Chapter 30: I Love You
Sterling's Point of View
A sort of brotherly pride spread through me when I saw Grey walk past me with Grace. It was a little odd considering Grace and I were pretty good friends, and she was with my brother, but I was with his best friend too. Fate was weird like that sometimes, I guess.
“They’re so cute together.” Bren leaned against me, placing her head on my chest, and I wrapped an arm around her waist as we continued to walk down the hallway.
“They are.” I kissed the top of her head. “But we’re cuter.”
She laughed. “You’re damn right we are.”
I smiled as I led her through the door to Calculus. As we sat down, I noticed her smile had faded slightly.
“Something wrong?”
“I don’t think so. I just have a favor to ask you.” She didn’t look at me, but instead focused on her fingers that were playing with the hem of her light green shirt. For once she wasn’t wearing one of my sweatshirts, but an unzipped grey zip-up of her own. The slight rips in her jeans taunted me, showing only slivers of her slender legs inside.
“Anything for you, Beautiful.” I winked, and she blushed slightly. It was a reaction from her I never failed to enjoy.
“I talked to Lia again…” She was now playing with her hands instead.
“And?” I prodded.
“She invited me to have dinner with her and her husband.” Her eyes met mine. “Will you come with me?”
“Of course.” I covered her still fidgeting hands with my own. “When are we doing this?”
“Tonight, actually. I’m supposed to be there at five.”
“Then I’ll pick you up at quarter to.” My lips curved as I watched her smile.
“Thanks.” She leaned forward to kiss me, but stopped when Mrs. Stevenson cleared her throat. She bit her bottom lip, looking up at me with a twinkle in her eye. “I guess I’ll thank you later.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Someone gagged from behind us. Bren swiveled in her chair and shot Carson a dirty look. He pointed at Gordon who held his hands up in an act of innocence. I chuckled, and Bren rolled her eyes as she turned back around, her arms crossed. But I saw the corner of her lips curved upward ever so slightly.
***
The rest of the day went by rather quickly for me, but I’m sure the opposite was true for Bren. She had enough issues with Grey and her dad without the stress of her mother coming unexpectedly back into her life. At least she had made up with her Dad and Grey now. I had understood why she had been mad at my brother, even if she did overreact a little bit. To feel split in-between your boyfriend or girlfriend and your best friend had to be a rough place to be. Add in other drama and everything was bound to explode at some point.
When I arrived at her house, I parked and knocked at the door—I was doing anything and everything to remain on Mr. Shaw’s good side. Bren was upstairs still, so I went to see if she was almost ready. I opened the door to find her lying stomach down on the bed, a book propped open in front of her. She brought her head up to look at me, her eyes wide.
“It’s that late already?” I nodded, and she marked her page before standing up from the bed. “Does this look okay? Maybe I should wear a different shirt. And these shoes don’t go at all. How’s my hair? What about—”
I pressed my lips to her moving mouth, only pulling back when she sunk into the kiss as well. I rested my forehead on hers. “You always look beautiful, Bren. And tonight is going to go amazingly.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, her breath fanning my lips.
I took a step back, cleared my throat. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, and we made our way back downstairs. As we walked by her father, he gave me the slightest of nods as if he was finally recognizing me as a person; as a person he was happy with his daughter dating. I returned the gesture and led Bren to my truck.
I was about to pull away from the curb when I realized something. “Where are we going?”
“Oh yeah.” She laughed and started fiddling with her phone. “3452 Hickory Street is the address.”
“Thanks.” I placed it on the imaginary map in my head and headed there.
Bren was quieter than usual—which I attributed to nerves—so I reached over and grabbed her hand with my right one, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at me, and the rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence.
We pulled up to a quaint brick house with freshly painted shutters and a new front door. I couldn’t make out much more of the house as it was already dark, but it looked like quite a bit of landscaping had been done as well. I stepped out of the truck, but I noticed Bren hesitated before doing the same.
I placed my hand lightly on Bren’s lower back as we walked up the pathway to the foreign house. I took the liberty of ringing the doorbell once we reached the front door. Sharp barking and shuffled footsteps reached my ears before Lia opened the door and ushered us inside with a wide grin.
We followed her into the house, and I could sense the waves of nervous energy flowing off of Bren and crashing into me. Mrs. Henderson was wearing black dress pants, and a fancy purple sweater. It was only with her heels that she was the same height as Bren.
