Parting Chances (Fighting Chance #1) (21 page)

The next two weeks flew by. After that first night of trivia, we hadn’t had any more hot and heavy make-out sessions, which was probably for the best since it was incredibly awkward facing everyone once we went downstairs. We ended up finishing in 21st place—
way
better than the 257th place from the year before. As we left, Noah gave us a pep talk about how this had been great and next year we were bound to crack the top ten. We had all just nodded our sleepy heads and went home to crawl into the comforts of our own beds. Though it was hard for me to fall asleep that first night without Eli sleeping next to me. How he had affected me so much in two days, I’ll never know, but I honestly wasn’t going to complain about it. Especially since the first week after trivia we’d only seen each other at school since I was putting in as much time at work as I could. Robb may have been a cool boss, but he wasn’t thrilled when I asked for a week off for Christmas.

Finals came the second week, and between studying and taking the exams and working, I barely had time to see Eli. We had one study date for the Chemistry final. But since the final was on Wednesday, we met up Tuesday night to cram. Our final for our animation class was also on Tuesday, so I hadn’t seen him since we parted ways after Chem on Wednesday.

The campus was quiet as most people were home for winter break. I’d been working double shifts over the weekend, so the only thing I saw was the Chapman Buzz, my car, and my apartment. Eli and I talked on the phone a few times, but I wasn’t entirely sure when he was leaving for his mom’s house. I had figured he’d already left, and that made my heart hurt a little. Who knew when I’d see him again?

I lugged my suitcase down the apartment stairs to my car. I only had this week off and wanted to spend as much time with my family as I could. Caleb and Emma had arrived on Saturday and were only in town for the week. And the last time I’d called home, I was only able to talk to Dad since Mom was sleeping. He didn’t say exactly how she was doing, but by the exhaustion and sadness in his voice, I had to assume she was worse. And being worse than when I was home for Thanksgiving made my heart break.

My car was covered in a dusting of snow when I reached it. Great, just what I wanted to do—drive home two hours while it was snowing. I popped my trunk and tossed my suitcase in the back next to the presents I had loaded earlier. Wrapping my jacket around me tighter, I slid into the driver’s seat and shut the door against the frigid air. I turned the key in the ignition.

Nothing. The car didn’t crank. It didn’t sputter to life. It didn’t do anything.
Shit
. I tried again even though I knew nothing was going to happen. And I was right.
Shit, shit, shit!
I slammed my hands onto the steering wheel. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the light switch was turned on. I let out a groan. Tears formed in my eyes when I realized I wouldn’t be making it home today. At least, not until I could get AAA here. I opened my glove box and searched around for their card. When I found it, I called the number on the back but was met with a wait time. An
hour
wait time. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I hung up. I’d call Dad. He’d know what to do.

As I dialed the familiar number my phone rang. Eli’s name popped up on the screen, and despite the tears running down my face, a smile formed. I sniffed and answered.

“Hi.” My voice was soft and wavered. I had never been good at covering up my emotions.

“Haley? What’s wrong?” Eli sounded slightly panicked, which made me cry harder.

“Oh, nothing. Aside from my stupid car not starting, and now I have no way of getting home. And I can’t get ahold of AAA because there is a freaking wait. Like
everyone
has a dead car right now.” I was rambling, and most of my words came out with a quiver. Eli sighed on his end.

“Christ, woman. I thought something horrible happened.”

“This is horrible!” I screeched. “I can’t get home! Didn’t you hear me? My family is all at home waiting for me, and I can’t get there! I’m not going to be home for Christmas.” Okay, I knew I was being overly dramatic, and I knew eventually I would get home, but I wanted to be there immediately.

“I’m not saying that isn’t an issue. Yes, it is. But Hales, I live just an hour west of you, on the same highway. I can give you a lift.” His words echoed through my mind. Once again, he was coming to my rescue.

“Really?” I blubbered into the phone.

Eli chuckled. “Yes, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Go inside. Warm up. I’ll see you soon.” With that, he ended the call and left me grinning through my tears.

The cold started seeping through my coat, and I realized my car was not running, and it was only about ten degrees outside. I flipped my hood over my head and ran from my car to my apartment, letting out a sigh when I stepped into the warmth. While I waited on Eli, I called my Dad to let him know what was going on. He, of course, knew how to take control of the situation and told me he would take care of everything and my car would be good to go when I got back after Christmas.

When I hung up with him, I still had ten minutes before Eli would be arriving, and I was still slightly frozen. I made myself a cup a tea, transferred it into my thermos, and perched myself on the armrest of the couch. I was next to the window and had a perfect view of the parking lot. I’d be out the door as soon as I saw Eli’s car. As I took a sip of my tea, I saw headlights turn into the parking lot. Immediately, I slung on my coat, grabbed my keys, and headed out into the chilly night. After locking up, I ran down the stairs to meet him. He helped get all my stuff from my car to his, and in no time, we were in the warmth of his car, thawing our fingers next to the vents.

“Hi.” I finally spoke up. We hadn’t said a word to each other as we loaded my stuff into his car.

“Hi.” He grinned over at me, leaning across his center console and brushing a small kiss on my lips. My body instantly warmed at his touch.

“Thank for the lift,” I mumbled as he returned to his side of the car.

“It’s not a problem. I’m going in that direction anyway.” He drove out of the parking spot, and we were on our way out of town. The snow came down in big puffy flakes, and the roads were covered in white.

