Only Us (Justin Fields)

70| Life At First Sight

Jillian

As Justin predicted the football season wouldn't start in time. In fact it didn't start in September either. But come October they were given the green light to play some games. It'll be a shorter season and there will be a lot of obstacles to overcome just to snap the ball. In order to play you have to pass all Covid tests and continue to isolate and all that fun stuff. And it sucks not having fans and having to go through hell and back just to play a game. But to Justin and his team it was well worth it.

Now that it's the day of the first game of the season, it almost felt normal. Students still weren't all on campus, in fact it was mostly just the student athletes. Luckily for me Justin's roommate got a place of his own so I got to stay with him as opposed to going back to my complex now that renovations are complete. Not like I use the extra much anyway.

"This is going to be so weird" Justin says over the phone. We spend most nights together so when we wake up, we don't have to worry about not being able to say what we want. But the whole team stays at a hotel the night before home games and Justin is one to be a sucker for the rules. So he always calls me as soon as he wakes up. I assure him he doesn't have to, but I don't mind.

"I guess I'll just have to cheer extra loud from the stands then" I say.

"Good luck being louder than my mom" he chuckles.

"That's a huge bar to reach" I admit.

"Are you still going to breakfast with my family" he wonders.

"I kind of have to. The only time I didn't you guys lost. Can't break tradition" I tease.

"Look at you being all superstitious" he teases.

"And whose fault is that" I ask. "You still wear that friendship bracelet I made you forever ago because you think if you take it off something bad will happen."

"It will. Cause then I lose a piece of you. That's not superstition, it's..." he trails off.

"I get it" I promise.

We talk a little more before he hangs up. I change into my gameday outfit before meeting Justin's family at our favorite breakfast place. I sit next to Jaiden and across from his dad. We enjoy what little sense of normalcy we can.

"Your hair has gotten even longer, how" Jaiden asks as I laugh. I let her twirl some curls around her finger.

"I stop putting it up during quarantine so I guess it was able to grow out" I explain.

"I have to know what you use. Cause Justin lets his hair go crazy. I've been begging him to get it taken care of but he never listens to me. Maybe if you tell him he'll do it. He would do whatever you said" she claims.

"It makes no sense to me. He's the one that saved my life, I should be doing whatever he says" I scoff.

"What do you mean" she questions.

"You know. I tried to jump to my death and he stopped me. I should be at his feet yet he won't let me take a knee for him" I explain.

I continue on like normal but as I look around I realize I was the only on doing so. "Wait.." I trail off as I look around the table. Everyone's eyes looking right through me. I knew this look, I knew it too well. "Did Justin not tell you guys how we met?"

"No" his mom whispers. "He always said you met in a class. Never would go into details no matter how much we tried. We always assumed it was embarrassing and he didn't want to tell us. A love at first sight kind of thing" she explains.

"I wouldn't say love at first sight, but maybe it was something more powerful. It was like life at first sight" I explain. No one says a word as they wait for me to explain. I guess it was a weird things to say. "Until I saw Justin standing there everything was black and white. There was no color, no green side of the fence no other side of the rainbow. It was white snow, black skies, nothing else. And it had been like that for so long I forgot how vibrant flowers are, how the water can sparkle blue. It was hard looking out to the world and never seeing anything worth seeing.

And so I decided that there was no point of waiting for color to find me. I can paint the ground red and for the first time in a long time, there would be color in my life. Sure not the best way to get it but it would work.

Then Justin came into the room unknowing and in a fluster. He was obviously lost in his own way. He almost left me there too, but before he was out the door he came back in. It took one look from him and all that color, all that life came back. It was so shocking it still nearly pushed me over. But I clung to the railing like I cling to the idea of being able to see in color again.

So I wouldn't say it was love at first sight. That came after the healing, after the things I had been holding in for so long finally came out. But from the moment our eyes met I had life again. Something no one else had ever given me.

Now I live for him as much as I love him. And I wouldn't change a thing. Call it what you want, fate, destiny, it doesn't really matter to us. It took one look and we knew" I say.

I feel something on my shoulder and I see Jaiden's hand there. I follow her hand down to her face as she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have laid this all out during breakfast but Justin was never going to tell them. He loved me too much to hurt me like that. And maybe they didn't need to know. It doesn't change anything. But still... these are people I hope to see for the rest of my life. A life that is only here because of their son.

Jaiden quickly pulls me into a hug and after a short pause I hug her back. Suddenly I see another pair of arms appear and Jess was on the other side. The pile gets heavier as Justin's parents and step parents join in.

"Can't. Breathe" I choke out.

"Me. Neither" Jaiden says.

We break apart but no one leaves my side. It felt... nice. "I'm sorry to lay it all out there in the middle of breakfast. I just assumed you guys knew" I defend.

"Please stop apologizing , you've done nothing wrong" Jaden insists.

"Still, I know Justin didn't tell you for a lot of reasons. I just ruined about half of them" I shrug.

"It think all he was doing was protecting you. There was nothing else to it" his mom claims.

"Maybe so" I smile.

We finish up breakfast and head to the game. Without the electric atmosphere it was kinda weird to be there, but we made do. Brought our own fan section and it was all we needed.

The team wins handily and Justin didn't even play most of the third quarter on letting the backups get reps in. The whole crew decided to get gluten free pizza to celebrate and I wait for Justin to shower and change before we head over to meet them.

We head to the door but as soon as I open it I see his hand hit the door. Slowly he close it before I can get out.

"Justin" I ask.

"My sisters told me about breakfast" he says and I freeze.

"Oh, that" I whisper.

I turn around to explain myself but before I can his arms wrap around me. This must be the day of hugs. Of course his are my favorite.

"I'm sorry I never told you I didn't tell them. I just never know how to bring up that situation" he explains.

"It's alright, Justin. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not proud either but in the end it brought us together and we're happy now. That's all that matters" I defend.

"To me... you're all that matters. So if my family says something they shouldn't-" he tries.

"I'm perfectly fine" I say as I place my hand over his heart. I can feel it pounding under my touch.

"Promise me" he begs.

"I promise" I say.