I'm All Yours Somehow

I allowed myself only to concentrate on the sound of my tennis shoes slapping against the pavement under my feet. Taking deep breathes, I stared at the mailbox, only 100 yards away. Another 100 yards and I was done. After already running two full miles, another 100 yards seemed like nothing.

I reached the mailbox and stopped, bending over with my hands on my knees. I took long,, deep breaths that left an icy feeling at the back of my throat. I stared at the white mailbox and the writing on it. After taking two minutes just to breathe, I started down the short driveway.

I tried to wipe the sweat off my brow with the back on my hand, but it did no good, seeing as how, from head to toe, I was drenched in sweat. Crinkling my nose in disgust, I slid open the patio door and stepped into the cool air of the kitchen. I sighed, rolling my neck as I kicked off my shoes, not even bothering to untie them.

I walked down the hallway and gently pushed open the door to the bedroom Garrett and I shared.

It came as no surprise that Garrett was still sprawled out, the sheets only covering half of his body. He was on his stomach, his head under my pillow. Smiling softly, I tip-toed across the room to my closet. I walked in and grabbed clothes quickly.

I stepped into the attached bathroom and begun peeling off my layers of clothing. After a long, hot shower, I dressed and readied myself for the day. Finally dressed and polished, I made my way back into the bedroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed, next to Garrett and rubbed my hand over his back.

"Gare," I said softly, trying to wake him. He groaned and scooted away from me. "G, come on."

"What?" he asked, dragging the word out.

"I'm going into work for a few hours then I'm going grocery chopping. Do you need anything?" I questioned, mostly for my own amusement.

"Asian...pigeons..." was his answer, his voice heavy with sleep.

Holding back a laugh, I pushed the pillow aside and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I love you," I told him as I walked to the door, but didn't get a response, knowing he was already asleep again.

Back in the kitchen, I turned on the news before pouring myself a quick bowl of cereal. I ate quickly, tossing things into my bag. I rinsed my bowl and put it in the sink as I grabbed my keys, rushing out the door. I unlocked my SUV as I approached it and tossed my bag into the passenger seat as I started the engine.

When I entered the office twenty minutes later, the phone was already ringing. I leaned over the counter and plucked the handset off the base, just as one o f my co-workers reached for it.

"Hello, Dr. Streep's office, Tallulah speaking, how can I help you?" I asked into the phone, anchoring it between my ear and my shoulder as I looked through the patient files for the day.

I answered the patient's question before hanging up the phone and walking around the counter. I sunk into my cushioned chair, pulling my bag into my lap.

"I thought you had today off," the receptionist beside me, Leah, asked.

"I do, I just did some work at home last night and thought I'd bring it in," I explained with a shrug, pulling the files out of my bag.

"I remember the days when I had time to do work at him," another woman, Rae, said with a laugh as she closed a filing cabinet with a bump of her hip.

"Garrett had a Call of Duty battle last night, so it was either this or clean," I said, standing up and returning the files to their specific place.

After a little small talk, the other girls and I settled into the routine of our jobs.

My mind drifting from my job, I found myself staring at the framed photos positioned around my work computer. There were five of them: one of Garrett and I in LA a couple of months before, one of me with all five members of The Maine before they left on tour, the third of John, Mila, Garrett, and myself at a family dinner, one of Mila and I when we were younger, and the last being of Mila, my mother, and I taken at John and Mila's wedding, two years before.

The first six months after the wedding were sheer insanity.

While the guys were on tour, Mila, my mother, Dree, Sarah, and I spent many weeks getting the house together. You'd be surprised how long it takes to furnish, paint, and decorate a house to my mother's definition of perfection.

My mother passed away six months after the wedding, while the guys were on tour. They'd rushed back home for three days for the funeral, but left too soon after.

With my mother's three million dollar life insurance policy that she'd set up years before, mixed with donations from the community, the sale of her home and business, Mila and I each had a 2.8 million dollar nest egg sitting in the bank.

Despite not needing to worry about money, I quickly found a job as a receptionist/billing supervisor at a local doctor's office, just to have something to do with my time.

After spending the morning hours working the phones at the office, I left the building and stepped into the unforgiving Arizona heat. The sun pounded down on the navy fabric of my blouse and I rushed to my vehicle.

It was a short drive to the grocery store and I placed my bag in the cart and dug around for my shopping list. I skimmed it. Trash bags...laundry soap...wine...milk... the list continued on. At the bottom of it, Garrett had written FOOD! in pink Sharpie and had underlined it excessively. I rolled my eyes and started down the aisles.