“It’s not just that. I kind of hate driving in the snow, so is it bad to be happy that my car isn’t working right now?” My question was just met with his chuckle, and his fingers laced through mine.

“I’m also kind of glad your car isn’t working right now.” He gave my hand a squeeze but kept his attention on the road.

“So what are your plans for break?” I asked.

“I’m going to my dad’s for early Christmas with his family. I’ll be back at my mom’s on Christmas Eve, and we’ll do the family thing there. I’m coming back on the 26th because I have to work.” He paused and glanced over at me. “I mean, is that good for you? I can pick you up on the 26th if you want.”

Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about how I would get back. I maybe thought my dad could just drive me home, but Eli’s plans were spot on with mine.

“That works perfectly.” I leaned against the headrest and watched the snow drift around us.

“What about you? What are your plans?”

“Oh, I’m not even sure. Thanksgiving was completely different than our normal tradition, so I don’t even know what to expect now. I’m sure my mom is worse…” I trailed off as I started to get choked up. This was going to be the last holiday with my mom, and I wasn’t even sure she would be coherent enough for it. My eyes teared at the thought of that. Eli squeezed my hand, breaking me out of those horrible thoughts.

“It’ll be okay. You’ll be with family.”

I wanted to believe him. I desperately wanted to believe every word that came out of his mouth, but I knew everything would
not
be okay.

Instead of replying to him, I plastered on a small smile and gripped his hand. I stared out the window, watching the bare trees fly by.

***

“Hales, we’re here.” Eli nudged my arm lightly as I opened my eyes. My parents’ house was outside my window. I must have dozed off because I barely remembered the trip.

“How did you get here? I never gave you directions.”

Eli was all knight-in-shining-armorish, but I doubt he could find his way to my parents’ house on his own.

“Noah gave me your address.” He smirked, then pointed to his GPS.

“Of course. Sorry I didn’t give it to you. And sorry I fell asleep. I’m sure it was a boring drive.” I was stalling. As happy as I was to be home, I was sad I wouldn’t see Eli for a few days. And it also seemed like Eli was a buffer for all the bad things happening in my life. Why on earth had I thought it was a good idea to push him away for all those months? He was exactly what I needed.

“Don’t worry about it. I usually drive three hours by myself, so with you snoring next to me, the two hours just flew by.” Eli laughed as my eyes bulged.

“I don’t snore!” I held my hand over my nose in some sort of attempt to prove I didn’t.

“Okay, not snore, but you do make cute little noises,” he said as he opened his door. I followed him out into the frigid winter night and to the trunk. I wasn’t sure which was worse, snoring or cute noises. Both embarrassed the crap out of me. Instead of fighting it, I just let the comment go and gathered the presents from the back as Eli grabbed my suitcase. We made our way up the walkway to the front porch. It was late, but my dad had left the light on for me. We paused on the porch and turned to face each other.

“Well…” Eli said as he set my suitcase down.

“Well…” I echoed.

“Have a good Christmas, Hales.” He tugged me into a hug, which seemed to cut the cold wind whipping through the night.

“You too.” I hugged him tightly, not yet willing to let go. We stood like that for a few minutes, until the bitter winter air got to us.

“I suppose. I still have an hour to drive.” Eli stepped back from the hug first, but still held onto my arms.

“Drive safe.” I looked around and noticed it had stopped snowing. Well, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about him
too
much. “Text me when you get to your dad’s.”

That signature grin of Eli’s formed on his face. “Will do.” He stared at me for a moment, before bringing his mouth down, pressing his lips firmly against mine. My arms wrapped around his neck, wanting him as close as possible. His lips moved over mine at a slow and leisurely pace, completely consuming me. My fingers weaved through his hair, and I gave a little tug, resulting in a groan from Eli. I couldn’t help the grin that formed. I loved having this effect on him. He placed a light kiss on my lips before backing up.

“I should really get going. If we continue this, I’ll be here all night.” He took a step off the porch, but I refused to release his hand.

“That’s really not a bad idea.” I gave him a tug in an attempt to get him next to me again, but I was just met with a groan.

“Woman, you are trying to kill me.” He stepped up to me, brushing his lips over mine in a light kiss. “That’s all. I’m going now. I’ll see you on Friday,” he said as he quickly backed off the porch.

“’Til Friday.” My hand came up to my lips, still warm from the kisses. “And text me when you get home!” I called out as he got into his car. He gave me a nod and a wave before he drove away from my house. My heart dropped a little as I watched his taillights disappear around the corner. My happy little bubble disappeared with him, and I was all alone to face whatever was inside that house.

With a sigh, I opened the front door and held it with my foot as I picked up my suitcase. The house was quiet when I entered, which was nice. I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone until morning. All I wanted to do was crawl under the covers, warm up, and attempt to get through the week in one piece.

The sound of pots and pans clanging woke me up. I rolled over, pulling my blankets over my head. Even on vacation I wasn’t able to sleep in. The banging stopped, but now the smell of bacon and eggs filled the bedroom. My stomach rumbled. With a groan, I pushed the covers off my head. Sunlight streamed through the window, and the clock on the nightstand told me it was just after eight. I attempted to cover my head with the blankets again. I was on vacation for crying out loud. I was going to sleep past eight a.m.! Before the covers could make it to my chin, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.