As It Was (COMPLETED) (wattys2023)

A Candle In The Darkness

Fall came in the form of an unexpected cold front.

The first few weeks of school were as anxiety filled as expected, but they were quiet in terms of attention. I had a feeling Garrett had something to do with nobody trying anything, but if he did, he hadn't mentioned it. I'd learned that he was as apprehensive as I was talking about himself. In just over three weeks the only thing I'd learned is that he went to church, his mother was my mom's coworker, he had a tattoo sleeve, and that he never, ever brought up his deadbeat father. He made sure to not allow even a word outside of his irritation with classes or the crappy cafeteria food slip, but somehow it was comforting. To not have to speak, to not have to get to know him and grow attached. We were just acquaintances with the same agenda; get through this last year of high school as easily and painless as possible.

That unspoken rule between us was severed after school on the Friday following a long, grueling week of nightmares and extra therapy sessions. He caught me as I exited the school, happy to be free of the confinement.

"Let's hang out." he said loudly. This drew unwanted attention in our direction, and I jerked my head in the opposite direction, hoping he took the hint. "Come on, Everly."

I kept my eyes trained on the asphalt. "I have to study."

"Look, I promise I'm not going to make you talk, Everly." he said, moving so he was blocking my view of the emptying parking lot. My fingers started to tingle as my heart started to pick up speed.

I felt trapped.

"I don't even know you." I whispered, praying he'd take the hint and leave it be. I was okay with our boring little lunch meet ups, but that was as far as I wanted to take things. I didn't need friends right now, and surely not a male one.

A smile touched at his lips hearing my response. "My name is Garrett Wesley Brooks, I'm named after my very weird grandfather, and apparently my mother's childhood dog. I live with my mother and little brother. I hate red, love horror movies, and could seriously use a giant bowl of ice cream right now."

I swear my lips tried to twitch into a smile, but I forced it away before it could surface. The thought of spending the afternoon with a boy I knew next to nothing about still outweighed the option of sitting in the large, unwelcoming house with my parents. They'd hardly spoke to me since I'd snapped a few weeks ago. Outside of therapy and small talk such as grades and weather, it almost seemed as though my parents had forgotten how to parent. They didn't check in on me in my room anymore, Mom screamed for me to shower but never came to check if I did. When I woke up screaming in the middle of the night, they only called from their room to see if I was okay. I had never felt so alone in my life.

"So?" Garrett rocked back and forth on his feet, a slight mischievous twinkle in his striking blue eyes. Casting a look out at the lot, I looked toward him and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, sure. Just a couple hours and no talking or asking questions."

**

Turns out Garrett's idea of "some" ice cream was close to a gallon in a giant bowl suspiciously like the fruit bowl that had sat in the middle of our kitchen table back home. He'd driven us back to his house, a two-story modern home with a huge garage that was packed to the brim with old boxes, ancient bikes, and a weight bench in the far corner. Upon arriving, he'd run up the concrete walkway up to his front porch and popped inside to open it, and once he'd approached the car, he'd explained he figured I'd be creeped out if he invited me in the house. This way, he'd joked, I wouldn't feel trapped. He hadn't understood how much the small thought meant, and it had eased the uncertainty and anxiety I'd been feeling the entire ride here. Within minutes of setting up camp in a couple outdoor folding chairs with a fleece through over my lap and a comforter over his own as he shoveled spoon after spoon of ice cream into his mouth.