I puled the cart with the necessities first, then with random things. I passed the dog food aisle and cursed, digging for my phone. I dialed Garrett and waited for him to answer, leaning on the handle of the cart.

"What do you want?" he answered, sounding very groggy.

"Hey, baby," I said, sugar coating my voice sarcastically. "Do we need dog food?"

"I don't know," he answered, stifling a yawn.

"Well, can you check?" I questioned, already losing my patience.

"That would involve getting out of bed," he whined. In the background, I head the rustling of sheets.

"You haven't even gotten out of bed yet?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Does getting up to piss an hour ago count?"

"No, Gare, it doesn't. Now, just go check if Sammy needs food," I snapped at him.

"Fine, fine," he said with a heavy sigh. I heard the creaky floor board outside our bedroom door sound, telling me he'd left the room. "Yes, Sammy needs food," he said a moment later.

"Thank you. That wasn't so hard, now was it?" I teased, knowing he wouldn't find it funny.

"Can I go back to bed now?" he asked, sighing.

"Let Sammy out first, then yes. I love you," I told him.

"Love you too, Tallulah," he said before hanging up.

I smiled, dropping my phone in my bag before picking up a massive bag of dog food.

Sammy was a five year old yellow lab - golden retriever mix we'd rescued from the shelter a year before. We'd gotten her so I wouldn't be completely alone when Garrett was out on the road. It ended up that Garrett loved her just as much as I did.

As I left the store twenty minutes later, my phone, now once again buried at the bottom of my bag, started to ring. I sighed, digging for it as I navigated the cart through the parking lot.

"Hello?" I asked, holding it to my ear once I found it.

"Hey sis. Are you working today?" Mila asked on the other end of the line.

"I did earlier, why?"

"Oh, perfect. Dree, Sarah, and I are going to lunch in an hour. Care to join?"

"Can it wait an hour and a half? I'm leaving the grocery store and I need to take this stuff home," I explained, popping the trunk of my SUV.

"Yeah, that'll work. We're eating at the cafe on the Dray and Current streets."

"Got it," I said. "See you soon." I loaded everything into the trunk and was on my way.

When I returned home, I was surprised to find Garrett away and sitting on the sofa watching TV. Sammy was at his feet and backed and ran towards me when I entered.

"Hi, girl," I said, setting the bags on the counter. One my hands were free, I bent and petted her thoroughly. "Gare, can I get some help unloading the car?"

"Give me a sec," he responded from the other room.

I sighed, heading back to the garage, grabbing another armful of bags. On my way back to the kitchen, Garrett opened the door for me before going out to the car himself. When he returned with the last of the bags, I smiled at him. He placed the bags with the others on the counter, kicking the door shut behind him.

"It's good to see that you're out of bed," i teased, starting to unload the bags. "Even if you're not completely dressed yet." I looked over at him. He was in sweatpants, shirtless.

"Don't deny that you like the view," he joked with a wink as he put the gallon of milk in the refrigerator.

"I never said that," i said quietly, wrapping my arms around him from behind. Smiling, I kissed the back of his shoulder.

He sighed, leaning his head back. "Want to head back to our room?" he asked before turning around to face me.

"Hmm, sounds lovely, but I'm meeting Mila and the girls for lunch in a little bit." I said, smiling sadly.

"Well, we have the time," he pointed out, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed, kissing him softly. "I'll have to pass you up on that offer, G. I need to get changed and head out." He stuck his bottom lip out, pouting as he drooped his shoulders. "You look cute when you do that."

"Eh, what else is now?" he shrugged, leaning forward. He pressed his lips to mine.

When I didn't pull away, his hand found my hip, resting there as his tongue glided along my bottom lip. I smiled into the kiss, toying with the ends of his hair. He kissed my jaw, down to my neck.

"Gare," I said quietly, trying to control the steadiness of my voice.

It didn't work. My voice came out shaky and I could tell Garrett was smirked as he kissed my neck softly. My knees were already shaking when his hand slipped up the back of my blouse.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the time.

"Shit!" I yelled, pulling away.

"You've go to be kidding me," I heard Garrett groan as I took off down the hall to our bedroom.

I changed quickly before running back to the kitchen, only pausing to grab my purse and keys and to kiss Garrett quickly.

"You're a tease!" he yelled as I rushed out the door.