Infinity & Always (2 page)

When
Dad arrives home, he brings Knox and Max with him. I can hear them
laughing in the kitchen. Walking down the back stairs I say hello to
them, Knox nods at me and Max grins.

“What’s
up sis?”

“Nothing
much Max, what about you?”

He
shrugs, “The usual.”

I
start getting dinner ready while the three of them hang out on the
back deck. I assume they are all staying for dinner. Once I have it
ready, I walk outside carrying the plates.

“Need
help?” Knox asks.

“Sure,”
I reply.

Walking back inside, that’s what we have been reduced to,
one-word answers. He grabs the salad bowl and the garlic bread. I
know he wants to talk to me, but he is holding out. After dinner Dad
asks me about my call with Rachel, I really want to slap him for
asking with Knox here.

“She
said the sentencing is coming up.”

“Oh
okay, well hopefully he gets what he deserves,” Dad replies.

Max
looks over to his brother who is clenching his fists. I know this is
pissing him off, but right now it’s not about him.

“I’m
going Dad, I’m not arguing about it.”

Once
the words leave my mouth, Knox shoots up out of his chair and stalks
over to the lake. Max and Dad both look at me.

“What?
I’m not going over there.”

“Bailey
please, I love you just as much as I love my brother, but you’re
hurting him right now and you promised me years ago that you
wouldn’t.”

Shaking
my head, I stand up and brace myself for the argument I know is
coming. I walk across the garden towards him, reaching his side I
stay a few feet away.

“You
okay?” I ask, crossing my arms.

He
lets out a sigh and runs his hand through his hair, messing it up
even more. I have to restrain myself from reaching over and fixing
it.

“I
don’t get it, Bailey.”

I
guess he is more pissed than I first thought. He’s using my
name.

“I
mean, I know you want to know what is going on in court, but I don’t
get why you have to go there.”

“You
know why,” I whisper. I have explained it to him so many times
before.

“Jesus
Christ, can’t you trust your attorney to tell you what is
happening? I haven’t seen you for months. I go to bed alone,
most mornings I wake up alone, where the fuck are you?”

“What!
You know I sleep with you every night.” I snap at him.

“Do
I? Because from where I’m standing I pretty much don’t
have a damn clue where you are or who you’re with.”

“Don’t
be such an asshole, Knox, I’m in bed with you and only you. I
get up a six for my run, you stay in bed until eight.”

“Yeah,
running, that’s all you do!” he shouts at me, “Have
you looked in the mirror lately? All you are is bones.” He
flips up my t-shirt, and I smack his hand away from me.

“And
that,” he whispers, shaking his head. “You barely let me
touch you anymore.”

“Knox…”

“No
Bailey, I don’t want to hear it.”

He
looks ready to cry as he walks away from me. Taking a seat on the
lounge chair, I stare out at the lake. I don’t get why he
doesn’t understand that I have to be at the court. I want to
see that asshole get sentenced for what he did to me, it’s been
two years already, and finally the case is going ahead.

I
hear the truck doors slam and the crunch of gravel as they leave. If
my heart weren't so hardened, I would probably be crying about now.

“So
what was that about?” Dad asks, sitting next to me.

“He
doesn’t get it, Dad.”

“So
what are you going to do about it?”

“I
don’t know, I just want to see his face when they send him to
prison, I need that.”

“I
understand sweetheart, but I meant about Knox?”

Groaning,
I scrub my face with my hands. “I don’t know, I guess he
thinks I don’t love him anymore or I am playing around on him.”

“Are
you Bailey?”

“What!
Dad no, what the fuck? I would never do that him.” I can’t
believe he would even ask me that.

“Well,
when was the last time you told him you loved him?” he asks,
looking out over the lake.

“Why
are you asking me all these questions? Are you reporting back him
too? Are both of you ratting to each other about me?”

“Stop
getting upset sweetheart, I am only looking out for you. I know how
much you love each other and how much this trial has taken out of
you, but in a relationship you’re supposed to lean on the one
closest to you.”

