Ugh. SO sorry about the ridiculous wait for this. I tried to write it a couple times, and nothing came. So... I ignored it. Bad, bad IG, I know. Feel free to shoot me or pelt me with rotten tomatoes. ;)
But here it is. ;) Better late than never... I guess, lol.
Garrett couldn't believe he was taking Suz's advice. She'd made it sound so easy, so obvious. Now, standing in front of the address he'd fliched from the school computers while the secretaries had been distracted (thanks to Suz), he had to wonder if he was as crazy as his friend's twin, Suz, was.
He still hadn't been able to bring himself to knock - was actually seriously considering going back to his car and driving away like the coward he apparently was - when a throat cleared behind him.
Whirling around, Garrett saw a tall blonde man who smiled gently. "Hello. May I help you?"
Well, no backing out now, Garrett thought. "Hi." He held out his hand. "I'm Garrett, a friend of..." He stopped as he realized that wasn't quite right. At least, not anymore.
The older man simply smiled though, still gently, as if he understood Garrett's predicament. "Yes, I think I recall you calling a few times... Kate is probably helping Esme, my wife, cook dinner. Would you like to come in?" he asked, opening the door and gesturing inside with a briefcase. Garrett hesitated before reminding himself that this was what he had wanted. He followed the man he assumed to by Dr. Carlisle Cullen into the modest house.
As they walked into the entrance of the kitchen, a brightly lit, warm place. And Kate was smiling, looking truly happy. A lot like the times he'd seen her before everything went to shit. Her and an older woman he assumed to be Esme were carrying plates of food to a table, moving around each other with the ease of practice. Dr. Cullen walked up to his wife, pulling her into his arms and kissing her sweetly, which made her smile serenly.
It was a sweet sight.
He murmured something into her hair and she glanced Garrett's way.
Okay, maybe he should have just driven away after all.
ooGrabbing her cell, Kate hurriedly texted Edward. She paced the kitchen, aware the whole time of Garrett watching her seriously, waiting for an answer. At one point, he opened his mouth to say something and she held up her hand. And he quieted, leaning against the wall to wait. Always willing to give her the time she needed.
Always willing to let her work things out for herself first.
God, sometimes she was so sharply reminded of how sweet and wonderful he'd been. How much she missed him.
Why was she keeping him away again? Oh yeah, she thought bitterly. Because she knew he didn't need to deal with her shit, and she just couldn't stand the thought of being around him and being... broken.
It was lovely to realize she wasn't a selfish person, no, not at all.
Kate grimaced, then leaped on her phone as it buzzed.
Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt. Seriously, Kate. You told me to stop running, now you should take your own advice.
She grimaced and rolled her eyes, making a face. Edward could be such an ass. And she wasn't running... no, she was hiding.
Same concept, though, she supposed. Dammit.
Letting out a shaky breath, Kate fell into one of the kitchen chairs and put her head in her hands helplessly. Garret shoved off from the wall and moved to kneel in front of her, gently grabbing her hands and tilting her head to peer at her face. "Hey," he said soothingly. "Listen, I'm sorry. I don't want to upset you, Kate, I swear. But I just... I need something," he told her pleadingly. "I do. It's okay if you can't talk about it now, honest. But I just... you have to give me something. Can you just promise me we will talk? Or that you won't shut me out?" He was quiet for a minute, then reached up to swipe the few tears that had leaked out away with his thumbs. "No crying. I just want me best friend back, sweetheart. Don't you?"
Kate dragged in a hiccuping breath and nodded. She did want him back, she really, really did. But so many what ifs and worries were spinning circles around her mind. What if she ended up hurting him worse than she already had? It was a constant fear of hers... hurting the people around her.
What to tell him though? She wasn't sure she could put into words exactly why she'd not been able to talk to him directly after she'd been freed from James's clutches. She couldn't say much for why she hadn't spoken to him after that. Except... she'd been afraid.
Yes, that was probably the truth of it all. She'd been absolutely terrified that he'd hate her, blame her, no longer wish to be friends with her... or anything more than that, which had seemed so possible before James.
Now... Now it seemed as if they might not even be able to handle being friends. Had she done too much damage?
"No," he murured, brushing more tears away and frowning at her with soft, concerned eyes. "Ah, Kate sweetheart. I'll always be your friend, no matter what you do. You can't get rid of me, remember?"
She sobbed once and shoved her fist over her mouth quickly to quiet. He smiled gently and pulled her hand back, clasping it in between both of his.
"Listen, Kate, we can talk tomorrow, okay? I'll see you at school, alright? I'll-"
She grabbed his hand, took a deep breath, and blurted, "I didn't talk to you because I was afraid you'd hate me."
Garrett froze, staring at her, then shook his head in disbelief. "That's absolutely stupid, sweetheart. I could never hate you."
"I know, but I was still... worried," she whispered, absently fiddling with his fingers as she had before. "I was so... messed up, and guilty and afraid after everything that had happened that I thought it would be best to push everyone away. I'm sorry, Garrett, but sometimes I still think-"
"Then we can deal with it when it happens, but Kate... damn, Kate, I just miss you."
She stared at him, debating. "I still have days where it's really, really... bad."
"I'll comfort you, then."
"I have trust issues."
"We can work on them. I think we have a good foundation, don't you?"
She let out a choked laugh. "Possibly. But what about when I refuse to talk to you?"
"I won't let you get away with it."
She swallowed and whispered, "Promise?"
He grinned and squeezed her hands gently. "Didn't I promise to be there for you years ago? I always intended to keep that promise... I'm only sorry I gave you so much time to get your head on straight. Hate to break it to you, but that won't be happening again."
Kate smiled faintly. "Thank you."
Garrett pressed a kiss to her cheek and stood up, giving her hands one last squeeze and exiting the house, glad to have gotten somewhere. Hopefully things could get even better with more time.
