What She Left Us (15 page)

He
took the beer from her hand, and gathered her into his arms, onto her lap.

“Hey
Court, it’s okay, whatever it is, everything is going to be okay. You can tell
me. I’m here. I don’t want to go anywhere. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He
held her and smoothed her hair while she cried. She cried for the loss of her
mother, wishing they had known what was slowly killing her, wishing they would
have been able to stop it in time. She cried for the fear of the unexpected –
she knew she wasn’t going to die, yet she was scared of what was going to
happen to her and Jenna. She had been so brave, put up a front for her sister,
who had been going through so much, and Courtney was about to lose it; she
was
losing it now.

And
here was Mitch, holding her in his arms, telling her everything was going to be
fine, absolutely fine, and he didn’t even know what she was crying about.

She
whimpered and raised her head and Mitch wiped away at some stray tears. “You
okay? You feel a bit better?”

Courtney
actually did. She needed a good cry and she sighed. Mitch kissed her forehead
and brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

“You
even look pretty when you cry and your face is all splotchy.”

Courtney
attempted a smile. “I need my beer.”

“Just
as I thought, totally a girl after my own heart. I knew you were perfect for
me.” Mitch handed Courtney her beer and she took another sip.

“So,
here’s the thing,” Courtney began. “My mom died from this disease called
hemochromatosis. When I went home for fall break, Jenna and I were tested for
it. We both tested positive. It’s hereditary.”

A
look of shock passed over Mitch’s face, but then it disappeared as quickly as
it came.

“It
sounds way worse than it is. We’re really going to be okay. The doctors told
us. We’re young and healthy. But that’s why my sister came. So we can be here
together. We’re lucky we caught it early. Mom went undetected. I’m so upset
because it’s so treatable, had we known, Mom would still be here with us.”

Mitch
was quiet for a while, then he said, “Yeah. Wow. That’s tough to think about.”
He rubbed Courtney’s thigh, and pulled her closer. She’d never had a male
person in her life to be with her, to take care of her, to
care
for her.
This was something new, something brand new, and it felt wonderful.

It
felt safe.

“So,”
he paused, “what do we have to do?”

Courtney
looked up at Mitch, at his beautiful eyes and those lashes she still couldn’t
believe covered the eyes of a boy who wanted to look at her.

“We?”
she asked, feeling her throat close up again.

“Of
course, ‘we.’ Court, I haven’t felt this way about anyone in a very long time.”
He never let her go, continued touching her, letting her know he was serious.
“I didn’t get into this just to fool around. I told you what I thought the
first time I saw you. I want to be with you. So, I’m going to ask you again,
what do
we
have to do?”

Courtney
relaxed enough to explain everything about hemochromatosis and what she had
learned from Dr. Rhetler, and she told Mitch that they would have to start the
blood removal procedure beginning on Monday. She told him that Jenna was scheduling
their appointments.

“So
it’s as easy as that – we just need to make sure your iron counts are lowered
each week by having blood removed?” Mitch asked.

“Gosh,
you make it sound so simple,” Courtney exhaled.

“We’ll
make it simple,” he said. “I promise you, we’ll make it simple and I’ll be with
you the whole way through. You want to know why?”

“Why?”
she asked.

“Because
I’m really, really falling in love with you.”

By
the time Jenna finished her third Blue Moon, she had a lead on a new apartment
that Clay promised would not look like a hotel scene out of
The Hangover.
She also had an interview with Clay’s boss, the owner of Klippy’s, for a
part-time job waitressing.

“But
I’ve never served anything but a tennis ball!” Her words were a bit slurred,
but she didn’t care if she had a buzz-on; she was finally relaxed and enjoying
herself.

“You’ll
be fine,” Clay said, “You’re smarter than three-fourths of the girls serving
burgers here.”

“You’re
not giving me much credit. Only three-fourths of them?”

“I
just met you,” Clay said.

Jenna
laughed. It was a pure good laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she had
laughed so much. She needed a night like this – a night to go out and forget the
crap she had been dealing with. She hadn’t thought about Darren or her mother
or the disease that could be eating up her insides, or the fact that her sister
was at her dorm fooling around with that goon of hers.

She
was just out drinking beers, listening to great music and talking to a very
nice guy. A guy who looked very good in his form-fitting Klippy's work shirt. A
guy with great hair, sparkling hazel eyes, and just the right amount of stubble
on a perfect chin. A guy who happened to be off work now, sitting next to Jenna,
telling her she could serve burgers and beers to college students.

“Well,
if you think I’m qualified.”

“You’re
more than qualified, but if you’re just looking for a part-time job to get you
through for a little while, Doug will absolutely talk to you. Give me your
number, and I’ll set it up for you to come in early next week.”

“You’ve
been so kind to me. You have no idea the crap I’ve been dealing with,” Jenna
said.

“Uh,
yeah I have. Remember when I was on the other side of the bar playing your
therapist for the last two hours?” Clay nudged Jenna playfully and her bar seat
swiveled. “You told me everything.”

“Oh
yeah, I guess I did,” Jenna laughed.

And
she had, but she didn’t care. She told him about her breakup with Darren, and
how uncertain she was and how out of character it had been of her. She told him
of her mother’s unexpected death. His father had recently passed away, and in
honor of them losing parents they both did tequila shots, him saying, ‘Our
parents would have wanted it this way,’ as he slugged his shot. She mentioned
she was in town to have some medical tests done with her sister. She knew he
was a good listener because he didn’t ask things he shouldn’t and he nodded
intently.

“Are
you up for one more?” he asked, eyeing her empty glass.

“I
don’t know, that might put me over the edge. This
is
my first night in
town.”

