It Was Always You

Chapter Thirty Three

"Yeah it has, how are you?" He asks carefully.

"I've been alright, heard you went to Oxford." She heard laughter on the other side and smiled at the beautiful sound.

"Shit Mila that was so long ago, that I hardly remember most of it. How was Arizona State?" he hesitantly asks her.

The next thing Mila knew they had a good long conversation that lasted over two hours. They talked about everything. He told her his time in Oxford, how the place of London was so different, and the people were both polite and snobs depending their background.

"Any girlfriends?" She jokes as she laughs.

"No, I was only there a year."

"Why did you leave?" She knew part of it was because of his goddaughter but she felt that maybe he left for another reason.

"I missed being home. London is great but I felt out of place. I didn't belong there."

"So you decided to come home." She says as a statement more than a question.

"Yeah I did, I went ahead and transferred to the state college here to be able to see my family."

She told him her time of high school, how she had met some friends but nothing to where it really stuck. She told him her time in college with Selena and Ian.

"Yeah heard all about that during the holidays from Sel."

He tells her how he graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology and is working to cure major diseases such as cancer and stuff.

"Wow Jared, that's amazing. I'm so proud of you." She gently says to him.

"What about you?" he asks.

She tells of her internship and the people she met and decided that she wanted to open a business of photography.

"Aren't you working in a law firm right now?" He sounded confused.

"Yeah, I only took it because I needed something. But I actually don't like it so I've decided to...um..." She felt hesitant to tell him she was coming home.

"What? What is it?" He asks, hoping she was thinking of coming back.

"I've decided to come home. It's been six years now and well I miss everyone." she states quicky, wondering how he was going to take the news.

It's been so long since they had that fight when they were teenagers and yet she couldn't help feeling that it was something that was still hanging over their heads.

"Well then what are you still doing on the phone talking to me for, when you could get on the plane and talk to me in person." He tells her almost excitedly.

Mila smiles. "You're right Jared, bye." And with that she hangs up on him.

She decided that she would leave that following Saturday to give the firm some time to replace her and to pack some of her belongings to get her ready for the big move.

"Oh don't worry your uncle and I will do all the packing for you. We'll keep up the rent until your able to find a steady job and your own place." Her Aunt Sarah tells her as they had dinner one evening. "

Aunt Sarah I can't have you do that-"

"We want to my love so don't fight me on this." The phone starts ringing, and her aunt went to go pick it up.

"This is really good steak uncle Jeff –."

"Mila, it's your mother." Aunt Sarah cuts her off with a worried look on her face.

She quickly got up and took the phone. "Hello?" A sudden feeling comes over her that something was deadly wrong.

"We need you to come home now sweetheart." Her mother's tone was a bit grave.

Mila's heart began to race with a horrible feeling. "Why what's wrong mom?" She was afraid to even ask.

"It's grandpa, he just had a major heart attack." She could hear the crack in her mother's voice. "He's not doing so good, and he wants to see you."

***

Mila got off the plane that very night even though it was now three in the morning. She didn't want to hold anything off but jumped on the next available plane out of Arizona. The airport was mostly empty, so it wasn't hard to find the one person she didn't really expect to see. She stopped in her tracks, and she finally let her tears fall, something she had been holding all the way there. Jared held out his arms to her and she ran into them holding him tight as the sobs overtook her.

He embraced her for a long time just holding her as she cried her heart out and it felt so good to hold her, to see her after so long. Not a day went by that he didn't think about her. He was also holding tears back. He was there when Cale had his heart attack, and it scared him more than he wanted to admit. The old man was like a grandfather that he never got the chance to have. If it wasn't for Cale he wouldn't be here now. It was that sweet old man that put reason into Jared's head about not destroying his friendship with Evan and to accept the goddaughter he loves so much today.

Mila didn't want to let go of him. She was worried about her grandfather, and she was so glad that the person who was here for her was Jared. She finally went into sniffles. They pulled apart and she wipes her cheeks. He took a good look at her. She was more beautiful now then she was at sixteen. With her glorious chestnut hair that was mid length and her slightly tanned skin that still looked so smooth. His heart did a flip, and a dull ache entered.

"Come on lets gets your things and go." He says to her softly.

All she did was nod at him. During the drive to her house they were silent. He didn't play any music, and he wondered if she was alright.

"How is he doing?" she asks breaking the silence.

He looks over to her. "I don't know, when we rushed him to the hospital he was barely breathing, they might have to do surgery."

She looks over to him. "You were with him then, when it happened?"

He gave a shaky breath. "Yeah I was. I normally end my right going to your house to have a chat with him, it's just something we picked up ever since I got back from London."

"He always liked you the best. Thank you for being there."

Jared kept his eyes on the road. He didn't want her to know that most of their conversations consisted of her. He tried at one point to give up on loving her when he found out she wasn't coming back after high school, but who was he kidding. Obviously himself because as soon as he saw her coming out of the terminal back at the airport there was no doubt in his mind that he still loved her.

Damn this is was going to cause him some major issues, in his present life.