'Cause I've Got You

Adjustment. That was the word I used far too loosely the first week of college. I had to adjust to new sleeping schedules, study habits, note taking, and more than anything, managing my free time.

Sid had left the day before classes started, but I wished he would’ve stayed. Of course, having Jenn around was nice, but I almost felt like I had to re-open myself up again. I had Kaitlyn, Sid and my mom. I didn’t feel the pressure to open up to her, of course, but I did feel the need to tell her certain things that I wouldn’t normally tell just anyone.

I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that she was, indeed, family, or the fact that since we were going to spend the majority of our time outside of classes together.

The second weekend of the school year arrived and I had all of my homework up to date. I had pondered on the thought of leaping ahead in a couple of my classes, but Jenn had other ideas.

“How about you come with me and we go to my parents’ place for the weekend? I know they’d love to see you. Plus, it means two nights of home-cooked meals.”

Her invitation was appealing, especially thinking of the home-cooked meals. Living off Kraft Dinner and Beefaroni was already getting old. I had thought about all the things I could be doing if I stayed in the dorm room by myself. After battling with my mind through the pros and cons, I decided to go with her.

“Sure, let me just pack some clothes and we can head out.”

She smiled as she walked into our shared bathroom. I pulled out a small duffel bag from under my bed and threw it on top of my bed. While I walked over to my dresser, I heard my phone begin to ring. Looking down at the caller ID, I smiled.

“Well, it’s about time.” I laughed into my cell.

“Ha, ha. I told you I would phone when I got out. So, what’s going on in the fun world of Halifax this weekend?”

I shrugged my shoulders as I conjured up a few outfits for the weekend to throw in my bag. “Oh, not too much, going to Gary and Carmel’s for the weekend. What’s going on in the land of black and vegas gold?”

I heard a laugh come through the other end. “Oh, you know. Same ol’, same ol’, just classes and sleep.”

“What no time for eating? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Believe me, I’m still here. I’m just a little overwhelmed with the number of classes.”

I felt horrible for Kaitlyn. She had a lot on her plate this term. “Oh, that sucks. You couldn’t drop any classes that weren’t necessary for my major?”

“Nope. Well, I’m at my dorm room now and I’m not sure if my roomie is sleeping. I’ll text you later. Have fun with the fam. Love you.”

“Okay. Thanks, I will. Love you.”

I hung up the phone and went back to packing my bag. About 5 minutes later, I had everything all packed and Jenn had come back out of the bathroom, in a completely new outfit and her hair and make-up done.

“Geez.” I said with wide eyes. “You never would’ve guessed you were going home for the weekend.”

She smirked. “Well, they may or may not be someone I want to impress when we get there. So hush and hurry up.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

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Sid’s POV

I had left Steph in Halifax the day before she started her classes. She had a lot to do the first week to adjust to the college life. I was happy that she was in Halifax, and knowing she had both my family and her family close by made my worries dim down a little bit.

Arriving at my place it Pittsburgh, I had immediately made up a work-out schedule. Before I would realize it, training camp would be right around the corner and I needed to get back in shape.

I called Steph every night. Sometimes the calls would last 15 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. It all depended on how tired either one, or both of us were. During her first weekend in Halifax, she travelled out to Cole Harbour to have dinner with my parents and Taylor, which, according to my mom, was amazing. It made me so happy that she kept a good relationship with my family. I could tell that she wasn’t doing it just for me, but that the feelings towards my parents and Taylor were genuine.

Another week had passed and Steph had told me that she hadn’t made any plans for the weekend. I was originally going to drive up there and surprise her, but I knew in the back of my mind that it would be just that much harder to come back to Pittsburgh. So, on my way home from the gym on Friday, I quickly shot her a text.

So, any plans for this weekend?

I had hopped into my car and revved the engine. Pulling out of the parking lot, I heard my phone go off. I waited til I was at a red light to look at it. Picking it up off the dashboard, I smiled at Steph’s response.

Yes, actually. Off to Gary and Carmel’s for the weekend. What about you? Lemme guess. Gym, sleep, gym, eat, gym, talk to Mario, sleep, gym, eat, gym?

I quickly typed a reply, after looking up and noticed the street like was still red.

Add in a couple hours with some of the boys tomorrow and that sounds about right.

I knew it! Tell Kris, Max and Jordan I say hi. Love you! Xox

I didn’t respond to her text until I reached my place. Pulling into my parking space, I saw that my door was a little ajar. I raised my eyebrow and placed my phone in my pocket. Walking up to my door, I slowly peeked my head in. Everything looked like it did when I left it. Opening the door a little wider, I heard footsteps coming from my kitchen. Not knowing what to think, I kept my pace slow and as quiet as possible on my way to where the footsteps presumably were. Once I reached the doorway, I lightly cocked my head, trying to listen for a voice. When I didn’t hear anything, I leaned in ever so slightly to see who the footsteps belonged to. When I saw who it was, I put my hand over my heart with a small sigh.

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Steph’s POV

Arriving at Carmel and Gary’s, I was immediately enveloped in a group hug. I pulled away with a huge smile.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t change your room around. Head on up and unpack. The Barbie’s on, so dinner will be ready shortly.”

I nodded towards Gary with a grin. Looking over at Carmel, I gave her a small smile.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

She waved her hand out in front of her while shaking her head.

“Oh gosh, no. Sweetie, you’re here to relax. So whenever you’re all settled in, just come back down and we can go sit out on the patio. We’ve got a small fire going.”

I nodded curtly at Carmel and made my way upstairs. The room that I spent some of my nights last summer in hadn’t changed at all. I walked in with a smile and placed my small duffle bag on the bed. I pulled out my phone to text Sid to tell him I made it safely to the ‘Chi. After that was sent, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I was looking for. With a small tap on a little green button, I placed the phone on my ear, waiting for a voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Kris.”

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Sid’s POV

I was sitting on my couch, watching an old episode of Friends when a knock came at my door. I looked at the time, thinking it was much later, the proceeded to laugh at myself. I guess people knocking at your door at 7 isn’t so bad. Walking over to open the door, I was a little shocked at who was standing on the other side.

“Sandy?”

She gave me what looked like a forced smile. “Hello Sid. Can I come in?”

It took me a few seconds more to try and ponder why she was on my doorstep, before cluing into her question. I opened the door a little wider and stepped out of the way. “Yes, yes, of course.”

She walked past me and stood near the end of the couch. “I’m not going to stay long, I just wanted to tell you something.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you had to come all the way out to Pittsburgh to tell me? It’s not exactly the shortest drive from Ontario.”

She let out a soft sigh. “I flew in. Either way, what I’m here to tell you is important.”

I gestured over to the couch. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit down? I’d feel a lot more comfortable if we sat.”

She gave in to my request and sat on the arm of the couch. “Sid,” she looked up at me with pleading eyes, “you can’t say a word of this to Stephanie, okay?”

I didn’t feel overly comfortable holding something back from Steph, especially when it came to her mother. Nonetheless, I nodded slightly.

“I need your help…”