I'd never be able to restore it to its original beauty, but for now, it got me from point A to point B. And I still used it as my safe space when I needed to let go.

"Do you need help carrying the groceries to your car, ma'am?" I asked the lady. She didn't look that old, maybe in her sixties, and seemed pretty sturdy, but I liked to be polite and help out.

"Oh, you're a dear. I'd love that."

I loaded up the filled bags into her cart and pushed it slowly outside so she could keep up with me.

"I'm the blue Buick over there," she said, pointing at the parking space close by.

"Oh, wow! I love your car, ma'am. What year is it?"

"This old thing? It's my husband's. He refuses to let it go." She smiled fondly at the car. "Mine is in the shop, so I have to drive this one for now. He bought this jalopy back in 1974, I believe."

"She's a beauty."

"He thinks so, too."

"My grandad left me his 1965 Chevy pickup. I've been fixin' her up. I just got my license, and I'm finally getting her on the road where she belongs. I love old cars."

"They don't make them like they used to."

"They sure don't, ma'am."

Once I had loaded her groceries into the trunk, I opened her car door. She held out some cash for me. "Thank you, but I can't accept that." I understood that older people had tighter wallets.

"You can and you will. Ten dollars isn't going to make or break me."

I smiled and accepted the gift. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I shoved the money into my jeans and watched her slowly drive away. It was nice to have some people not know me and be afraid. She was so sweet. My own grandmother died when I was pretty young, so I didn't really know or remember her. I imagined she would've been just like that lady.

After my shift, I sat behind the wheel in Baby Girl and ran my hands over the thin steering wheel, still struggling to believe she was all mine. It took her a while to warm up when I turned on the ignition, but she always roared to life and got me to where I needed to be.

I would've driven Mom home, too, but she wasn't working today.

Once I got home, I pulled up in front of the barn and parked her, but I didn't get out yet, needing to calm my nerves.

Halloween had come and gone, and while I got up the nerve to finally ask Christian to go out with me, we hadn't been on a date yet.

I'd managed to save up enough for a cheap phone and convinced my parents we needed some basic Wi-Fi for school, so I'd been texting him every night as we got to know each other more. I loved knowing he was on the other side of space and time, smiling at one of my corny jokes or simply talking about biology and how we both hate Spanish class.

I didn't have tons of money, but I planned on taking him to the movies. Halloween was still playing in the theater, and Christian said he liked horror movies.

With a few calming breaths, I climbed out of my truck and made my way into the house. Mom was in the kitchen getting dinner ready.

"I'm not eating dinner here tonight," I said when I walked in.

Mom smiled and nodded. "Okay, honey. Are you going to hang out with friends?"

I shook my head and smiled back. "Nah, I gotta date."

Her entire face lit up. God, what a rare sight. "Oh, how exciting. I hope it goes well."

"Me, too."

I headed toward the back of the house and into my room before she could hit me with more questions.

Mom looked good. She smiled more and wasn't so tense, seemingly less afraid of me. And it seemed Dad took my threats seriously .

After my shower, I put on my nicest plaid button-up and tucked it into my jeans with a belt. I looked so different from Christian, but I kind of liked that. We were both sore thumbs, except his thumb was painted in glitter, and mine had a cracked nail. It helped me not feel so alone.

I combed my hair back as best as I could, except it was sticking up in places in the back. Damn cowlicks. I'd quit buzzing my hair because it made me look more cruel. The length helped soften my features, but it was at a bad, in-between stage until it grew a little longer.

I stood in front of the small mirror over my dresser and sighed. Well, it was the best I could do.

"Where are you goin'?" Dad asked before I reached the front door and slid on my cowboy boots. They were worn, but they were the nicest shoes I owned.

"I have a date."

He scoffed. "Who'd want to date you?"

Fucking typical. Dad always tried to knock down your confidence when he didn't get his way. And it worked a lot of the time, even now.

Who, indeed? But I'd somehow managed to convince Christian to take a chance on me.

"I'm not you," I said, grabbing my tan Carhartt knockoff coat. I walked out before he could bring me down anymore. His words could hurt as much as his fists, but I tried not to let them get to me and remind myself of all that I was capable of.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to a massive home with pretty landscaping, even with the leaves of the trees almost gone. Shit, Christian and I really were different.

My hands went all clammy. God, he was so out of my league. I was good at a lot of things, but peopling wasn't one of them. My parents were good at making sure my social skills were completely inadequate.

The front door suddenly opened before I even climbed out of the car. Christian stood on the porch, waving me in with a big smile on his face, pulling a grin out of me .

With a deep breath, I got out of the truck, shoved my hands into my pockets, and headed his way.

He clasped his hands in front of him, biting his plump bottom lip as if to contain his excitement, which did something to my cold heart.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi. You look… so cute."

He smiled even more broadly and spun for me. "I wanted to be a country boy, too."

That pulled a laugh out of me because Christian could never be that, and I wouldn't want him to be. But he certainly tried by wearing baggy denim overalls over an oversized tan sweater that went well with his auburn hair. He finished it off with a short gold chain around his throat. No pearls this time. He didn't even wear his lip gloss, which kind of bummed me out since I was hoping to get a kiss in tonight and see if he really did taste like raspberries.

