Fighting to Survive (Guarded Hearts Book 3) (7 page)

“Okay, I’m ready!”

When I look over at her, she is dressed in a pair of jeans that fit her like a glove and a t-shirt that’s cut into a V and fits her just as well. I lift myself off of the bed and walk up to her. “You look beautiful.” I kiss her and then grab her hand and we walk out to my car, carefully avoiding the argument still going on between Jason and Nicole.

“So, what did you want to do?” she asks me.

“I’m not sure, I thought we could go into town and then figure it out.” I make decent money from the fights, and I’ve been saving most of it for tuition, but I want to be able to do something nice today.

We walk out to the car and I open the door for her. She smiles at me and seems like she’s surprised I did it. If my mom taught me only one thing about girls, it’s that they can’t resist a gentleman. On the drive into town, I am trying to think of where I can take her. There aren’t too many exciting places to go on a date, and I really haven’t gone on many dates to know what’s good. I park the car and walk around to the side to get the door for Christen. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat something. Our coffee breakfast this morning has definitely worn off.” She laughs and I grab her hand and start walking.

“Where do you want to eat?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really know a lot of the restaurants around here. Holly and I usually either eat on campus or just make something at home.”

I think about all of the different options around us and I’m not sure which to pick. That’s when I get an idea, hopefully she doesn’t think it’s crazy. “So, I have an idea, but if you don’t want to do it just tell me.”

“Okay, what’s your idea?”

“Some people will go to one restaurant to have a three-course meal, but what if we had a three-course meal at three different restaurants? We go to one for appetizers, a different one for entrees, and another one for dessert. It’s a way to have a bunch of different kinds of food and have fun in the process. What do you think?”

She smiles at me. “I love it! I have never done anything like this! You pick the restaurants, though.”

I take her hand and we walk around for a little so we can see what our options are. The first restaurant I pick is a little Mexican restaurant called Sunrise. We sit down and decide to share a plate of their steak nachos. I love it. Christen isn’t afraid to actually eat. The last date I went on, the girl ordered a side salad, which is usually fine, but she didn’t get it as a side dish to anything. The waitress brings out the food and we start to eat. “So, Mr. Matthews, Spring Break is in a couple of months, do you have any plans?”

“I’m probably just going to go home and visit my family. What about you?”

“Unfortunately, I’ll probably go visit my family, too.”

I laugh. “Why unfortunately?”

“My parents are definitely not the easiest people to live with. They constantly expect perfection in every aspect of my life, and honestly, it is so unbelievably exhausting. Everything to my parents is about keeping up appearances and making sure that you always have the best of everything. I hated it when I was growing up because I never really got the chance to just be a kid, you know?”

I nod my head because I’m not really sure what to say. My parents always encouraged me to follow my dreams. “You know there is a saying that goes, ‘anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new’. It sucks that your parents are like that. At least Spring Break is only a week, though, right?”

“Thank God.”

When we finish our plate, the next restaurant we go to is a little Italian place called Mama Maria’s. We order a plate of pasta and decide to share again. I tell her all about my family and how I want to try to get an internship this summer.

Christen is going to school to be a teacher, but says her parents hate the idea. “My mother keeps telling me ‘those who can’t do, teach’. I swear if she tells me how I just need to meet a nice boy and settle down one more time I’ll scream. Do I want to get married some day? Sure. Do I want to be a lonely housewife like her who pops pills just to function? Absolutely not.”

I laugh and end up choking on my food a little bit. “Amen to that.”

She just laughs and shakes her head. The last place we stop is an ice cream parlor for dessert. We order a banana split to keep up with our whole sharing theme. They have a couple of outside tables and we decide to sit at one of them. We’re talking and laughing when her phone starts to ring. She hits the ignore button and then goes to take another bite.

“Who was it?”

“Just my mom, I’ll call her back later, I just—” Her phone starts ringing again. She rolls her eyes and answers it. “Hello? Mom, I’m out right now. Can I call you later? Yes. No one you know. Listen, I will call you later, okay?” She breathes a sigh of relief and hangs up the phone. We finish all of our food and she starts to walk back toward the car but I stop her.

“I have one more place I want to go.”

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise, come on.”

We walk a couple of blocks and the sun is just starting to set. When we turn the corner and Christen sees where we are, she looks at me in confusion.

“So, I drive by this place all the time, and I have always wanted to stop here.”

She looks around as if something else is going to magically appear and then turns to face me. “It’s a playground.”

“I know, and if it’s stupid just tell me. They just built it, though, and it’s huge!” I know she probably thinks I’m such a loser right now.

She gives me one of her amazing smiles. “Okay, come on.”

She walks off toward the swings and I chase after her. We spend almost an hour playing around like a couple of five-year-olds. When we finally decide to walk back to the car, I can tell she is exhausted. The drive home is quiet, and when we get to her house I walk her up to the door.

“I had an amazing day today. Thank you.”

I lean down and place a kiss on her lips, only intending for it to be simple, but she pulls me in further. Her hands grip my shirt and I can feel the passion pouring out of her. I’m about to ask her to come in when my phone rings. When I look at the screen and see it’s Paul, I answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, last minute fight in a half hour at the west warehouse.”

Without even waiting for a response he hangs up. I turn back to Christen, “Hey, I need to go. I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to a fight?”

“Yeah, that was Paul.” I give her a hug and lean down to give her a kiss when she pulls her head back an inch.

“Can I come?”

“No, babe. This one is at a different place and the people there are a lot worse. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” She nods her head yes and I give her one last kiss goodbye.

