In Fate's Hands

Accept the things
To which fate binds you and
Love the people with whom fate
Brings you together
But do so with all your heart.
-Marcus Aurelius

Before they went to Jesse’s house, they stopped at Elizabeth’s house so that she could pick up her things. Luckily, Susan hadn’t gotten home yet. When they finally got to his house, he explained Elizabeth’s situation to his mother. Mrs. McCartney understood and said that Elizabeth could stay there for as long as she needed as long as her and Jesse did not sleep in the same room. Jesse volunteered to sleep on the couch downstairs for as long as she stayed with them.

The walls in Jesse’s room were painted dark blue and they had an assortment of posters. A queen-sized bed with a wood frame and a blue comforter sat in the middle of the room with a night table on either side of it. There was also a wooden desk in the corner of the room under the window. Only a laptop and a few pens could be found on top of the desk. A small shelf was opposite the bed with a large TV, VCR, and DVD player combination, and a DVR was right under it. All of his DVDs were on the shelf below the TV. In the farthest left corner of the room, he had a shelf full of all sorts of things like books, papers folders, more movies, etc. The walk-in closet stood somewhere in between the door and the shelf.

As Elizabeth got ready for bed, she reflected on the day. This had definitely been one of those days where everything in her life as she knew it had changed. She found out that her mother lied to her, her stepfather was thrown in jail, one of her friends liked her as more than a friend, and she had moved out of her house and in with that friend. She gained a lot, but she lost even more than she gained. She had no idea how her life was going to turn out, but she became too tired to think about what the future would hold.

The next morning, she awoke to her cell phone vibrating.

“H-hello?” she said groggily.

“Hey, did I wake you?” Jayden asked.

“Yeah, but it’s ok. What’s up?”

“I actually was wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me today. I need to buy a dress for a wedding and I want someone to come with me.”

“I would love to. I actually need some new clothes too and I have so much to tell you that it’s not even funny.”

“Ok cool. So I’ll pick you up around noon?”

“Sounds good, but you need to come to Jesse’s house instead of mine. I kind of spent the night here last night.”

“What? Why aren’t you at your own house?”

“I’ll explain when you pick me up.”

“Ok see you soon.”

Elizabeth said goodbye and they both got off the phone. She slowly got out of bed and made her way downstairs to breakfast. She could smell the pancakes from the top of the stairs and her stomach began to rumble.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw that Jesse and his father were congregated around the kitchen table. Mr. McCartney was reading the newspaper, but he looked up when she came in. Mrs. McCartney was standing over by the stove flipping the pancakes.

“Good morning, Elizabeth Dear,” said Mrs. McCartney as Elizabeth came into the room and sat down at the table next to Jesse. “Would you like some pancakes?”

“Good morning! I would love some,” Elizabeth said smiling at Mrs. McCartney. “Thank you so much for letting me stay with you and thanks for the pancakes, Mrs. McCartney.”

“Not a problem. If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. And please feel free to call me Karen.” Mrs. McCartney walked over and put some pancakes on Elizabeth’s plate. “Did I introduce you to my husband John?”

“No, I don’t think you did.” She turned to Jesse’s dad. “Nice to meet you, Mr. McCartney.”

“Likewise,” John said. He held out his hand and Elizabeth shook it. “Did you sleep well in my son’s bed?”

“Yes, I slept very well. Thank you.”

“I’m really sorry I forgot to introduce you two. I thought I had done it last night, but I guess not,” said Jesse.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Elizabeth as she began to eat her pancakes. “You know, you didn’t have to sleep on the couch last night. I would have been more than willing to sleep down there. I don’t want to put you out of your bed.”

“You are my guest, so I want you to have my bed.”

“Are you sure? I feel bad.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“So, Elizabeth, how long do you plan on staying here?” asked John.

“Dad-“ interjected Jesse.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t plan on taking advantage of your generosity for that much longer. As soon as I can find a job and an apartment, I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Dear,” said Karen. “You can stay here for as long as you like and take your time finding a job and an apartment.”

“Thank you, but I don’t want to impose on you for too long. I’m going shopping with my best friend this afternoon and hopefully I’ll be able to look for a job somewhere at the mall.”

“Ok, but there’s really no rush. Do you like your pancakes? If you don’t like them, I can fix you something else.”

“They’re absolutely delicious. Thank you so much,” responded Elizabeth. “They taste like they came from a restaurant. It’s nice to taste homemade food. My step dad never used to cook for me and my mom hasn’t cooked for me in years.”

“I’ll bet. I still can’t believe what that awful man did to you.”

“Neither can anyone else,” said John.

“I’m just glad it’s all over,” said Elizabeth.

“Me too. I’m glad I didn’t actually have to go through with rescuing you from your house because that would have taken way too much thought and planning. It was a lot easier this way.”

“God forbid you should have to actually think about anything,” joked Elizabeth. Everybody laughed.

“I do think about things. I just don’t like making them harder than they have to be.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I think I’d better go get ready; Jayden will be here to pick me up soon. Thank you again for the pancakes, Mrs. McCartney. Oops, I meant Karen. I’m sorry.”

“You’re welcome, Dear. Have fun at the mall.”

