Your Love Will Be Safe With Me

We got back into Parker at around seven the next night. I was happy again, but my stomach was in knots from what was about to happen. How much tension would we walk into? How long were they going to ignore me for? Were they going to make us leave? My mind kept going around in circles with different scenarios on the drive back.

Since we had left so quickly, we didn’t have any other clothing than what was on our backs. And since Max’s place was the place to hang out, there was a ton of the guys’ clothes there. I ended up with one of JohnO’s shirts. It went down to the hem of my jean shorts and smelled like boy, but it was okay since we were just driving.

“Where were you?!” My mother yelled when we opened the door. Like usual, she was on the computer. By the smell of the cigar smoke, I knew my dad was in the garage. “I was calling you, but you didn’t answer!” She yelled and I rolled my eyes.

“My phone died last night.” I wasn’t lying; the battery died in-between a vicious game of Halo and running out to the store to get a couple bags of chips with Garrett.

“Well where were you?!” The way that she didn’t really stop playing her game on the computer gave me the feeling that she really didn’t care all that much.

I sighed as Nick squeezed my hand for support, “We went to Tempe to visit some of Nick’s friends.” I explained with a tired voice.

“You just went to Tempe?” She asked.

“Yes, now if you excuse us, we’re going up to my room.” I tugged on Nick’s hand and led him up the stairs.

Once we got to my room I immediately shed the oversized shirt. That John O’Callaghan really needed to learn how to wash his clothes right. I walked around the room in just my shorts and a black bra as Nick’s eyes followed me. My mind really wasn’t right from the heat, so I didn’t think to put a shirt on. Plus it was so damn hot. I missed LA.

“Do you think we should go home?” I asked. I was pacing in front of the fan, beads of sweat were rolling down my back.

“It’s kind of late and we don’t exactly have a way of getting there.” He said from the middle of the bed.

“We can take the Jeep and leave tonight. It’s not that long of a drive. I’ve driven it plenty of times. Most of the time I was alone.” I placed my hands on my bare hips.

He looked at me and I stopped pacing, “You can’t just go back to California and avoid your parents . They’re your parents.”

I groaned, “But I’m so good at it.” He laughed and shook his head as he leaned further down into the bed. “Fine, we won’t leave tonight, but I’m not going to be the first one to talk to him.” I said referring to my dad.

I finally realized that there was cool wind hitting my bare back, “Why am I not wearing a shirt?!” I exclaimed.

He chuckled, “Sawyer, you’re going crazy.”

I leaned down and grabbed a gray shirt out of my bag, “I think you’re right.”
---
I didn’t expect my dad to cave so quickly, but the following night, he sat me down and talked to me. Nick and I had lounged around all day doing nothing in particular (there really wasn’t anything to do). I had been downstairs in the kitchen getting Nick and I some water when he walked in and asked if he could talk to me. So we sat at the wooden kitchen table, quiet at first.

After a couple of silent moments as he looked everywhere else but at me and I drank the cool water from my glass he finally spoke, “So that ring really wasn’t from Grandma, huh?”

Instantly I looked down at my left hand and wiggled my ring finger. I had put it back on the day before. “Uh, no. Nick bought it for me on my birthday slash wedding day.” I said awkwardly. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and him go ballistic on me again.

He nodded then it was quiet again. Finally I had enough, “If you’re not going to say anything then I’ll just go back upstairs.” I said then started to get up from my chair.

“No, wait.” He said then sighed. Slowly, I sat back down and waited for him to start explaining himself. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said to you, but you can’t really blame me. I’ve only met the guys twice and you’d only known him for a week when you got married. Plus he’s in a band and he’s three years older than you.”

I rolled my eyes, “You’re three years older than Mom.” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t barely eighteen when we got married.”

“You guys only knew each other for three months before you proposed to her drunk, might I add.”

He rolled his eyes this time, “Okay, Sawyer, but that was different times.”

I scoffed, “When you know you just know.” I repeated Garrett’s words from the day before as I looked away from his face.

“You’d only known him a week.” He was trying to get me to see how “irresponsible” I had been.

I shook my head, “I’ve seen his band twice before.” Granted, he’d never actually talked.

“That doesn’t mean anything.” He really was right about that.

“Well, I don’t care. We’re married. We’ve been married for five months. We’re happy and he’d do anything for me and vice versa. I get along with his friends and his family. He gets me, okay? I don’t expect you to understand right away, but I do love him and he loves me.”

