After months of therapy, Garrett Delko is still struggling to cope with his brother's suicide. The only time he finds peace is on the pitching mound and with a mysterious girl he's been obsessed with since the first week of college. One night, he se...
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Carlsboro, IL
Crafts were fun, no could argue that, but man, were they messy, Arianne thought as she washed neon paint off her elbows and arms. She worked at the YMCA as an art counselor for their summer camp, while Garrett was a sports assistant.
She'd been nervous at first, afraid they'd get sick of each other since they were not only working but living together, however, so far, everything was going great. They biked to work in the morning, spent most of the day apart, and then biked home and hung out. Not a bad way to spend her summer.
After drying her hands, Arianne checked in with her supervisor, who let her go for the day. Since Garrett still had another baseball game to umpire, she left him a note, and then got on her bike and pedaled back to the Delko house.
The first couple of weeks had been weird, probably because Arianne hadn't lived in a functioning home in a while, but the Delko's were too nice and giving to stay uncomfortable for long.
She'd grown close to Garrett's mom in particular. His mom had always wanted a girl to treat so, she took Arianne shopping, or they got facials or their nails done. Arianne had insisted on paying at first, but Garrett's mom had refused and threatened to cook only brussel sprouts if she didn't stop. However, Arianne found ways to give back, such as buying one-of-a-kind beads for her Etsy store or bringing home herbs to plant in her garden.
She pedaled up the Delko's steep driveway and saw Mrs. Delko struggling with groceries. "Let me get that for you." She hopped off and unlocked the Delko's front door, holding it open. Garrett's mom stepped in carrying three bags full of groceries. "I'll get the rest." There were several bottles of soda, or pop as they called it here, and heavy jugs of milk and juice still in the trunk.
"Thank you, dear. And can you lock the car?"
"No problem," she called back as a neighbor passing by gave a small wave. She waved back, knowing this too would be reported to the gossip hive. Neighbors had flooded the Delko house when Garrett arrived with Arianne in tow. The Delko's had taken it in stride, Mr. Delko joking they'd never been so popular.
Arianne finished bringing in the groceries, then helped Mrs. Delko peel potatoes and cut vegetables to grill on the barbecue for dinner.
"Have you talked to your parents recently?" Garrett's mom asked, shucking corn. His parents knew Arianne's general situation and had even talked to Arianne's mom before agreeing to let her stay for the summer, but Arianne knew they had a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that her parents didn't want her to come home.
"My mom called a few days ago." The conversation had been stilted like usual, but her mom had been completely sober, so she counted it as a win. "Apache is going through a heatwave, but the factory is doing well, so that's all that matters."
Mrs. Delko gave her a sad smile. "It's not an excuse, but remember adults struggle too. They're human too."
"I know. I've accepted this is who they are. I just don't want to end up the same way."