Elizabeth ran back to Jesse’s room to get ready to go out with Jayden. Most of the clothes she had were baggy and dark, but she tried to dress as normal as possible with the clothes she had. After she was done getting dressed, she went to look in the mirror. Her hair hung loose at her shoulders. She wondered whether she should put it up today, but she decided not to. She no longer needed to put her hair up for Anthony; it’s about time that she let it go free. It was time for a change. She grabbed her things and went downstairs. Jesse was sitting on the couch watching TV, so she decided to go sit by him.

“What are you watching?” she asked as she plopped down on the couch next to him.

“I’m just seeing what’s on,” he said, not bothering to look at her.

“I know I’ve said this about a hundred times today, but I really do appreciate you and your family letting me stay here.”

“It’s really no problem.”

“I’ve never had anybody be as nice to me as you have these past few weeks. I just wish that there was some way that I could make it up to you.”

When she said this, he finally turned to look at her. Somehow, she looked a lot different with her hair down. She looked a lot younger and her face looked like it had more color. He couldn’t help but stare.

Suddenly, a horn beeped from outside. “I guess that’s my cue,” she said as she got off the couch. “See you later.” She walked out the door towards Jayden’s car.

“Hey,” Jayden said as Elizabeth got into the car. “So why did you spend the night at Jesse’s and not your own house?”

“Geez, straight to the point, huh?” laughed Elizabeth.

“I was never one to beat around the bush. Spill, girl!”

“Ok, ok. Long story short, my mom found out about Anthony because of something I had written. While she was confronting me, she told me that he had hit her too, but she never bothered to tell me. We reported Anthony and the cops got him. He’s in custody now. Jesse had to come to the police station to give a statement because he was technically a witness. After that, we went to dinner and I decided that I was too angry and hurt to even look at my mother, so Jesse said I could come stay with him for as long as I needed to and so I did.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah. Talk about a life-changing day.”

“I can’t believe your mom didn’t tell you that he hit her before.”

“Neither can I. I still can’t get over the fact that she left me with him after that either. I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get past that one.”

“I’m sure. I don’t think I’d be able to forgive my mother for that either. I’m so sorry you have to go through this, Elizabeth.”

“Thanks. For right now, I can’t wait to get to the mall to buy some clothes that are actually normal for a change.”

“Do you have money?”

“My mom gave me a credit card for emergencies a few months ago, so I’ll just use that.”

A few minutes later, they arrived at the mall and Jayden parked the car in the Macy’s parking lot.

“I need to pick up some job applications today,” said Elizabeth. “I’m going to have to start making some money if I want to get my own place eventually. If I ever do actually forgive my mom, it’s not going to be for a long time, and it’s really not right for me to stay with Jesse for such a long time.”

“Well, if you don’t want to stay with him for too long, you could always come and stay with me for a little while.”

As they were talking, they entered Macy’s, went to the Junior department and immediately began picking out clothes to try on.

“Are you sure I wouldn’t be imposing?”

“No, not at all. Besides, it would be fun.”

“It would. I might have to take you up on that offer, but not right away. I don’t want to offend the McCartney’s by leaving too soon.”

“Ok just let me know when you want to come.”

“I will.”

They shopped for the next three hours. Elizabeth ended up pretty much getting a whole entire new wardrobe. For the first time in a long time, she was allowed to buy anything she wanted and that felt good. While she was there, she picked up a few job applications that she would fill out later. She also bought new makeup and Jayden promised to teach her how to put some of it on.

“There’s something I forgot to mention about Jesse,” Elizabeth said as they were loading up the car with their bags. “Yesterday at school, he kind of…asked me out indirectly.”

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything before? And what do you mean he asked you out ‘indirectly?’”

“There were so many other things to tell you that I just kind of forgot. He didn’t come right out and ask me out on a date, he said that he wants to be more than friends with me.”

“Wow. What did you say back?”

“I told him that there’s too much going on in my life right now and that I need time to sort it all out. I also said that maybe we could date in the future, but I was just not ready for a boyfriend right now.”

“Elizabeth, are you nuts?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is Jesse McCartney we’re talking about. This kid does not stay single for long. Just about every girl I know starts drooling when he walks into a room. He helped you get away from your wicked stepfather and now he’s letting you stay at his house, in his very own room! He obviously really cares about you. Can you honestly say that you don’t feel the same way?”

“No, but-“

“Anthony could have hurt you a lot worse than he did; he could have killed you. I would think that would make you appreciate life a little more, but I guess not. Why should you wait when you know you want to be with him now? You were given a second chance at life after Anthony put you in the hospital; now take it. Don’t’ make him wait for you because I’m sure he won’t wait that long. All we have is the here and now, so why waste it? Why wait if you know you want to be with him now?”

“I guess you’re right…”

“You’re damn straight I’m right. So when are you going to tell him that you changed your mind?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the right time when we’re alone.”

They arrived back at Jesse’s house and Elizabeth got out of the car and gathered up her bags of clothing.

“Let me know how it goes when you tell him and be sure to do it soon,” said Jayden.

“I will,” said Elizabeth. “Thanks for taking me and giving me some great friendly advice.”

“No problem. What are friends for? See you later.” She waited to make sure that Elizabeth got into the house ok and then she drove away.