After All These Years

Twenty-Two

The next four years were a bit of a blur.   If she was honest with herself most of her eighteenth year was spent slowly escaping her depression and figuring out how to live as an individual and not a half of set of twins.   Jason drove her to and from her therapy appointments, waiting for her in the parking lot during each session.  As they watched her parents struggle managing their own grief, Jason knew that Elizabeth needed to figure out how to get through her own emotions without them because they were fighting their own battle and he was determined to help her move forward with her life.

Her parents were in such turmoil that instead of dumping all of their time and energy into the twin that remained alive, they couldn't seem to look at her without being pained that they'd lost her brother.   While Elizabeth never voiced her concern of the pain she was inadvertently causing her parents just by existing, he knew Elizabeth like the back of his hand and he knew when she was in undeniable and unspeakable pain.  

Jason knew she needed a change of location, he needed to get out of her parents house, and she needed a distraction.   Before Nicholas had passed, Elizabeth was planning on attending an in state college, though one several hours away.   When she approach Jason with her change of heart that she felt she needed to be closer to her parents after Nicholas' death and that a school several hours away was no longer manageable.  She needed to be close.   She originally proposed staying at her local state collage, that was less than ten minutes away her house but Jason made several arguments of how she was never going to be able to figure out how to move on to the next chapter of her life if she had to come home every day to her parents still grieving the past. 

Jason was accepted into a program in Tampa to become a Law Enforcement officer and when their next course was scheduled that fall, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to encourage Elizabeth to help him find an apartment near USF.   In their few trips to the coast, he made sure that she was exposed to USF's nursing program and the campus. He watched as the seabreeze seemed to relax her, and the distance from her family would be enough to get her the space she needed but was close enough to return home if she needed to.  Thankfully she had been approved into USF's nursing program prior to Nicholas's death and it was on her top few options she had considered overall and it only took a few trips for her to come to her own decision that she wanted to go to USF and push herself to start classes at her next opportunity.   

It wasn't a hard sell to Jason or Elizabeth's parents to be comfortable with Jason and Elizabeth living together on the other side of the state because they were basically family.  If anything, Elizabeth's parents felt much more comfortable with her being over an hour away knowing she had someone looking out for her.

It took her a few months for her to settle into her new life with Jason in Tampa in their shared two bedroom apartment.  She found a grief support group, and a new therapist, and ever so slowly she started to find her way into her new normal, Jason being a constant staple in her life even with the challenges in their schedules.  Jason started opening up more to Elizabeth, grateful of her presence in his life as he navigated everything that came with becoming a law enforcement officer and the constant danger that came along with it.   

Elizabeth's family was in the audience for Jason's graduation, as Jason's family was for Elizabeth when she graduated from Nursing School, and they both accepted positions locally in Tampa to start their careers.   Within a few months of each other, they celebrated turning twenty-one, which was the first real birthday Elizabeth felt was spent celebrating her, instead of morning her brother. 

Jason felt several sets of eyes focused on him, and part of his training made him hyper aware of just how many people at Elizabeth's party were glancing his direction.  He knew there was no threat, but it was very clear that several of Elizabeth's friends from nursing school were checking him out and while he was flattered, it felt very strange having so much attention on him.   He'd caught Elizabeth at the bar with one of them ordering another round of drinks, Elizabeth's consumption of alcohol disabiling her social filter and her claiming very loudly that as far as she knew he was single, but at this point she would have to get in line behind everyone else that was there.  He came up around Elizabeth, wrapping his arm around her in a loving side hug before looking at Elizabeth and then turning to her friend.  He confirmed that yes, while was single, the only woman in his life that had time for, was Elizabeth and it was going to be that way for a while.