Always With Me

Part 14- Becca Lowrey

        

         Zack pulled into his driveway but didn't even look at me when he got out of his car. He headed into his house and closed the door behind him. I saw my vision blur as I headed back into the house. It was empty, so I ran up the stairs and began to cry on my bed. Although I had been so convinced that my accusations were correct earlier, I now felt horrible about voicing them. Sometimes we do things for the people that we love that cause us to hurt other people. I loved Dahlia so much, but I knew deep in the pit of my stomach, that she wasn't the only one that is being affected by this. Brent was too.

        My dad got home at around seven o'clock and I still hadn't heard from Zack. I knew that he was on his way to his football game, or it had already started, but I had no way of knowing what he was doing at this point. I debated texting him, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea at the moment.

        My dad and I went to the local Mexican restaurant that I caught myself visiting way too frequently.

        We were talking about our days when I told him about Dahlia. I knew that she wasn't going to be having an abortion, so he was going to see soon enough that she was pregnant. He just sighed and asked for the check. I wasn't sure how he was reacting, but I could tell that he possibly wasn't going to tell me. I was surprised when he decided to talk again.

        "How far along?"

         "Almost three months," I answered, squirming uncomfortably in my seat.

        "Well, I am sorry to hear that. She'll be fine though. She's a strong girl." We left the restaurant and went into the house. We sat down in the living room in silence.

"Hey, Becca?" He asked, turning to me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Let Dahlia know that if she needs anything, we can help."

It made my heart flutter to hear him say that. He was a man that had been through so much in life, yet he chose to give. He was always giving more and more of himself to the people that needed his help. It was encouraging to me, as well. I had so much that I needed to do for both Dahlia and Ellie. And Zack. Everyone that I cared about, I needed to help. That was what my Dad taught me.

We began a movie together when I felt my phone vibrate in my lap. I slid it open to see a message from Zack:

         I love you.

That was enough for me to feel my heart lift from it's slumped posture. He was the best thing that was happening to me right now, and I loved him too.

        The crisp December air was gripping my arms as I sat through the last Amory football game. Although the panthers had an amazing season, they were cut out of the playoffs by a loss by Aberdeen. I felt the stadium around me thicken in depression, as we all made our way down to the field to congratulate our players for their season. I could see many of the seniors around me crying, accepting the realization that they would never have a chance to play on the field again. Brent was on the fifty yard line, snapping to a linebacker while Ellie, Dahlia, and I made our way to Zack. He looked upset, but he still wore a huge smile when he saw us. I feebly smiled at him as I approached, attempting to gage the emotions that were running through him. He grabbed me and pulled me close, stroking my hair with his sweaty hands. I didn't mind, though.

        "I'm so proud of you," I whispered in his ear before he pulled away. I felt the sharp wind circle around my body when he let go, reminding me how much I longed to be hugged by him. He smiled at me before he and the entire team went into the field house to hang up their jerseys for the last time.