All I can think as I am walking to the car is how much I hate having to do this. I just keep repeating to myself the thing my dad always told me ‘tough times don’t last, tough people do’. Let’s just hope it’s really true.

***

Christen and I have spent every day of the last month together and it’s been great. Spring Break starts today and we decide to drive home together. I pull up outside her house and she comes out with probably the biggest suitcase I have ever seen.

I just laugh and put it into the trunk for her. “You know break is only for a week and not a month, right?”

“Shut up!” She nudges my shoulder and then climbs into the car.

“Are you excited to get home?”

“I’m excited to go to your house, I would be even more excited if we could skip mine all together.”

We had decided to go to my house for a couple of days and then stay at her house for the last part of the week. Christen has been freaking out all week about us staying with her parents, and I can tell it’s still making her crazy. “Relax, babe. We still have a few days to chill until we get to your parents’ house. Plus, I’ll be there with you and I really don’t think it will be as bad as you are picturing it.”

“I hope not. I’m going to stop stressing out about it, though. I’m really excited to meet your mom and dad.”

“Good, babe. They’re looking forward to meeting you, too. I only live about five blocks away from Carter, so we will all get to hang out. Did Nicole say if they were going home or not?”

“They aren’t. Jason’s dad is a total douche, and since he can’t go to Nicole’s house they are just going to stay home.”

“That must suck not being able to go home.”

“I guess, but sometimes being alone is better than being miserable.”

The ride to Shawn’s house is pretty short and it’s around lunchtime when we arrive. I’m really nervous about meeting his parents, I just want them to like me. We pull in front of his house and my nerves shoot through the roof.
What if his parents hate me like Jason’s dad hates Nicole?
Shawn is really close with his family, especially his mom, and I know if they don’t like me I don’t stand a chance.

It seems so weird to me that I’m already going home to meet his parents after just being together for a month. It’s felt like so much longer, though, probably because we are constantly together. He hasn’t let me go to any more fights because he says he can’t concentrate when I’m there. I need to remember not to mention the fighting around his family, too. Apparently, his parents think he is working a regular job and that’s how he’s paying for school.

When we walk into his house, I can hear the TV in the other room.

“Shawn?” A woman comes out from one of the doorways and I can tell immediately that she must be his mom. Aside from his reaction to seeing her, they look so much alike. She has the same light brown hair as he does and their eyes are identical. She is about my height, so he towers over her the same way he does me. “I’m so happy you’re home!” She gives him a big hug and then looks around him toward me. She smiles and then comes to stand in front of me.

“Hi, Mrs. Matthews.”

“Please, call me Karen.” She gives me a hug which catches me off guard at first. “It is so good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I look over at Shawn and he shrugs. “Shawn, your father is in the living room. Why don’t you two go in there and relax while I finish lunch?”

“Do you need any help?” I don’t know how to do much in the kitchen but I know enough that I should definitely offer to help.

“No, sweetheart. You just go in there and sit down, I’ll take care of everything.”

I follow Shawn into the living room. An older man is sitting in the recliner and gives us a huge smile when he sees us. He stands up and gives Shawn a hug. Shawn’s dad also has brown hair, although it’s a bit darker than Shawn’s. He and Shawn also share the same tall, muscular build, which makes sense because I know Shawn said his dad does construction work for a living.

His dad walks up to me, and before I can even introduce myself, he gives me a huge hug. He turns back to Shawn. “So this is the girl you’ve been talking my ear off about, huh?”

I laugh and look over at him. “Oh, really?”

I can tell he’s embarrassed as he runs his hand through his hair. “No, I might have said one or two things but—”

“One or two things? Honey, I probably know more about you than some of your own family!” Shawn’s dad smacks him on the back as he rubs his face with his hand in embarrassment.

“Okay, Dad, she gets it.”

Shawn goes and grabs our bags from the hallway. Just then, his mother comes into the living room. “Shawn, Aunt Donna and Angelina are staying with us while she gets back on her feet, so you and Christen will both be in your room.”

“Really, Mom?”

“Yes, but I expect you to behave yourself.” She walks back toward the kitchen and Shawn motions his head toward the hallway in an attempt to tell me to follow him.

Shawn’s room seems like it hasn’t been disturbed since he left. There are all sorts of sports memorabilia on the walls and just the typical messy stuff you would find in any teenage boy’s room. He walks up behind me, dipping his head to give my neck a kiss. His hands slowly slide down toward my jeans but I pull away from him.

“What are you doing?”

He looks down at me as if he is confused by my question. “What do you mean, babe?”

He makes a move to grab me and pull me toward him again but I move out of his reach. “No, there is no way we are doing anything here. I refuse to disrespect your family like that!”

“Have you been talking to Mads, because she does the same exact stuff with Carter.”

“I know she does, but even if she didn’t I would still feel this way. I wouldn’t even be staying in the same room as you if I didn’t have to and I don’t want your mom to get the wrong idea about me.”

I can see the irritation on his face. “Okay, I get it. Just so you know, though, I’m not too happy about it.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Oh well.”

We go back out to the living room and talk with his dad until his mom calls us in for lunch. “Nothing fancy, sweetheart, just sandwiches.”

“Thank you, it looks great.”

Shawn’s parents seem so happy with each other, which is something completely foreign to me. At my house, my parents barely even look at each other, and when they do I don’t think they really see each other. We talk with his parents during lunch about school and everything else. I hear the door open and a little girl who looks about five comes running in. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and runs directly to Shawn.