“You guys don’t mind dogs, do you? This is Pepper,” she said as a black miniature poodle entered the hallway. The dog came up and sniffed us before trotting to her owner and waiting to be pet.
“No, I used to have a dog. Remember?” Bren’s voice had an icy undertone to it. I subtly squeezed her side.
Lia’s face softened as she bent down to scratch the dog’s neck. “Of course I remember Barkley. Whatever happened to him?”
I felt Brennan’s back stiffen beneath my arm. “He got cancer a few years ago. We had to put him down.”
“I’m sorry, Brennan. I know how much he meant to you.” She stood back up and began walking again.
We entered into the beige kitchen to find a couple of pots and pans simmering away on the stove and a dark haired man situated at the glass-topped table. He smiled when he saw us and stood from the table. I was surprised that he was taller than me as it was something I didn’t come across too often. Lia went to stand next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Brennan, Sterling, this is Dan. Dan, this is my daughter, Brennan, and her boyfriend, Sterling.”
Dan reached out a massive hand to Bren first and then to me. “Wow, you’ve definitely grown up, Brennan. You look just like your mother when I first met her. And Sterling…you wouldn’t happen to be George’s little rascal, would you? I remember you were always finding a way to lead your little brother and Brennan into all sorts of trouble.”
I chuckled. “That was definitely me.”
Lia beamed—probably at how well things seemed to be going—and went to check on the stuff cooking.
“Why don’t you guys take a seat?” Mr. Henderson offered. We both obliged.
“So, you’re a junior this year, right?” he asked Bren.
“Yeah,” she replied.
“High school is a fun time.” He smiled and turned to me. “And that makes you a senior?”
I nodded.
“Do you know where you’re going to school yet?”
Bren turned to look at me too, and I noticed a trace of panic in her eyes. It was something we had never talked much about.
“I applied to a couple schools around the state, but my top pick has always been the engineering school in Brooksville. Hopefully, I’ll get in there.”
Dan nodded. “That’s a pretty good school. And that’s what…an hour from here?”
“About forty-five minutes.” I glanced over at Brennan to see a relieved look on her face. I squeezed her hand under the table, and her lips curved slightly.
Lia placed the food on the table; roasted chicken, red potatoes, and broccoli. It actually looked pretty good—which really surprised me. I may have been only six when she left, but I remembered all the times I had been over at their house, and she messed up the mac and cheese or burnt the pizza. To see something like that was definitely a bit of a shock.
“This looks delicious, honey,” Dan said before lightly kissing his wife’s cheek. Bren shifted in her chair.
I took a bite, and I was far from disappointed. It was seriously good. During the time we ate, the room filled with an awkward air, like no one really knew what they should say. Then Bren accidentally spilled her drink. She looked horrified as the apple juice spread across the white tablecloth, staining everything in its path a sickly yellow.
Lia jumped up to grab a dishrag, but she didn’t really look too worried.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Bren managed to say, her cheeks bright pink.
Her mother smiled as she started to clean up the spill. “You obviously never outgrew the clumsiness.”
I bit back a laugh. Bren was always clumsy. It was one of those odd qualities about her that made me like her even more than I already did.
“But it’s really no big deal. This can easily be washed, and it’ll be good as new.”
Bren nodded as Lia finished cleaning up the mess. When she was done, she sat back down at the table with the rest of us.
“So, we talked about Sterling’s plans. Do you know what you want to do yet?” Mrs. Henderson asked her daughter.
Brennan shifted slightly in her seat. “I actually want to go into nursing. It seems pretty interesting to me, and I like helping people.”
I never knew she wanted to be a nurse. It was never something that came up and frankly, it surprised me.
Her mom smiled, yet again. “I think that sounds like a good plan. Isn’t that what your mom does, Sterling?”
“Yes, it is. That’s where I got the idea, actually,” Bren said. There was a flash of hurt in Lia’s eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.
“Nurses make pretty good money too, but they have to work hard as hell for it,” Dan piped up.
“They do,” Brennan agreed. “I think it’d be worth it, though. I always thought it’d be cool to be able to help make someone better, you know? And nurses seem to do more of the actual hands-on stuff than the doctors.”
“Well, from what you told me about school and the classes you’re taking, I’d definitely say you have your father’s smarts. Being a nurse should be no problem for you,” Lia said.
“Thanks,” Bren murmured before clearing her throat. “Speaking of school, I still have calculus homework to finish. So, we’re gonna have to be heading home.”
“Alright.” Mrs. Henderson stood up. “I guess we’ll see you later.”
