Deep in my heart

Chapter 14: End of the Road

One of the guys tapped Elaenna's shoulder and said"Hello Miss I couldn't help but notice you were alone and was wondering if you'd like to go visit the alligators with me". Elaenna said, "No thanks, I'm waiting for my friend". The guy reached for her arm but before it made contact, a hand tapped his shoulder as a familiar voice said"I wouldn't touch her if I were you".The man said"Mind your business" just as the hand that was on his shoulder, turned him around, revealing Jeremy's angry face". Jeremy said, "She's with me, I'm her boyfriend and If you keep touching her I'm gonna have to ruin those pretty faces of yours and then you'll be free to pick up chicks in the emergency room".

Seeing that he was at a disadvantage in height and muscles, the guy grabbed his friend and scurried away. Jeremy walked over to Elaenna and said"Are you okay?" and she said"Yes" before locking arms with him and leaning against him. They continued on to see the alligators unfortunately, Elaenna's legs gave out and she wasn't ready to leave yet. Instead of leaving to get the chair, Jeremy carried her on his back for the next hour which Elaenna didn't mind since she was blushing like crazy from earlier, and the fact that he was strong enough to carry her like this without a bit of strain.

After they looked at the tropical fish, Jeremy carried Elaenna back to the car since she was now feeling tired. On the way home, Elaenna started to doze off until he pulled over and got some chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, french fries, and two hot fudge sundaes, and a variety of other things from "WcDonalds". Together they ate and stared at the moon together and despite the romantic setting, there wasn't any awkwardness at all, probably because the two were too busy stuffing their faces. Jeremy ate very little but Elaenna on the other hand had eaten enough to feed a small family which she was now paying for with sleepiness and a food-stained outfit.

He was surprised that a girl her size could eat that much since she had never pigged out like this before. Nevertheless, he was happy that she had fun and got to eat something other than home-cooked food...sometimes it's just fun to pig out on unhealthy food once in a while and some would even say it makes the taste even better by doing so. Jeremy arrived back at the facility at 10:30 pm with Elaenna fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he parked the van, carried her inside all the way to their room and carefully put her in bed, and took off her jacket. Afterward, he jogged all the way to the front desk, dropped the keys in the return box, and jogged all the way back in under 10 minutes. Before he went to bed that night, he sent Elaenna the pictures and set one of them as his background before falling asleep with a smile.

In the following weeks, Jeremy got permission to take Elaenna on outings so long as she continued to show improvement and as long as the outings helped her actively apply her motor skills in everyday activities in a safe manner. Twice a week Jeremy took her places such as bowling, skating, the arcade, biking, and even wilderness sighting. Although there were some things Elaenna couldn't do, it didn't stop or dishearten her; instead, she kept trying harder, and finally, after 4 months in the rehab facility, Elaenna could finally walk and stand normally, without any assistance. Unbeknownst to Jeremy, his actions at the aquarium and the resulting outings had sparked something inside Elaenna and she was looking to let it out, which was one of the reasons she began pushing so hard to leave.

In celebration of her milestone and of her leaving next month, Jeremy decided to fulfill her one last wish and go stargazing and finally clear the air between each other but little did he know, it would be a night he would remember. It was 6 pm in the evening and the sun was now setting as Elaenna and Jeremy were finishing their dinner. They had both agreed that tonight was the night they would stargaze from the patio since the weather was clear and lukewarm today. Unlike all their other outings, this one had both of them nervous and the tension was unusually high but still, the two pushed on like two racers in an underground street race. Elaenna was the first person to go outside and when she saw the sky, her tension melted away but for Jeremy, he was facing the most pressure,

Jeremy grabbed his jacket, came outside after finishing the dishes, and took a seat next to Elaenna. His heart was pounding and his face was red hot but thankfully she was too entranced with the stars to notice. Finally, after a few minutes, she turned to Jeremy and said "So, only one month until I'm finally outta here huh?" he said, "Y-yeah that's the word from the top". She sighed and said, "I know I'm getting my degree tomorrow, but I don't know if business is what I want to do anymore...I feel like a new person now...I wonder if I should change my name too". Jeremy giggled and said"I don't think you need to, I mean even though you're nicer now, I don't think these are traits that you just developed. I think they've been in there but you locked them away inside of that despair...I-I mean you're wonderful as you are right now and the only thing you did was let go of what was causing your pain".

She smiled and said"I wouldn't say I've let go, it's more like I can't remember it or the feeling associated with it...but speaking of feelings, there's something I needa talk to you about right now before anything else happens.