“I
know, but what if that person doesn’t agree with you? How can I
lean on him when he thinks I’m crazy for going to all the court
dates? He doesn’t understand.”

Standing,
I walk away from him and take the trail around the lake. My body is
numb and I hate who I have become. We were doing so good for a while
- Knox and me, we had so much fun together. He took me on a road trip
on his bike last summer; we drove to Vegas and gambled a little. We
even played around with the idea of eloping but decided we wanted a
proper wedding. Now though, I think we will be lucky if we even stay
friends.

I
find myself standing on the far side of the lake, looking over at my
Dad still sitting on the lounge chair. I feel guilty for just walking
away. I want them to understand me. I want them to support me, but I
can’t see it. My Dad hasn’t objected yet, but I know
Knox, and he is so against me going back to Grove.

“Are
you here to view the property?” A voice from behind me asks.

Turning,
I frown at the guy standing there. “No, what?”

“The
house,” he points behind him, “my Mom is selling it and I
thought you were checking out the garden,” he smiles.

“Oh
sorry,” I answer, realizing I am actually standing in his
garden.

“It’s
okay, I just thought we were getting a break.” He smiles as he
backs away.

“What
do you mean?” I ask, following him.

“Oh,
it’s just been on the market for a while and well…”
he looks over at me and his cheeks are tinted pink. “We kind of
need the money.”

“Oh,
I didn’t know any of the homes were for sale,” I reply,
“but I can take a look.” I smile, falling in step beside
him.

He
shows me around the house, and it needs some serious work but I like
it, it has character. He takes me upstairs to the master bedroom and
brings me out onto the deck. It looks over the lake but is hidden
from neighbors by fully-grown, big leaf maple trees.

“Wow,
this is an amazing view. In all the years, I’ve run around this
lake I have never noticed this balcony.” I smile at him.

“Yeah,
my dad built it so they would have some privacy.” He looks sad
as he turns to face the water.

“I
can see my dad from here,” I smile and point to him.

“He
can’t see you though.”

We
walk through the upstairs and back down to the back garden. “Well,
I hope you liked the tour, I’m Will, by the way.” He
shakes his head as he holds out his hand to me.

“Bailey,”
I smile, taking his hand. “Do you have a realtor?” I ask,
looking back up at the house again.

“Nah,
we just want a quick sale.”

I
get his phone number and agree to call him in a few days. When I
reach Dad, he is looking a little pissed off at me, “Who was
that guy?”

Wrapping
my arms around his neck, I press my head against his. “That
Dad, was Will and I think I just found my dream house.”

My
dad leans away from me and looks at me, smiling for the first time in
months. I smile back at him. He agrees to take a look at the house
tomorrow if I can get Will to agree. Dad and I sit out by the lake
for a while longer until he yawns and calls it a night.

“Night
Dad, love you.”

“Love
you too, sweetheart.”

Walking
into class after such a long absence is weird. I find a seat at the
front of the class feeling a bit lonely without Paige by my side.

“Holy
shit balls!”

Looking
up, I see Ryan barreling through the students, headed straight for
me. Standing up I smile as he reaches down, pulling me off my feet in
a bear hug.

“Damn
I missed you, girl,” he says, putting me back on my feet.

“Missed
you too, buddy.”

Ryan
takes the seat beside me, smiling. We get through our first two
classes together and he joins me for lunch.

“So
are you going to try out for your spot on the team again?” he
asks.

“Don’t
know,” I shrug, looking around the quad. I have so many great
memories here, which make me sad too. Ryan talks about football and
why I need to be back on the girl’s team, and how they suck
balls without me.

“Ryan,
you do know we only had our last game two months ago?” I laugh
at him.

“Yeah,
but some of the chicks are crap, you should see them,” he
shivers.

I
laugh at him and his description of some of the girls he watched try
out last week. He drags me over to the football field and we watch a
few girls run drills. I see Abbey and Becky and smile. Once they spot
me on the bleachers, they both scream and run at me.

“Oh
my God, you made it!” Abbey grabs me in a hug, “Come on,
today is the last day of tryouts.”

“Oh,
I was just watching,” I answer, cutting her smile right off her
face.