"It's perfect."

Christian beamed at me and grabbed my hand to tug me inside. "Mom and my grandparents want to meet you first."

"Ugh, a little warning would've been nice. I'm not good with people, Christian."

"Well, you have to meet them. Otherwise, this date won't be happening. Besides, you don't give yourself enough credit."

"If you say so."

He chuckled and threaded our fingers together, sending waves of weird electricity right up my arm. His hands were so smooth and soft, whereas mine were calloused. I was really starting to feel less and less worthy of him, but I pushed on because he was what I wanted, and I'd do my best to make this work. Only I could create my best life.

As soon as we walked in, the craziest and most hyper dogs I'd ever seen were bouncing around us, barking. The Jack Russells were adorable, though, and so small.

"The all-white one is Bean, and that's his sister Bubbles."

I squatted down to pet them for a minute as they licked my hand to death. When I stood, I wiped my hand on my jeans, and Christian pulled me into the kitchen. His family was seated and talking at the table while something Italian was simmering on the stove. My stomach rumbled, making my face burn.

They all turned to look at me, and I froze.

Stay calm. They're just people.

A woman shorter than Christian with the same-colored hair stood and walked over to me with a smile on her face, holding out her hand. "Hello, you must be Darren. I'm Tallulah, but everyone calls me Tally, and my closest friends call me Lulu."

I shook her hand, hoping it wasn't all sweaty. "Hello. Nice to meet you, ma'am."

She raised a brow.

"I mean… Tally."

It was weird calling an adult by their given name.

"Well, I already know you," someone said. When I looked up, I instantly recognized the woman from the grocery store today and felt instantly at ease. Her graying hair was pulled back into a clip, but she and her daughter looked alike.

"Hi, ma'am. What a small world."

"It is indeed," she said with light, ringing laughter in her voice. "I'm Bea, and this is my husband, Henry. We're Christian's grandparents."

His grandfather was definitely the one who gave Christian and his mother their unique hair color, except he was losing his, and had quite a bit of gray in it.

I shook their hands and said my hellos.

"You know grandma?" Christian asked.

I huffed a laugh. "Nah, we just met today. I was loading groceries into her car."

Bea patted her husband's shoulder. "Darren here was admiring your tank, I mean the Buick. "

Henry scoffed and rolled his eyes as if he was still a kid. "Well, apparently, Darren has good taste." Then he looked at me, beaming proudly. "If you like my car, you're A-OK in my book. You like old cars?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I like them a lot. My grandpa left me his when he died, and I've been working on fixing her up. She runs, but she still needs a lot of work."

"Well, good for you. What type of car is she?"

"She's a 1965 Chevy C10 pickup. I love her."

"Did you drive her here?"

"I sure did."

"Now this I gotta see."

His grandfather walked out of the kitchen with his grandmother and Christian's mom. Christian chuckled and grabbed my hand again, leading me to follow everyone.

Once we stepped out into the cool night, he shivered, and I itched to pull him against me to keep him warm, but I wasn't sure if he was ready for that level yet, and in front of his family.

His grandfather whistled and ran a hand along the hood of the truck. "She's a beauty, Darren. How lucky are you?"

"Thanks, sir. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to restore her to her full glory, but I'll keep that engine purring."

"She'll last you a lifetime, no doubt. Trucks like this and my ‘74 Buick were meant to last."

"Okay, enough about cars. Darren and I have a date with the movie theater and a tub of popcorn," Christian announced.

Before we could say goodbye and go on our way, his grandparents headed back into the house, and his mom stayed behind, facing us.

"What are your intentions with my boy?"

"Mom!" Christian cried out.

"Christian, I need to know. Boys like this pick on you. "

She was blunt. I had to give her that. My mom never would've defended me like that, so I had respect for Tally.

Before Christian could get any more upset, I nodded. "I realize how it looks, ma'am… Tally. Most people look at me with fear, not gonna lie. It didn't help that I used to be just like those boys who picked on Christian. But I'm growing and trying. It hasn't been easy with the way I've been raised, but I really like Christian just the way he is, and I want to get to know him better. I'll always respect him."

She seemed less tense and accepted what I'd told her. "And what about your friends?"

"Don't have many of those, honestly. The ones I do have are good people, and they like Christian. As for my teammates, well, it's not like I'm open. But if I ever were, I'd always come to Christian's defense. That's a promise."

"Okay!" she said, smiling. "Then I'll trust you. You boys have a good time tonight."

We said goodbye as I opened the passenger side door and let Christian climb in. I shut it behind him and jumped into the driver's side.

"I'm absolutely mortified. I'm so sorry, Darren. She wanted to meet you, but I had no idea she'd corner you like that and get up all in your face… well, she's too short for that, but… Yeah, sorry."

I snorted a laugh. Even half my size, she was a force to be reckoned with. "I have mad respect for your mom. She reminds me a little of Dillon's mom. It's all good."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, are you ready to get spooked?" I asked.

He bounced on the bench seat. "I'm so ready!"