Brennan nodded.
“Thanks for the dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson. It was delicious.” I smiled warmly.
“No problem. We should do this again sometime.” Lia looked hopeful.
Bren nodded again. “That’d be nice.”
Her mother smiled once more. Dan squeezed his wife’s hand before smiling at us as well. “Bye. You guys are welcome again anytime.”
“Bye and thanks again.”
I led Bren back out through the house and to my truck, holding the door open for her to climb in. I shut the door when she was safely inside and got in the driver’s side.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” she admitted as I began to drive away. “It was a bit awkward, but it could have been much worse.”
“Do you think you’re going to do it again? I wouldn’t mind going with, if you’d want me to.”
“Thanks.” She smiled slightly. “And I really do have Calculus homework to finish…Can you help me with it? I didn’t get what we were doing today at all.”
“Of course. Do you want to go to your house or mine?”
“Your house, please. And thanks.”
“Anything for you, Beautiful.”
***
The next few months seemed to fly by with Bren by my side. My high school days quickly came to a close. And although I was excited to be done with that place, to move on to the next portion of my life, it pained me that Bren couldn’t do it with me. At least not completely. We’d still be together, and she’d still be there to support me, but she’d be stuck in high school. Once summer was over—the last true part of my childhood—there would be no more seeing her every day. And that sucked. But I knew it was only a small hurdle in the road, one that we could easily jump over and work our way through.
The dinners with her mom and stepdad became a weekly routine. Every Monday night, Bren and I would head over there to enjoy an evening with them. The dinners became less awkward as time passed, and they actually became pretty fun. Sometimes we’d stay longer and play board games like Monopoly and Battle of the Sexes or watch movies. And I think in the long run it ended up being really good for Bren. She was happier, and that made me happier as well.
It was the sixth or seventh one of these dinners when Bren called Lia “Mom” for the first time. Mrs. Henderson ambled over and pulled her daughter into a tight hug, and they both burst into tears. I’m pretty sure they were happy tears, but Dan and I just sat there equally uncomfortable.
Grey and Grace were still going strong as well. With Grey being my brother, Grace being my best friend, and Bren his, it was quite normal for the four of us to hang out quite often. Greyson was much more relaxed about Bren and I, but considering that he was sleeping with my best friend, he couldn’t say much even if he did have a problem.
***
We had been dating about three months when I said the words I had never said to any other girl—I had never said them in a non-joking matter at least. Saying those three words were serious to me. It meant I was with that girl and that girl only, and I had never liked commitment, never liked being tied down. But with Bren, I didn’t see any other girls. I had no problem being solely with her.
I realized it one day as we sat there watching TV with Carson and Carly. I didn’t care that we weren’t doing anything exciting. I was perfectly happy with simply being there with her. The thought scared me, but it sent a thrill of excitement through me as well. I finally knew what it felt like to love someone. I knew Bren was weird about saying “I love you,” knew that it was a big step for her to say something like that. But I also knew I had to tell her. If she wasn’t ready to say it, then she didn’t have to. But I was going to say it because I wanted her to know exactly how I felt. That wasn’t going to change just because she wasn’t ready to say the same words as me.
I sat there the rest of the day with her, going over different ways I could tell her. I could do something special, but that seemed cheap to me, like it was a gimmick or something. Eventually, I decided I would tell her straight up. Just say it outright.
It wasn’t until she walked out with me to my truck that we were finally alone. It was slightly chilly like it always was in March, but it smelled of spring. The grass was green and a few buds were trying to get an early start to grow. Our hands swung in rhythm as we walked.
“I realized something today,” I said.
Bren looked at me curiously. “What?”
I brought my eyes to hers and held them steady. “I love you, Brennan Shaw.” Her breath hitched. “I don’t you need to say it back yet, but I wanted you to know. I know that’s a big—”
She pressed her lips to mine, wrapping her arms around my neck. After a moment, she pulled back, her lips slightly curved, an odd look in her eyes. “I love you too, Sterling Hayes.”
I sat there and stared at her for a moment. My mind was in complete and utter shock trying to comprehend what she said. I had never expected her to say it back, at least not yet.
“I’m glad to hear that.” I kissed her lightly. “I’ll see you later, Beautiful.”
Bren smiled, her cheeks slightly pink. “Bye, Sterling.”
