*Chapter Twenty-One: "Just Friends"*
"I'm sorry, you know?"
Beth sighed, looking up at Alex from her homework. "Alex, you need to stop apologizing. I forgave you the first time."
He gave her a small smile, wheeling over to her. "Just because you forgave me doesn't mean I can forgive myself."
Beth frowned, taking his hand in hers. "Whatever happened between us, it's fine now. I have no anger towards you. I'm with Ty now and you're getting better. Things are good."
"Okay, Bethy. I should probably go get ready for AA."
"Need any help?"
Alex's eyes widened and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I... Uh... Don't think your boyfriend would appreciate that very much. Especially since my sister's out on a date with her boy toy."
"I didn't mean it like that!"
"Sure you didn't, Bethy."
Not too long after Alex left, getting a ride from a girl who went to the meetings, Abbie came back. "Hey. How was your date with Parker?"
"We just went out for pizza and a movie. It was fun. Very laid back. How was your night?"
Beth raised an eyebrow and tapped the textbook on her lap. "How do you think?"
"You know, you and Ty should come with one of these times. We could have a double date."
"Yeah, maybe."
"You don't have to spend all your time working, you know. You can have fun."
"Ty tells me that all the time but I don't think he gets it... He's got scouts fighting over him. He's going to have to choose from sports scholarships. But me? I have to rely all on my academics and hope that gets me somewhere. I just... I want to at least be a driving distance away from you guys. I don't think I'll be able to survive college without it."
"Beth, you'll be fine. And knowing me, I'm probably going to be going to community college so wherever you go, it'll be a hell of a lot better of a place than wherever I go."
It was quiet for a little bit, before Abbie got her backpack and started working on homework.
It was about a half an hour after that when Alex got back. However, he wasn't alone. A small petite girl with bright blonde hair was pushing his wheelchair inside. Abbie and Beth looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Oh, hey guys," Alex said. "This is Sam. She's the one that's been driving me to AA meetings. I figured it would be a nice thing to invite her inside for some coffee."
"Oh, well that's... Nice of you, Alex," Abbie told him. "I can go make some coffee if you-"
"No, it's good. I got it. Thanks though."
They went into the kitchen and Beth and Abbie looked at each other with wide eyes. "Do you think Alex likes that girl?" Beth questioned Abbie, who shrugged.
"I mean, maybe, he's doing that thing where he tries to be all macho and not needing help. He usually lets me help him with things around the house."
Beth covered her mouth, trying to hide her excitement. If Alex could find a girl, especially one that understood his struggles with alcoholism, things could really change for the better for him.
It was around an hour before the girl, Sam, left. Abbie and Beth could clearly see that she was smitten with Alex, giving him a hug that lasted a little too long and taking her sweet time to actually leave. Alex didn't seem to mind too much though. He'd had a dumb smile on his face since they'd gotten there.
As soon as she left, Abbie and Beth were next to Alex. He looked up at them, confusion in his eyes. "What?" he asked, chuckling.
"So... Sam, huh?" Abbie asked, smirking.
"Yep, that's her name. I'm gonna go to bed!"
"Oh no you're not!" Abbie yelled, grabbing his chair to stop him. "You're going to tell us about this girl and how you met her and what she's like and how you fell for her, okay?"
"Fell for her? We're just friends!"
"Says the one who looks at her like she's made of diamonds," Beth pointed out.
"Oh, shut up! We're just friends that met in AA when I still could walk. When I got into my accident, she visited in the hospital and asked if I wanted her to start driving me. So, I said yes. Again, we're just friends!"
"He said one too many times," Abbie said in a narrator voice.
"I'm leaving!" Alex yelled, finally rolling away.
Beth and Abbie giggled at his denial, and Beth decided to go upstairs. Frankly, she was pretty exhausted from the night.
Her homework was finished, so she went onto her computer and logged onto Skype. She grinned when she saw a little green dot next to Ty's name. It only rang a few times before his face popped up on the screen. "Baby!" he exclaimed, making her giggle. He backed up slightly, allowing her to see more than just his face, and her eyes almost popped out of her skull when she saw he didn't have a shirt on. When he saw what she was staring at, he smirked. "Enjoying the view?"
"Maybe a little bit," she said, making the gesture with her pointer finger and thumb where they were barely separated.
"Well, I mean, since I'm shirtless I think it's only fair that you are too so I can enjoy the view."
Beth's jaw dropped and she gave him the finger, making him chuckle. "Damn horny boy," she muttered and he smiled innocently.
"Well, how could I not be with a girlfriend as beautiful as you?"
"Oh, nice save, dick head."
"Come on, you know you love me."
"Not as much as you love me."
"Well, obviously not. It's pretty hard to love someone as much as I love you."
It took a few seconds for what he said to sink in, and when it did, her jaw dropped. Ty grinned at the fact that her cheeks were getting redder and redder by the minute. "I, um, I love you too, Ty."
"Good. Now, what's been going on?"
"Nothing much. I just miss you."
"I miss you too."
"Do you think we can hang out again this Friday night?"
The look on his face answered that question for her. "I'm going to a football party. I mean, you could come but it's going to be a lot crazier than the last party we went to together and you almost killed someone during that one..."
"Good point. Oh, well, it can be a brother-sister night for me and Tan. We haven't had one of those in a while."
"That sounds fun! You sure you won't be mad at me?"
"Are you kidding? Ty, you have people in your life besides me. You should see them too!"
"And that is why I love you."
Beth grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I know!"
So that Friday, Beth grabbed her stuff she kept at Abbie's and went home for the weekend. When she walked in, Tanner attacked her with a hug. "Hey little sister! I've missed you like crazy, kid!"
"Hey! I've missed you too!"
"Good. Now come on, I ordered Chinese food. It's waiting in the kitchen." She smiled. Her big brother knew her too well.
They sat eating Chinese food and talking about their weeks since they had last seen each other. Finally, Beth asked the question she always asked him and Bryce when she saw them. "Any new girls in your life?" However, this time, Tanner's reaction was one she didn't expect. He blushed! He actually blushed! "What?!" Beth screeched in excitement. "No way! Tell me everything!"
"There's not that much to tell. She's a girl in my theater class. Completely crazy and can't take a hint to save her life, but... I don't know. We just click."
"Thank God! I thought we had lost you to Bryce, honestly."
"Yeah, I don't know how Bryce is going to find someone with his attitude."
"Oh, we're all worried about him. But anyways, about your girl. Have you asked her out yet?"
"Relax, Cupid. I asked her to coffee, but I'm not positive she got that I was asking her on a date. She's an eccentric wannabe actress, you'd think she's seen a few movies." Beth couldn't even keep in her snort of laughter, until he switched around the topic. "What about you? Why aren't you with your boy-toy tonight?"
"Oh, he's at a party. I'm not really into those so I told him he could just go hang out with his friends."
"And you trust him?" Tanner asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I mean, I was an eighteen year old boy just two years ago. I know how their minds work. They're horny all the time! Plus, Ty's a football player. He could probably get any girl at the party. But I mean, if you trust him, I guess that's good for you."
And that was how, with just a few sentences, Tanner put a million doubts into his sister's mind.