DISCLAIMER: I do not own sweet valley. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this story. Thanks.
A while later….
Elizabeth had taken the jersey off, put on a jacket and was following Tom up the path.
To her surprise, Tom pulled up at a church. Her jaw dropped to the floor, then she gave.
herself a shake and realised that they could not elope without a licence anyway so that.
was not what they were there for. Tom took her hand in his.
"What do you think of this church?" He asked.
"It's beautiful" Elizabeth commented, wondering what Tom was getting at.
"This is where my parents got married, this is also where the funeral was for my Family" Tom said, quietly, his voice full of emotion. "Every year I'd come to visit them, they're buried here". Elizabeth nodded, now understanding why Tom brought her here.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand comfortingly.
"C'mon, I'll show you" Tom told her, leading her into the cemetery. Elizabeth huddled close,
she always found cemeteries eerie, especially since Winston Egbert died five years ago.
Tom noticed this and wrapped his arm tightly around her.
Tom finally stopped in front of the grave, Elizabeth looked down, reading the plaque before her.
"I'll go and get a watering can" Tom told her, passing her the flowers. Elizabeth nodded; she noticed the tap earlier which was not far from where they stood. Tom pressed a kiss on her cheek and went over to it.
"I promise I'll look after your son for you, I love Tom so much, he came into my life twelve years ago and I never want to be apart again" Elizabeth murmured. She must have spoken a bit louder than she thought, Tom had heard her.
"I want that too Liz" Tom agreed "I never stopped loving you". Tom wrapped his arms around her after he placed the full watering can down on the grass. Elizabeth stared up at him. "I'm so glad you're here with me". Tom bent his head and kissed her tenderly on the mouth.
"I wouldn't be anywhere else" Elizabeth said softly. Tom held her tightly, staring down at the plaque.
"I can't believe it has been so long" Tom murmured.
"Winston has been gone for five years now" Elizabeth added, hoarsely.
"Liz, tell me what happened, I felt so guilty that I didn't make it to the funeral" Tom said, solemnly.
"There was a lot of people there, everyone was so shocked. But Winston turned into a very bitter man, even Denise was distant from him, he pushed away everyone he loved" Elizabeth confided. "Got into the wrong crowd, trusted the wrong person, the coroner said his drink was spiked". Tom shook his head sadly.
"He was such a funny guy" Tom commented.
"He was definitely your biggest fan, especially when it came to me" Elizabeth told him.
"Yeah, that's true" Tom agreed. "You know I remember one day he called me out in the quad, blasted me about hurting you". Elizabeth's eyes widened.
"When was this?" Elizabeth asked.
"My senior year when I was acting like an arrogant jackass" Tom told her. "He was right about me; football was just an excuse for my short comings".
"Hey, don't say that, you love it and I'm proud of you" Elizabeth protested.
"I'm not disputing that, when you came back from London and we gave it another shot, that was different, I was a different person because of you" Tom told her. "You told me to get on the plane and play for Denver, but he was right, back then I was trying so hard to get over you, but I couldn't, I love you so much, more now than back then". Elizabeth hugged him tightly.
"I'm sure Winston would be proud of you too, as much as your family" Elizabeth reassured him.
"I made up with Winston before I went back here Liz" Tom added. "He was my friend when I started playing for Denver". Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully. She felt more guilty because he knew the whole time Todd cheated on her and the secret went to the grave with him. She was angrier with Todd for that than Winston. Elizabeth opened the flowers and placed a couple of them in the grid at the top of the plaque. Tom placed some in too and poured the water over the plaque and filling the grid. Elizabeth stood back and admired him fondly. She loved him so much. Tom finally stood up and came back beside her.
"C'mon Let's go celebrate and cheer ourselves up a bit" Tom encouraged. Elizabeth smiled at him, nodding. Tom hugged her to his side as they walked back to his car.
A while later…
Tom held Elizabeth's hand and led her through the crowded bar towards the rest of his teammates.
"Hey, there's our captain" Joel exclaimed, clapping him heartily on his shoulder. "Liz, you're our good luck charm, you should come to the games more often".
Elizabeth smiled, blushing a little. Tom pressed a kiss on her cheek, beaming proudly.
"I second that" Tom agreed. Elizabeth nodded. Tom went to the bar and got them a drink. Elizabeth noticed that he was surrounded by a couple more of his teammates, Tom was laughing at something Kyle Sparks said to him. He was already cheered up.
Tom noticed her solemn expression when he returned with her drink.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tom asked, close to her ear.
"Yes, I was just missing you" Elizabeth answered. Tom smiled.
"I missed you too" Tom added, threading his fingers through hers, bringing her hand up to his lips and pressing a tender kiss on it, Elizabeth smiled.
"Are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?" Tom asked.
"Oh, I just was thinking how long it has been since we saw each other last, so much time wasted" Elizabeth said, wistfully.
"So much time to make up on" Tom agreed. Tom wrapped his arms around her, pulling Elizabeth against him.
"How about we start now?" Tom murmured, slightly bent his head, and kissed her lingeringly.