***
For my eighteenth birthday, my dad had also given me a ring. It was the engagement ring my Grandpa Jack had given my Grandma Irene when he had proposed. When Grandma passed away a few years back, my grandpa passed it on to his only child, my dad. He wanted to keep it in the family, and he didn’t have any need for it. As the oldest son, my dad gave it to me to give to the girl I loved one day. I’m pretty sure neither of us planned on me using it as soon as I did.
My sixth month anniversary with Bren was coming up on the tenth of June. I had less than three months left to be with the girl I loved before I would be forty-five minutes away. It wasn’t that far, but it was far enough to be troublesome. I wanted to show her how much I cared for her, how much I loved her, how special she was to me. I wanted to show her that she didn’t have to worry, that I was always going to be hers.
As the day got closer, I decided I need to talk about it with my dad first. It may have been my ring, but it was also a family heirloom of sorts. Not to mention I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I wasn’t going to be using it in the same sense as my grandfather did, at least not at first. He was a bit apprehensive about it, but he also knew I had never treated another girl the way I treated Bren. He knew I was completely serious about it all. In the end, he supported me all the way.
Then I decided to make the two hour drive to talk to my Grandpa Jack. It was his ring in the first place. And frankly, he was a pretty awesome guy that I hadn’t talked to in forever. He greeted me with a hug and clap on the back when I knocked at his door.
He stepped back then and looked at me with a twinkle in his wise blue eyes. “This is about the ring, isn’t it?”
My Grandpa always seemed to know me better than anyone else. As a little kid, I could never fool him into anything. He knew immediately if I was about to cause trouble.
I grinned. “Yes, Grandpa.”
“Come on, let’s go sit down and talk about this.” He smiled as well, which made him look young despite his wrinkles.
I followed him into the off-white kitchen with faded flower wallpaper. The paint had once been bright and the wallpaper new, but it had aged as its inhabitants did. This was the first and only house my grandparents had bought; it was the same house my father had grown up in.
“Would you like something to drink, Sterling?” he asked as he poured his cup of coffee. “There’s some soda in the fridge, I think.”
“I’m good, thanks.” I sat down and waited for him to join me.
He settled into a chair and took a sip of his steaming black coffee before speaking again. “This girl is pretty special to you then?”
I nodded. “She means the world to me.”
His lips curved slightly. “You know, your grandma and I were high school sweethearts.”
“I didn’t know that. And you guys dated and were married all that time?” My eyes widened. “That’s seriously impressive.”
“We dated for two years and were married for fifty-three before she passed.” His eyes held a trace of sadness, but most of what I saw was pure love. “I had a job working in my uncle’s bakery all throughout high school. It didn’t pay that much, but it was a job and that was enough for me. The summer after my senior year, I worked a second job building houses. I worked every day at one job or the other—sometimes both. It was worth it in the end, though, when I was able to buy her that ring.”
He smiled and folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Now tell me about this girl. She must be something else for you to be considering this—especially since it’s you.”
I chuckled. “She is something else, always has been. She’s smart, beautiful, and always makes me laugh. And it doesn’t matter how bad of a mood I’m in, how bad of a day I’ve had, simply being around her makes it all go away. If there was such a thing as perfect, she’d be it. Even if she’s clumsy, stubborn, and gets mad over stupid things sometimes. Her flaws make me love her even more. I’ve never felt that way before, and I want her to know that.”
“She sounds great, Sterling. And that’s exactly how I felt about your grandmother.” His blue eyes were soft. “Now when can I meet her?”
“You already did, Gramps.” My lips curved.
“The blonde one? I think that’s the only one of your girlfriends I ever met. She was a sweetie pie; I liked her.” He nodded in approval. “I thought you guys broke up, though. Wasn’t that the one you were all torn up about?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I was pretty torn up about it, but it was my fault. She decided to forgive me, though, and we ended up back together. Bren’s an amazing girl, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, but now I have to go into wise-old-person mode.” He sighed. “You’re young, Sterling. And although getting engaged and married was perfectly normal at your age when I was young, it’s a different world now. I can tell how much you love her, but you might want to think about waiting a while.”
I smiled slightly. “I’m not proposing yet, Grandpa. I’m using it as a promise ring. Bren is a grade younger than me, and I’ll be forty-five minutes away. With some of the stupid things I did in the past, I want to show her how much I love her and how serious I am about our relationship. Hopefully, I’ll be able to buy her an engagement ring one day, but I have time before I have to think about that. For now, I just don’t want her to worry. And frankly, I don’t want to lose her again.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea.” He grinned genuinely.
