Only Us (Justin Fields)

|41| Not Real

Justin

Now that the summer was almost over and we were about to head back to Ohio it was time for us to finish up the car so Jillian can have it. Dad and I put in quite a lot of work, detailing and updating it. It runs well and shouldn't need maintenance for a while. Plus I got it personalized.

I had Jill stay at my mom's house so that she could distract her. Eventually I pick her up and bring her back to dad's. The car was in the garage waiting for Jillian to take it out for a spin. She had been working on her driving and taking care of me and my family. This was practically nothing but I'm sure she won't see it that way. Takes every little good thing that happens to her to heart, I can't imagine what this will do.

"Stay here" I instruct as we pull into the drive. As soon as the engine turns off I practically run out of the car to her side to open the door for her. Once she was out I stand behind her. "Can I touch you" I ask softly. I didn't just want to come from behind her and make it so she can't see. Someone with her kind of trauma doesn't deserve that.

"Sure" she answers unassuredly.

"I'm going to cover your eyes but just for a few seconds. If you don't like it just tell me, I'll stop" I promise.

"Okay" she smiles, a little more at ease than before.

So I put my hands over her eyes and guide us to the garage door. My dad hits the garage door opener to reveal the blue 2013 ford fusion. It wasn't in bad shape, had about 50,000 miles on it and hasn't really been touched since 2017. But it was going to get the job done.

I remove my hands so she can take a look for herself. She doesn't say anything immediately as she turns to me.

"It's a car" she says. 

"Well it's your car" I tell her.

Her eyes nearly pop out of her head like a cartoon character. She looks back to the car then back to me. "No" she gasps.

"Yes. It's all yours. That's what dad and I have been working on together. I mean we were training too, but this was our summer project" I explain.

"Justin I can't accept this" she claims.

"Of course you can. Dad wants it out of the garage and Jaiden doesn't want to drive quite yet. You helped dad out with so much this summer he insisted you take it. It was his idea.

As for me, this was always the plan. When we first met and I said I wanted to teach you how to drive. Help you go anywhere. Now you can" I smile.

She doesn't say anything as her eyes start to swell. She just stands there, arms at her side with tears running down her face. As soon as a hiccup escapes I knew her emotions were getting forced down.

"Don't cry" I beg.

"I'm sorry" she sniffles.

"Don't apologize either" I laugh.

"I just don't know what to do. You're so nice" she claims.

"I am just appreciative. We all are" I assure her.

"Wanna go for a ride" she asks as she wipes a tear away.

"I would love to" I admit.

We hop in her car and I hand her the keys. She starts it up and as soon as the engine turns she smiles as big as I've ever seen it. "She's in great shape. Dad updated everything and I actually got some things in here like emergency kits and anything you'll need for winter in Ohio" I explain.

"I- I don't even know what to say to you. Are you even real" she asks.

"Pretty sure I am" I chuckle.

"Impossible" she claims.

So I reach over and take her hand. I rest it on my cheek as I rest my hand on the other side of hers. My hand presses softly so her fingers dig into my skin. She spreads them so they were covering more of my face.

"See, I'm real" I say softly.

"You- you sure are" she stutters.

We drive off to my favorite ice cream shop and decide to sit there in her car and eat it. I had a few cd's made since the Bluetooth wasn't set up quite yet. I would have just bought her one but she listens to so many different kinds of music it wouldn't do her justice to just buy one. Maybe making CD's is a little old school but it's sentimental and something I know she will use.

"You know, when I was a kid I wanted a Beamer as a car" she starts.

"A Beamer" I laugh. Out of all the cars she wanted that??

"I haven't seen a lot of movies but one of my foster brothers was obsessed with Mission Impossible. I remember seeing his car thinking I wanted a green Beamer" she smiles.

"Next time" I tease.

"I swear to god Justin if you get me another car I will kill you" she threatens.

"But you're happy with this one, right" I wonder.

"Estatic. This is better than the car I dreamed of. It has our music and a history with your family. It's perfect" she promises.

"You wanna know my favorite part" I wonder. 

"I do" she admits.

I flip down the drivers side sun visor and point to the bottom. In my handwriting it said "only you" on it. A gasp escapes her lips before she quickly closes them again. She fights back the tears, again, but I was not making it easy.

"This project meant a lot to me. I got to work on it with my dad and I was like a kid again. Thanks to you I realized just how blessed I was to have him around. Even when we don't see eye to eye, in the end we want the same things. And I got to work on something for you, someone I care very deeply for. To be able to give this to you means more than you think. Watching you go from being so unsure about yourself to being able to drive wherever you want, it warms my heart. And I hope you know I would do something like this for only you" I smile.

"I've decided you're not real" she sniffles and I laugh.

"You might not believe that someone can care for you like I do, but I'll enjoy spending as much time as you will give me proving you wrong" I smirk.