Help Me Believe

Old House

The ride in his old beat-up truck is quiet. The radio station plays softly in the background, and all I can hear is his breathing escaping his lips every few seconds. Clyde turns left into the street, following a completely deserted road, almost as if no car could pass by.

"This is the street that leads to my grandparents, remember?" Clyde suddenly speaks up, almost giving me a heart attack, and I nod absentmindedly, taking in everything that surrounds me. It's a quiet neighborhood compared to ours.

"Are you fetching their things?"

"Yeah, we're going to Miami. I must take the furniture for my parents."

"Really? We didn't even discuss this. What about Sunday?"

"We'll be back before that."

Clyde shrugs nonchalantly. "Just thought it would be okay with you. But if you want to stay, I can drop you at home. It's no problem." He glances at me briefly before looking straight ahead. I shake my head quickly. "No, I mean. Yeah, yeah, I would love to stay. I wouldn't want to miss seeing Miami again and your parents."

Clyde nods lightly and looks back at the road. Almost about an hour later, Clyde pulls his pickup truck into the driveway of the small white house and parks in front of it, turning off the engine and shutting it off. He sits there for a moment, staring out the window. I peek at him confused, wondering what is on his mind.

"Come on." He motions for me to climb out of the passenger side seat and open the driver's side door. "We're staying here tonight." I nod, confused at his sudden change of plans but I decide not to question it. "Okay."

He turns to me. "Daisy... uh. They talked me into buying a house that side."

I stare at him wide-eyed for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what he just said. "Why?" "It'll be safer, and closer to them. They agreed to not mingle in our lives, but they want to know we are taken care of,. I have a job that pays well, so we'll be fine."

"But Clyde." He nods, shifting slightly back. "I know, Daisy. I promised to always look after you, and that's what I'm doing. Plus, there's a newly built church there. We can start a service there?" I don't know what to say. This is a lot of information. He helps me out of the truck. "Daisy, if you don't come with me then I won't be able to protect you."

I look down at him for a minute, biting my lip in consideration. Finally, I look back at him and sigh, letting out a heavy breath and nodding in agreement. "Okay." "Alright." He smiles softly at me and I jump out. He places his hand gently under my chin, forcing me to look directly at him.

"Let's go." I nod again and take his arm as he holds the door open for me. I follow after him, silently thanking the Lord that we don't live very far away from where we are going. I don't want to be that far away, but at least I can still hear when I need help, I suppose.

Clyde leads me through the yard, opening a small gate and walking right to a small wooden door. "Did your parents ask you to bring the furniture?" He nods distantly. Dust covers every part of the plastic-wrapped furniture, it's clear that no one has set foot in here for a long time. "For us. Our new home. It's going to be just for now... Dais, I just can't seem to get rid of this."

I nod toward him softly, squeezing his shoulder in encouragement. "No, you don't have to Clyde. Many of these pieces are useable."

"Good. Then we can rest tonight, and the guys will be here early tomorrow morning. We can stop for something to eat and drink along the way."

"Okay. That sounds fair enough. I'm going upstairs quickly to change and then we can start packing a few things?" Before I can take another step forward, Clyde stops me by gripping my wrist. "Wait a second, I need to say something first..."

"Okay...?" Clyde lets go of my wrist and steps closer to me until our faces are inches apart and his eyes shine bright. "Hey, you know I'm always going to be there for you, right?" I smile and nod. "Of course, I do, thank you, Clyde." He gives me one last quick hug, and I wish he held on just a little longer. But he pulls away. "Okay. I'll be back down in a minute to grab some boxes. Perhaps we can start in the kitchen, Clyde?"

He nods, letting go of my biceps in hesitation. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds good." I make my way upstairs to change into my tracksuit. If this place means dust, I want to be prepared. I softly giggle at myself, entering the first bedroom I see. I remember this house clearly, this used to be our room.

His grandparents used to watch family movies every Saturday night, and we would join along, eating popcorn and sipping soda, until in the morning hours. But by that time, they had already gone to bed and left me and Clyde alone.

Every weekend we would spend here... until my last relationship started Clyde and I didn't spend much time together, and his grandparents passed away. I shake my head, clipping my buttons close, and slipping my feet into my shoes.

I make my way downstairs to find Clyde pondering on the photos on the wall. "Hey. You ready to pack?" He nods in memory, I make my way next to him, staring at the picture as well. "They were awesome people." He nods once again. "I wish they stayed a little longer though, Dais." I slide my hand into his. "I know, but they are still here."

I hug his bicep and he returns the hug, squeezing my hand. We stand in the middle of the kitchen and the living room, for a few seconds. "There's a lot of stuff we can use here." He smiles at me gently. "We can use it for a couple of months before buying some new stuff and maybe donate these, Dais. What do you think?"

"Are you comfortable with that, Clyde?" "Yeah. At least I know many people can use this." "But we should probably figure out what we are going to use and so forth." He laughs. "We should probably start packing to figure that out, Dais." I chuckle along. "Of course. Right."