“Ah,
come on. If you're going to be hanging around, you need to get back to fighting
weight.”

“Does
this arm look like it needs much twisting?” She lifted her arm and Clay grabbed
it playfully, twisted it back behind her. The bar stool swiveled all the way
around and when it came back, Clay placed his hands on her knees.

“So
yeah? One more?” The music switched and
Your Body is a Wonderland
by
John Mayer flowed through the speakers. Clay moved one hand slowly on her knee
in mindless circles as he talked to her, and Jenna felt an electric jolt shoot
through her body. His eyes were on hers.

"One
more?" he asked again, his hands still on her knees.

“Yeah,
I can do one more.”

“Did
you know he wrote this song about Jennifer Love Hewitt? When they were dating?
At least I think he did.”

“No
way! I can't even imagine!”

Clay
lifted one hand from her knee but left one hand on her other knee, and Jenna
felt the heat follow up her thigh, something she was not prepared for. It felt
good, yes, but also confusing to her. Clay motioned for the other bartender to
bring them two more beers and then the music turned to something less take-me-to-bed
and he moved his hands from her knees.

With
his hands off her body, Jenna wasn’t sure if she felt relief or not.  

“So,”
Jenna asked, “You’re not still a student are you?”

“What
are you saying? That I look old?”

“Not
old, just mature.”

“Nice
way to save your ass on that one, Miss Jenna. Actually, I’m in grad school,
getting my MBA in Business. I took a few years off to find myself.”

“And
did you?”

He
laughed. “I'm working on it.”

The
beers arrived and they clinked their glasses in a toast. “Tell me about it.
Here’s to finding ourselves.”

“I’ll
drink to that,” Clay said. “To finding ourselves.”

“And
new friends,” Jenna added.

“Definitely,”
Clay winked at her. “To finding new friends.”

 “We’re
going to call it a session, from now on, it’s simply a ‘session,’ like a visit
to the spa.” Courtney announced that morning. It was Monday, their first time
going to get their blood removed and it was hard to tell who was more nervous.

“That
works for me,” Jenna said.

They
were at breakfast, and Mitch was with them, even though Jenna didn’t want him
along, but she needed to realize she was infringing on her sister’s life now,
and Mitch was obviously a big part of it, and he was going to be around. Jenna
suggested they go off campus for breakfast though; she was not going to succumb
to dorm food while she was there, so they were at the Village Place, and were
waiting for their omelets.

“I
think calling it a session is a great idea, Court,” Mitch reached over and held
onto her hand, and Courtney smiled at him. Jenna rolled her eyes. Courtney
frowned at her sister. She was tired of her sister being such an obvious bitch
to Mitch. She knew how much he cared for her and Jenna was being just plain
rude.

When
Jenna rolled in at two a.m. Friday, she found Courtney’s room empty. So the
next morning when Courtney went back to her room, Jenna had some things to say
to Courtney about her not being there. Jenna’s first night, and the girls were
already fighting.

“Why
didn’t you come to your room last night?” Jenna asked.

“What
do you care? You’re not in charge of me. Besides, I was being considerate of
you so you could have the room to yourself!” Courtney countered.

“Is
this even allowed? You’re the RA!” Jenna said.

“Look,
Jenna, let’s get some things straight here. This is my life. You’re here and I
truly do appreciate it. I’m so thankful that we’re going to do this together.
But I want to spend time with Mitch and I’m going to do what I want to do.

“I
was being considerate to you by staying in his room. If you don’t like it,
you’re welcome to find another place,” Courtney finished and stared down her
sister, hands on her hips.

That’s
when Jenna told Courtney about meeting Clay at Klippy's, and the possible
apartment she was going to see over the weekend, and the interview Clay was setting
up for her. She didn’t mention the knee touches or the flirting, or Clay's
hazel eyes and his great build. She didn't mention his sexy stubble or the
dimple in his chin, or how she felt when he had walked her to her car at two in
the morning. How she almost wanted him to kiss her. And the feelings of
disappointment when he’d only hugged her goodbye.

“I
didn’t mean for you to find a place so soon,” Courtney said, feeling sad and
guilty for suggesting she should find an apartment immediately.

“No,
come on. I don’t want to live in a dorm. Those kids are so freaking loud. The
music they play is obnoxious. They’re already driving me crazy,” Jenna said.

“Remy
and JT think you’re hot,” Courtney teased.

So
that had been Saturday morning, and now it was breakfast on Monday, and later,
they would be going for their first ‘session.’

Their
omelets arrived and they dug in. The girls had been instructed to eat a hearty
meal before having their blood drawn and they were also supposed to make sure
they were very hydrated prior. Other than a big meal and plenty of liquids,
there wasn’t much else to do. At this stage, Dr. Rhetler said there was no
additional medications necessary, and they wouldn’t need to go in for an
evaluation until the first of the year. Dr. Rhetler added that their case was
the most basic she had seen and she had been pleased with the initial results.
She was expecting the girls would need two to four months of treatment and then
a follow-up appointment should show their iron counts will have regulated. There
was no worse-case scenario when it came to the Haddonfield girls.

“Mitch,
Courtney tells me you transferred from State this year? How come?” Jenna asked.

Mitch
finished chewing and then took a long swallow of his orange juice. “Well, it
was a combination of things. I wanted to focus more on music, and there was
some family stuff too.”

Courtney
looked up from her plate. “Family stuff?”

“Yeah,
nothing major, but it just made sense for everyone.”

“Really?”
Jenna’s eyebrows rose. She knew there was something ‘iffy’ about this guy.
“What kind of family stuff?”