***
On June tenth, our sixth month anniversary, I didn’t take Bren to some fancy restaurant or other cliché place. I planned a picnic in the park for her. I made sure to find a secluded place, a place where I could it be just the two of us. It was a surprise until we got there, and I knew I made the right choice when I saw the large smile on her face, when she leaned forward and kissed me.
“I love you, Sterling.”
Gripping her hand in my own, I said, “I love you too.”
She helped me spread out the picnic blanket, and we sat down. We pulled out the sandwiches and snacks that I made—well, my mom helped me make. I’m not the greatest cook, and I wanted everything to be perfect for her.
When we were finished, we laid next to another on the blanket. Her head was on my shoulder; her blonde hair tickled my arm that was wrapped around her. Since we were both wearing shorts, I felt the smoothness of her legs as they brushed against mine.
“Oh look! There’s a giraffe!” Bren squealed.
“And there’s a house.” I pointed out.
She looked over at me. “That’s not interesting at all, Sterling. Where’s your imagination?”
“Hey, I thought of all this, didn’t I?” I smiled.
“Yes. And it’s perfect. Thank you.” She snuggled closer into my side.
“Well, you deserve it, Bren.” I trailed a finger down her arm. “You’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been these last six months.”
“So have you,” she murmured before I pressed my lips to hers.
As the kiss started to escalate, I pulled back. We were in a public place, and although few people came into this area, I knew how Bren was about that kind of stuff. She would have regretted it later on if I didn’t cut it off. Besides, I had things I still needed to do.
“Why don’t we take a walk?” I suggested.
She nodded, her blue eyes dark. I stood up and reached a hand to help pull her up beside me. We left the picnic stuff there as we walked. No one was probably going to notice it anyway. The two of us walked in a comfortable silence and simply observed all the nature around us.
I stuck my hands in my pocket, the right one playing with the velvet box. My mind was whirring with ideas of what to do and what to say when I gave it to her. This was a special moment, and I wanted it to be just the way I imagined it.
We had reached the common path, so we were back among the other people roaming the park that day. My eyes scanned over the other happy couples, the families with excited children, and eventually they landed on one elderly couple in particular.
They were sitting at a picnic table near the river that cut through the giant park. Even from the back, I could tell how happy they were. They weren’t even doing anything extraordinarily special, just eating fast food. But the fact that they still made time to have their little date was moving to me.
I didn’t realize I had stopped walking until Bren pulled on my arm. “Sterling?”
My eyes found their way to hers, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close to my side. “I want that to be us.”
“You want what to be us?” Her eyes were filled with confusion.
“See that couple right there?” I pointed slightly, not wanting to be rude.
When she finally saw them, her breath hitched slightly, and she wrapped her arms around me as well. “That’s incredibly sweet, Sterling. I want that too.”
“That’s fitting you say that.”
Bren looked up at me again, her face only getting more bewildered as I stepped back to pull out the ring.
“In less than three months, I’ll be forty-five minutes away from you. I won’t get to see your beautiful face every day. But I want you to know how much I love and care for you. I want you to know how serious this relationship is to me.” I grabbed her left hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “I want you to know how serious you are to me.”
She was slack jawed as her eyes darted back and forth between my face and the box. I popped open the top, and she gasped.
“This ring is my promise to you that I’ll remain faithful to you, that even though I’ll be away in college, I’ll still be here for you. I’ll always love you, Brennan Shaw. I promise you that.” I slipped the ring onto her the third finger of her left hand as I watched the tears fill her eyes. My finger brushed away the lone tear that fell to her cheek.
She stared at the ring for a moment before bringing her eyes up to mine. “I love you too, Sterling Hayes.”
I leaned forward and kissed her, kissed her like it was the last time I ever would. But I knew it wouldn’t be the last. There would be many more to come.
---
Author's Note: I want to thank each and every one of you that took the time to read this story. It was the first story I ever completed, so it means an incredible amount to me. :') If you've read this whole thing I'd love if you took the time to click that vote button and tell me what you thought. I seriously would. :)
If you have any questions about why something happened the way it did in this last chapter or the story in general, feel free to ask. I'd love to answer them. :D
This last chapter was dedicated to Devi (DevilsWalkAmongUs) because without her, I would not have finished this story. :)
I would also like give a shout out of thanks to Hotty_Scotty, Eighth_Sin, LittleRedFox, and Musiq4Lyf. They have been a tremendous support from the beginning.
By the way, I just thought this song by the Plain White T's fit perfectly. ^_^
I love you all!
~Kallie