He looked at me silently before going off on something else, “You’re so young, Sawyer! It’s just-what happened to the girl who wanted to travel the world and wouldn’t let some guy get in the middle of it, huh? What happened to living London or Australia? Or not getting married until you’re thirty?”

I shrugged and got a goofy smile on my face, “Things change, Dad. You should know that.” I looked him in the eye, thinking about the other things he said, these things I had told him years before. “As for the other things, Nick travels. Granted I won’t be able to go with him, it’ll still be cool to go out every once and a while.” I twirled my ring around my finger. “Plus, I’m still young. Nick and I still have some growing up to do. Just you watch! I’ll live in London or Australia by the time I die.”

He sighed, “Fine.” He caved, “Just tell me one thing: is he treating you well?”

I nodded as I thought about how great he really was to me, “He’s the best. I mean, we have our bad moments, but he always makes up for it.”

He nodded, “Okay.”

We sat in silence again. I was waiting for him to start talking again, but he never did. “C-can I go now? I did tell him I was only getting water.”

My dad waved me off, “Go ahead. Don’t wanna keep him waiting.” He smirked.

I snorted then got up and left the dining/kitchen, cups in hand. As I rounded the corner to go up the stairs, I saw a mop of orange hair whiz passed at the top. Next thing I know there was a loud bang and a muffled “Son of a bitch” from the end of the hall where my door was.

Confused and a bit concerned, I hurried up the stairs and to my room. When I walked through the doorway, Nick was limping over to the bed. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked as I set the waters down on the nightstand.

“Oh, you know, running into doorframes.” He said nonchalantly and shrugged it off his shoulders, causing me to laugh.

“I had no idea that was a regular occurrence for you.” I smirked with an amused expression on my face.

He shrugged again as he lied down on the bed, “It’s whatever.”

I smiled and lied next to him, “No seriously, what were you doing?” I asked as I faced my body toward him.

He paused at first before looking at me, “I was wondering what was taking you so long, so I went downstairs, but you were talking to your dad, so I listened in.”

“So you heard everything I said?” I asked. I was a bit embarrassed for some strange reason.

He nodded, “Pretty much.” He said. “You never told me you wanted to travel.”

I shrugged this time, “It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh, come on. My whole job is practically traveling and here you are the one who wants to travel while I’m the one who gets to.” I just looked at him, trying to figure out where he was going with what he was saying. “Where do you want to go?”

A huge smile spread across my face as I thought about it, “I want to go on a road trip from Southern California to Maine and back. On the way there, I want to take the southern states and on the way back I want to take the north. But the thing is, I want to go through all fourty-eight that are connected and a little bit of Canada. Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.”

His eyes widened, “Wow. That’s a lot of road to cover.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been planning it since I was about fourteen.”

“Well, when did you want to do it?” He questioned and I shrugged again.

“When I had the money and reliable sources.”

“I’ll tell you what, when Warped Is over, we’ll figure out what the Fall/Winter tour schedule looks like and go from there.”

I shook my head, “No, it’s fine. You shouldn’t be traveling across the country when you’re off, seriously. I’ll figure it out.”

He shook his head and placed his pointer finger to my lips, “Stop. We’re doing it. Until then, why don’t you come on Warped Tour with us?”

I gave him a disappointed look, “You don’t have to, Nick.”

He shook his head again and laughed, “It’s totally cool. I was thinking about it before and talked to Britton and management. We’re on a bus, so there should be room for you.”

My eyes widened at the news he was giving me, “You guys are getting your own bus?“ I asked in excitement and he nodded then I thought about going on Warped Tour with them, “What would I even do?”

He shrugged, “Take pictures for your portfolio? Help with merch? Cheer us on everyday?” He cuddled into my side, “Be there to just be there?”

I chuckled and ran my fingers through his hair, “Okay, you talked me into it.”

“Yeas.” He said in a Napoleon Dynamite-esque voice and I laughed.

“You’re such a nerd.” I smiled.

“But I’m your nerd.” He said into the thin white tank top I was wearing.

He let out a breath afterward and I felt it through the thin material. I smiled softly as I threaded my fingers through his messy orange hair. “And I am yours.”

He let out an airy chuckled, giving me chills as his breath hit my skin again, “I’m so glad that that’s true.” His left hand came up and tangled its way into the hair near my skull then he turned his head to look at me. “I love you.”

I leaned into the touch of his hand and closed my eyes, “I’m so glad you decided I was worth your time.” I said softly. “You’ve really changed my life in the span of five months.”

He smiled, “You’ve changed mine, too.”

“I love you, too, by the way.” I said and he chuckled then leaned up and placed his lips on mine.