Count Me the Hours

A phone call from my mother woke me up the next morning, hours before I planned to wake up. I glanced at the clock and realized that it was barely eight. I groaned, reaching for the phone.

She told me she'd found a great apartment for Garrett and I and said that she had an appointment at ten, so we'd have to see it before then. I sighed, agreeing to meet her there. She promised to text me the address and we hung up.

I looked over at Garrett who was sleeping serenely beside me. Smiling, I leaned down and kissed his lips softly before I left the bed. When I stood up, my head pounded slightly as the result of my alcohol consumption the night before. I pinched the bridge of my nose, walking to the bathroom, not even bothering to grab clothes.

I glanced in the mirror and shuddered at my appearance. My hair was a tangled mess of curls and the minimal remains of my make up was smeared under my eyes. I turned on the hot water and tugged off the t-shirt and stepped out of my sweats before climbing into the shower.

I stood under the hot water of the shower and tried to wake up further. I managed to untangle my hair, much to my relief, and I basked in the spray of the water, allowing myself to relax.

I stepped out of the shower twenty minutes later and blow dried my hair, still wrapped in my towel. I walked into the main room where Garrett had scooted over on the bed, into the spot that I had vacated. I stepped into my roos and fastened my bra, and pulled up my shorts before walking over to the bed.

"Gare," I whispered, kissing him again softly before shaking him gently. He rolled over a bit, mumbling about something. "Baby, my mom found us an apartment and we have to get there before ten. You need to get up and shower."

"What if I don't want to?" he grumbled, burying his face in my pillow.

"I don't care if you want to or not, you're going," I informed him sternly. I was slightly hungover and it was too early to be arguing with him.

"Yes, mother," he said in a high pitched, whiney voice.

Gradually, he sat up. I laughed at the state of his hair, which was sticking up in every which direction. I ran my hands through it, making it even more haphazard. He scrunched up his nose, pulling away. I smiled and pulled him back to me.

"Good morning," he said, kissing the tip of my nose.

"Good morning yourself, Gare. Hurry up and get a move on. She just texted me the address, and I need to figure out where it is, so go get a shower, you stink," I told him with a laugh.

"Oh, you think so?" he asked, lunging at me, laying on top of me to the point that he was smothering me.

"Get off!" I yelled between laughs, but it was only muffled by the skin of his chest. I managed to get my palms on his shoulders and push him off of me. "Shower, now!" I ordered, pointing to the bathroom.

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a wink, kissing my cheek. I rolled my eyes, watching him walk to the bathroom. He shit the door behind him and a sighed.

I grabbed my phone and searched the location, finding out that it was twenty minutes away. Garrett came out of the bathroom ten minutes later and as soon as he pulled his shirt on, we packed up our stuff and headed to the car.

In the car, I plugged the address into the GPS system and we pulled out of the parking garage.

"So, if we like the apartment, I think we should just go ahead and call the landlord and get the lease set up," I said, turning onto the highway.

"You don't want to look around more, even if we like it?" Garrett asked to clarify, adjusting his seat in the rental car.

"Yeah, we're only going to be here for another week, and I need somewhere to ship my stuff to. Plus I don't want to pick the place, I want us to decide on it together."

"I'm only here for nine months out of the year," he reminded me.

"I realize that, but I want you to have a place that had a say in to be home," i said, looking over at him.

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, Tallulah."

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at a place that wasn't even an apartment. It was a house. A full out beautiful house. One of my mother's real estate advertisement signs was in the front yard. We gave each other unsure looks as I pulled into the driveway. We parked and got out of the vehicle. My mother's SUV was parked in front of the closed garage door. We walked around to the front door and rang the door bell.

The second the bell rang, my mother opened the door. "Hello," she said melodically, ushering us into the house.

"Hi, Mom," I said, looking around the foyer. "What are we doing here? I thought you were showing us an apartment."

"Well, there's been a change of plans. Follow me," she explained with a nonchalant shrug.

She began walking through the house, explaining all of the key points. The house was completely gorgeous and I was looking around in awe. I glanced over at Garrett and even he looked utterly amazed by the house.

"There are six bedrooms, so there's plenty of extra space. Four full baths, too, then a half off the kitchen," she said, opening a door for us which led to a staircase. "The basement is fully finished, with three bedrooms down here."

She showed us all around the house and finally, we stopped in the dining room.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked with a smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's stunning Mom, really. But there's no way we could afford this," I said, looking around the expansive dining room.

"Well, Tallulah, it's already been paid for, so you don't have to worry about that," my mother said with a shrug.

"Wait, what?" I asked, blinking.

"Think of it as a lifetime of birthday, Christmas, and 'just because' presents."

"Mom, I can't believe you did this," I exclaimed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"You needed a place to live, so you may as well have somewhere nice. Now, I need to go. Here are the keys, lock up when you leave. Lu, I'll take you furniture shopping tomorrow, just give me a call. You can start moving in whenever you like," she told us, picking her purse up off the kitchen counter, tossing me a set of keys. "Be good!" she called before leaving.

"Can you believe this?" I asked, looking over at Garrett who was smiling.

"You should have expected this out of your mother," he pointed out.

"You're probably right." I shrugged. I took a few steps toward him and we stood in the dining room. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him.

"At least we don't have to go apartment hunting," he joked and I laughed.

"I still can't believe this house. It's so big!" I said, looking around.

"Are you happy?" he asked, kissing the top of my head.

"I am," I answered. I nodded, smiling widely.

Six days later, we were at the airport. We were standing in the middle of the terminal, our arms locked around each other. Garrett and the guys were flying to LA for tour while I was flying back to New York to pack up all of my things. I'd be back in Arizona in two weeks, but without Garrett.

My mother had taken me furniture shopping, just as she'd promised. The house was now about fifty percent furnished, included beds in four of the bedrooms, sofas for the living room, basement, and family room, a large dining room table, a patio table, and much more. We had paint colors selected for some of the rooms, which I'd be painting when I returned from New York.

Garrett sighed, tightening his arms around me once again. "Gare, you're gonna squish me," I told him, my head on his shoulder.

"I don't care," he teased, kissing the top of my head for the thousandth time.

We stood in silence for another ten minutes before Garrett's flight was called. We both sighed, and I avoided his eyes.

"I need to go, babe," he whispered, brushing his lips over mine.

"I don't want you to," I said quietly, burying my face in his neck.

"We have a three day break in a few weeks, I'll try to come home then," Garrett promised, rubbing his hand over my back, trying to calm me down. I nodded, pulling away enough to look at him. My eyes were stinging with tears and I was biting down on my tongue so I wouldn't lose it right there.

"Gare?" I said, my voice barely audible.

"Hmm?"

"I love you," I told him, wiping my eyes.

"I love you too, baby," he said, kissing me fully.

When the last call was made for his flight, he kissed me once more, squeezing me tightly to the point that I thought my ribs would break. As I watched him walk away, my heart broke.

I sank into one of the chairs and pulled out my phone, dialing my voicemail. I listened to the voicemail he'd left me a week and a half before until my flight was called. I walked onto the plane, my hands shaking and my eyes puffy.

As I buckled my seat belt and the plane took off, I calmed down. Thinking about it, I smiled.

This wasn't the end of Garrett and I, it was only the beginning.