“I
don’t think so, Bailey,” Becky says, shaking her head at
me, “We are not losing our star, wide receiver in senior year.
Get your boney ass onto that field now and fucking make us proud.”

“Yeah!
You tell her.”

Ryan
agrees and pushes me onto the grass, just in time for our coach to
see me. After the first year of the league, the college took over our
sponsorship and allowed us to practice here instead of the high
school.

“Hi,
Bailey.”

“Hey
coach,” I answer, walking over to her. She knows my situation
and has helped me in the past.

“So
am I getting lucky and getting my best wide receiver back?” she
asks, with a hopeful expression. I explain what is going on with the
case now and how the girls wanted me to try out.

“Do
you want to be on the team?” she asks, looking at me.

“Yeah,
I miss it if I'm honest,” I answer, looking around me.

“Well,
practice is the same, Wednesday nights. I expect you there every week
except when you’ll be in Grove.” She smiles.

“Shouldn’t
I try out?” I ask, frowning at her.

She
gives me a pointed look before wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
“No, you don’t. You are one of the best girls I ever had
on my team, but I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure.”

“I
need you to put on some weight,” she says as she looks at me
sadly. “I know you’re stressed out, but you’ve lost
too much weight and I’m afraid you’ll get hurt in the
game.”

“Okay,”
I agree and give her a hug. Walking back over to the girls I can see
they look pissed off.

“Bailing
on us senior year, huh?” Becky says, kicking the dirt at her
feet.

“Please,”
I answer, “I’m so good I don’t have to try out.”

Both
girls and Ryan scream and jump on me. We roll around on the grass for
a few minutes before heading back to class. The afternoon goes by
fast and I agree to meet Abbey and Becky for a pre-practice workout
on Wednesday. Arriving home, I find my Dad in the kitchen.

“Hi
Dad, what are you doing home this early?”

“Well,”
he smiles at me, “today your fiancé made his first pitch
and nailed it. He was good Bailey. You should be proud of him.”

The
smile on my dad’s face tells me how proud he is of Knox and I
didn’t even know he was doing this today. I feel like shit.

“Is
he at home?”

“No,
he and Max went out to celebrate.” He gives me a sad smile as
he stands.

We
walk over to meet Will and look at the house again. On our way back,
dad puts his arm around my shoulders.

“So
how was class? You look sad.”

“It
feels good to be back. I got back on the team.” I smile.

“Well
look at that,” he smiles at me. “Looks like you too have
a reason for celebration.”

“Yeah
I guess,” I sigh, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“They
just went to the bar for a drink,” he says, pushing me towards
the garage.

“Thanks,
Dad.” Reaching up I kiss his cheek.

Running
up to my room I change into jeans and a tank, then drive down to
George’s. Walking into the bar always amazes me that it is
always full. Looking around I find them sitting in a booth by the
back wall. I wave to Amber, and she smiles at me as I walk over to
them.

“Hi,
mind if I join you?” I ask, biting my lip. Knox looks a little
shocked and Max just smirks at me.

“Sure,”
Knox answers, sliding out so I can get in beside him. I wait for
Amber to bring me my drink before I speak again. My eyes rake over
Knox, he looks so good in his suit.

“Here
babe, it’s good seeing you again.” Amber smiles when she
leaves my drink.

“So,”
I say, lifting my glass, “Congratulations on your first big
win.”

Reaching
over I clink my glass against Knox’s beer and he tries to hide
his smile, but fails.

“Thanks.”

Max
winks at me then decides he has to check the delivery order for
tomorrow. Knox argues that he has it done, but Max walks away.
“Fucking asshole,” Knox complains. I can’t help but
laugh out loud and Knox turns to look at me.

“What
are you laughing at?”

“Nothing,”
I clear my throat and take a sip of my soda.

“I’m
joking,” he says, leaning down to me. “How did classes go
today?”

“Fine,
I got my spot back on the team.” I smile at him.

“Yeah,”
he smiles, looking happy, “that’s good darlin’.”

“I’m
proud of you, Knox.”