An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 33

The sun peeking through the shade shines brightly in my face, making it impossible to sleep any longer. Alex is stroking my hair gently just like she was last night.

"Morning," I say tiredly. "Hi bub. How'd you sleep?" she asks warmly. I rub my eyes aggressively and yawn. "Pretty good actually. Sorry if I kept you pinned down all night," I say while rolling off of her. "I didn't mind it. It was actually nice that you needed me last night," she smiles.

I never really thought about the fact that I've been relying on Alex less lately. I reach over and take her hand in mine. "I'm always gonna need you Al. More than you probably know. But I also don't want to burden you with my problems," I explain. "Your problems are my problems. You will never be a burden," she insists.

I smile and nod feeling relief wash over me. "Come on. I'll make us some breakfast," she says while tossing the covers off of her. "You know I can't say no to breakfast," I smile, following her downstairs.

...

"So have you thought about my advice at all?" Alex asks cautiously. My eyes remain focused on my plate as I nudge the few remaining berries around. "I had a few texts from him this morning. He wants to talk and I think that's a good idea," I tell her. She smiles sadly at me and nods. "Ultimately it's about what you want. Either way I'm here for you," she says while patting my hand.

I pull out my phone and text Tucker back to agree to meeting up. It doesn't take long for him to text me with a time and place. To no surprise, he wants to meet on the soccer field at school.

"So how much traveling are we actually doing this summer?" I ask curiously, trying to change the subject. "Hmm well we'll be traveling for club and national team games. Also we'll be spending some time out in LA with Serv and our families. Then I was thinking we could visit Kelley in DC and Allie in New York. I also want to do some in-state traveling too, like go to Disney and around. And lastly, I was thinking that we could take a family trip up to Massachusetts," she rattles off.

"Wow I guess we won't be home much then," I say with a hint of surprise. "I mean we will, but we just won't be home all summer," she explains. This is all I needed to hear to make my decision.

"I gotta go get ready to meet up with Tucker. Thanks for breakfast," I half-heartedly smile.

...

I spot Tucker sitting on the bleachers as Alex drops me off at school. "You sure you're up for this?" Alex asks. I'm anxious about having this conversation, but I know it needs to happen. "It's gotta happen," I sigh. I give her a quick hug before getting out of the car.

The rattling of the bleachers due to my crutches and boot alert Tucker that I'm here. He stands there awkwardly, unsure if he should hug me or not. Instead, he grabs my hand as I sit down across from him.

"How are you?" he asks nervously. "Not great. Alex had to comfort me all last night and this morning because I was pretty upset," I frown. "I'm sorry. I want to make it up to you," he pleads.

My heart drops into my stomach. After everything, that's all he can think of to say? He looks at me hopefully, awaiting my answer. I know deep down I can't give him the answer he wants.

"I think we need to take some time apart," I whisper. The hopefulness in his eyes fade to sadness. "Is this really because of what happened last night?" he asks.  It's hard for me to look him in the eyes because this hurts me just as much.

"Not entirely," I sigh. "Then what?" he presses. "It's because of the fighting and the drinking and the not thinking before you act. You refuse to take responsibility for your actions and then we end up arguing. And it's also because I'm going to be away a lot this summer. And I still have my own issues that I need to deal with. We're just just not in a good place to be in a relationship," I try to explain.