Running On Empty

Chapter 16~Jaylin~

"I had a hunch. I may not know much about liking someone from experience, but I still feel it. Something tells me to trust my gut at times."

He looks at me as if I had accomplished something beyond anything else he had ever seen. It was the look of a father being proud of his son for getting good grades. Then he ruffles my hair with his big hands for the first time.

"What was that for?" I tried straightening my hair again.

"My, how time flies! Young Master, you are growing up in more than one way!" He grins at me and gives me a thumbs up. "Good job, Young Master!"

I look at him in wonder. If he was a father, I bet his son would grow up to be a good one. It seemed to me like he always did what my father never had without much thought of how happy it made me feel.

"You're right about Madeline, Young Master. I care a lot about her. I don't just like her. I love her. I always have. She's the one person that has made me feel butterflies in my stomach. She's the only one who can truly bring me down to my knees and lift me up so high that I think I hit heaven." I could see him smile so sincerely that his ears started turning red right away.

"Does she know that you feel this way? I'm not sure what the word is for this feeling yet. But, I think that is how I feel around Silya. That's why I want to thank her. She's shown me what it was like to feel this compassionate about something in my life for the first time." I smiled at Garrett.

 It felt good to be able to talk to him like this, not a master and a servant, but as a friend talking to another friend. Garrett is my friend. Why didn't I realize this a long time ago? All this time I sat wondering why my father didn't treat me like a regular son. Why couldn't he be the father like the ones in the stories that I read all those times I was left alone? Why was it after all these years that the truth finally lit up in my cave, leading me out of the dark tunnel

"I'm not sure. The two of us have been together for so long that I'm sure it never even crossed her mind. I'm almost certain that she thinks me as a sibling. It's a strange feeling when you're in love. You feel so giddy, almost like a child waiting to open gifts on Christmas day. At times, you find yourself smiling so much that the sides of your mouth hurt. Other times it makes you question if you ever cross their minds too. But, falling in love with Madeline is the best gift in the world in my eyes because there is no love like the first. She always has been and always be my first."

Over the next moments of quiet, I saw Garrett face turn red a little. He was being sincere with these words. I wonder if this was what it was like to truly care for one person from the bottom of your heart. Even after all these years, he still loved her as much as he did before. He was not afraid to say it. Instead, he let the truth go. Was this sort of a relief to him? Did he ever let anyone else besides me know?

"Alright, Young Master, you are all set." He patted me on the back. "I'm glad to see how much you have grown.

"Thank you, Garrett." This time I bowed my head down in front of him, "I'm grateful that I have someone like you to help me.

He stood slightly confused and then shrugged his shoulders. "It can't be helped because I am thankful that I have you too, Young Master."

After Garrett left, I paced around my room, thinking of what I would say to Silya. If I managed to get five minutes with her, I would thank her for all her help. I would ask her to stay with me even though it would probably cause her more trouble. Silya was so much fun to be around. With Frica, I thought she was nicer than I had originally thought, but there wasn't a single moment of a spark that lit up the room like there was with Silya. She didn't make my heart race or my face turn bright red. She didn't make me so confuse that it made me dizzy. There was something about Silya that made me asking me for more time with her.