Finding Everett | ✔️

Chapter Twenty Seven

Okay, guys, so a very quick recap since I've been gone so long.

Lizzie and Everett take a trip to Flagstaff, Arizona to visit some of Lizzie's family. On the way down, they discuss how Everett lost his sight. An of course, if Everett revealed a secret, Lizzie did as well. And she revealed that she is not an only child.

Yes, Lizzie has a sister and Everett was just as shocked. The two form a pretty immediate bond; the sister (who has been adopted by Lizzie's Aunt) is in the hospital off and on all the time for an illness.

In the previous chapter, Lizzie and Everett shared a kiss and now we fast forward!

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"I hate this car. When I first got this car, I was so happy, but now I hate it."

"That's because you've been practically living in this car for two days and, lets face it, we both desperately need a shower and food that didn't come from a drive thru."

It was 12:23 AM and Lizzie and Everett were at a stoplight, only 20 minutes away from home. They were tired. They were hungry. They were sore.

But despite all the downsides on the return trip, the two were still happy and really enjoyed the vacation they had.

The trip overall seemed to be a great success. A ton had been accomplished and Lizzie and Everett really enjoyed themselves. The goodbye's had been harder than they thought, though, especially between Everett and Mandy. When Lizzie went to get them some drinks from the machine down the hall from Mandy's room, Mandy made Everett promise to take care of Lizzie and finally ask her out officially.

"You two are good together," was her simple explanation for her demands. But, hey - Everett was more than happy to comply with the orders. It was more a matter of timing.

The two hadn't discussed yet what exactly went down back in Flagstaff several days prior. They knew an undeniable attraction existed between them now, one both were okay with -  more than okay, really.

For Everett, it set his insides on fire to know that Lizzie cared for him in such a way. They had things they needed to discuss, to be sure. But for now, they were happy and satisfied and if their hands sat linked over the console for most of the way back from Flagstaff, well - that was their business.

"Just a few more minutes - we'll be back to our own beds and we can just pass out," Everett continued, dropping farther down in his seat. His words were becoming slurred and it came as no shock how tired he was.

"Yeah," came Lizzie's eloquent response. Her eyes were sagging as she drove down the road, closing in on their destination. "You should probably call Jesse and let him know how close we are. Maybe make sure he can help you get all your bags inside and stuff."

Everett nodded sleepily, making no move to get his phone out and instead slipping back to his sleepy state. With a fond smile, Lizzie rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone instead. She tapped Jesse's name on the screen, waiting for the man on the other end to pick up.

Lizzie took the time to notice how long the seconds felt when you were waiting for someone to answer their stupid phone, even more so when it was late and you were tired.

And then suddenly, "Please tell me you're close. I'm not sure I can drink another cup of coffee to stay awake for you guys," came Jesse's pleading voice from the other side of the line in place of a greeting.

"Well, hello to you too, sunshine," Lizzie teased, taking a quick sip of her coffee now that Jesse mentioned it.

"Don't toy with me, Baldwin," he practically growled. Even though they both knew she was playing around, it really was too late and they were both so tired. "Seriously, are you almost home?"