Deja Vu- (Kissing Booth fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter took so long - it was harder to find the right words than I thought it would be.

Noah's POV

We arrive back at my house and debrief Lee, Brad, my mom and dad on the situation.  We need to make decisions quickly.  Dr. Peterson ruled out flying to San Francisco - too many germs in the airport and airplane.  If we don't take the scenic route we can drive it in a little over five hours, which we plan to do through the night, with Lee and I splitting the time behind the wheel.  Elle's dad wants to come along but he needs a day to arrange things at his job, so he will fly up later.  Luckily my dad's law firm keeps a corporate apartment in San Francisco, and he calls to reserve it for us.  

My dad has always served as the Evans' family lawyer, so when our discussion gets to the legal affairs Dr. Peterson brought up, he takes Elle into his office to get started on the documents.  This gives me the opportunity I need to speak to Elle's dad privately.  I find him in the kitchen, already talking on the phone to his office.  As I wait for him to finish I feel nervous, and flashback to last month, when I came home for President's Day weekend.  Then my stomach was so tied in knots I almost got sick, so today I feel a mild case of the butterflies by comparison.  Mr. Evans hangs up and turns to me.  He knows what I'm here for.

"I'm going to need it now Mr. Evans - this afternoon," I blurt out, my nerves eating any eloquence I might have had.  

"I know you think this is going to make things better Noah, but I'm not so sure it is a good idea."

"Have you changed your mind since February?"

"No - but obviously everything else has changed."

"No, not everything."

"I'm not going to convince you to wait, am I?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll be back in half an hour."

"Thank you."

***

Forty-five minutes later the door to the office opened, my dad sticks his head out and says, "Noah, can you join us please?"

In our modern house, the office feels surprisingly traditional.  Full bookcases line the room and my father's massive desk sits under the window.  A leather couch stands against the opposite wall, and that is where Elle waits, facing a coffee table strewn with serious-looking papers.  My father gestures for me to take the spot next to Elle, as he situates himself in the armchair opposite.  Elle reaches for my hand, pulling me down as if she fears I will run away.  She smiles at me for only a moment, then turns to my dad, seeming embarrassed or nervous - for once I can't read her.

In his typical cut-to-the-chase way, my dad begins, "Noah, Elle wants you to have her medical power-of-attorney."  He continues without waiting for my answer, "Of course I will write the document however Elle wishes, but you must agree to take this responsibility.  Do you understand what it would entail?"

"Yes, I think so."

"As your attorney and your father I must make sure that it is perfectly clear.  If you hold Elle's medical power of attorney, and for any reason she becomes unable to make medical decisions for herself, you would be asked to make those decisions for her.  Unfortunately we are all too familiar with this situation - for us it is not a hypothetical, but something we witnessed your dad go through, Elle.  Of course as your mom's husband, those decisions automatically fell to him.  But as a single person Elle can, and must, choose who will carry out her wishes.  She told me she doesn't want to ask her dad to go through that again, and that you, Noah, are the only other person she trusts.  Of course we must all believe and hope that it will not come to that this time, but the responsible thing is to be prepared."