Always There || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 197: Everything Was Okay

The next morning we started packing. Over the last couple of days, Josh had been talking to someone about a small apartment just off of campus, so it was just a matter of if we got it or not. Deep down, I didn't really care where we lived. As long as it was with him, I would be happy.

"So, what are you bringing?" He asked, now looking through my shelves. "Because if we get this place, we'll be lucky if there's even enough room for the two of us let alone our stuff."
"I don't need much." I said softly, going over and leaning my head on his shoulder as I looked around, wondering what parts of home I wanted to bring with me into this next chapter of our lives.

And then he went over, finding the collection of rocks he had given me over the years.
"You kept them all." He whispered.
"Of course I did, they were from you. I've kept everything you've ever given me." He peeked over at me, giving me the same playful smile he did when he'd toss each one up to me from below my window.

Never did I think I could fall so in love with a smile until he smiled at me like that.

"Which one is your favorite?" He asked. I didn't have to think, grabbing an opaque stone from the bunch, holding it up to the light.
"This one." I said. It was so beautiful, almost like a diamond. How he managed to find one like this, was amazing. He always amazed me with what managed to catch his eye.

"Why this one?" He asked.
"Because.. you found this one by the water, that night in the gazebo, when you asked me to be your girlfriend." He sighed, his smile growing as he leaned in, gently kissing my forehead.

"And you always remember." I nodded, watching as he placed it into the box of our stuff. We had figured, considering the limited space, it would be best to mix everything together, just to ensure that we didn't overpack.

"So, how do you think you're gonna do in the city?" I asked, now wrapping my arms around him. "It's.. way different than out here." He nodded, giggling to himself.
"I know." He said, pulling me up against him. "But.. it'll be worth it, and I'll have you there, so.. that's all the home I need." I reached up, pulling him into a gentle kiss when I heard my phone vibrating on my end table. I hoped it would stop, giving us at least a few minutes to each other, but no such luck.

I sighed, leaning my forehead against his.
"I'm sorry." He shook his head, smirking back at me.
"It's okay. We'll have plenty of time together in our new home."

Our new home.
I couldn't wait.

I looked down at the screen.
My stomach dropped.

Jake Kiszka
2 Missed Calls
2 Text Messages

I couldn't imagine him calling like this unless it was important. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to ruin our moment together, but something told me that I just needed to call him back.

"Jake called.." I said, turning away as I saw his face drop, but stayed in the room, just so he knew I wasn't hiding anything from him. Things were good now, and I didn't want anything to change that, especially not right before we left.

He answered immediately.

"Hey, what's going on? You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, um.. can you come over? I need to talk to you." I sighed, peeking back over at Josh.
"R-right now? Can it wait until later? We're.. we're packing."
"It's.. I just.. can you please?" He asked, his voice much more needy. It hurt.
"I.. um.. o-okay. I'll be right over."
"Thank you." He said, before hanging up.

I turned to him, already looking disappointed.
"What did he want?" He asked, leaning back up against my desk.
"He wants to talk to me." I said, feeling my cheeks burn. "Come with me, we can.. start packing up your room when we're done." He nodded, his face relaxing as he reached his hand out for me. I took it, pulling him into a quick kiss, flashing him a timid grin. He scrunched up his face, gently rubbing his nose against mine as he followed he down the stairs and out towards his house.

As we made our way over, I saw Jake already outside, sitting on the front steps. I felt my heart start to beat faster, wondering what was going on. And then his head perked up as he heard our footsteps, his eyes darting over to Josh and then to me. Before we got too close, Josh pulled me aside, turning away from him.

"I'm gonna go inside, come and get me when you're done, okay?" He whispered, leaning in, gently kissing my forehead. I nodded, watching as he flashed me a gentle smile and made his way around Jake, heading inside and shutting the door behind him.

I waited for a moment, just to be sure he was out of earshot. No matter what this was about, I knew that he would prefer not to hear anyway.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you o-" He instantly got up, pulling me into a tight hug, hiding his face in my neck, letting out a deep sigh. I could tell, he just needed a minute, so I let him, wrapping my arms around him, squeezing him tight, refusing to let go first.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, gently rubbing his back. I felt him nod, eventually backing away.
"I'm okay." He said softly, despite looking anything but. "But there was an accident." My stomach dropped.
"W-what do you mean?"
"The other night, you made sure I didn't go, and.. you were right."
"W-what.. what happened?"
"They crashed into another car. Two of them survived but.. not James." I assumed James was the one who took the keys from me.

"Jake, I'm.. I'm so sorry."
"That would've been me."
"We don't know that." I said, not wanting to make things worse.
"Yeah we do." He sighed, pulling me back into another tight hug. "I'm sorry." I shook my head, wrapping my arms around his neck, hugging him tighter.
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I don't want to lose you. I.. I can be okay with this. This is enough for me. You can't help how you feel, and.. I'm happy to just.. be here. I know you love him, and.. I'm happy for you. And I'm happy for him."
"Jake.."

"You're gonna go, and.. you're gonna be great. And I'm gonna be here and.. one day, I'll be out there playing music again, and.. I'm okay with that. As long as you're happy, I'm okay with it." I couldn't help but smile, gently caressing his cheek.
"You're gonna be great too." I said. He nodded, finally smiling back at me.
"I'm gonna try."
"I love you." I sighed, pulling him into another tight hug.
"And I love you." He said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head. "Now go." When I looked up at him, he smirked at me, motioning back into the house.
"You sure you're okay?" I asked. "Because.. if you need anything-" He nodded.
"I'm okay, Jaime."

I believed him.

"Okay." I said, leaning in and gently kissing his cheek before heading back inside. I felt like a weight had just been completely lifted off of my shoulders, quickly heading up the stairs and into Josh's room where I saw him sitting at his desk, turning his chair to face me when he heard me in the doorway.

"Hey.. everything okay?" He asked, looking up from his phone. I nodded, going over and sitting down in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. He reached up, gently tangling his fingers in my hair, kissing me back before I felt him smile, moving away to look back up at me.

"What did you guys talk about?" He laughed, gently brushing his fingers against my cheek. I shook my head, biting down on my lip, pulling him back into another kiss knowing that finally..

everything was okay.