Chapter 15
"...we're going to have to speak to my dad." Tim's face turned to one of reisgned fear. "Or we could not talk to him." Tim's face twisted, he liked the idea of avoiding the whole 'talking to the Coach idea' but he recognised that it would be worse in the long term not to.
"Nah. For once in my life I should do something the hard way," his response surprised her, not his answer but talking about himself that way. Julie didn't pretend that Tim hadn't treated all others with respect but she had chosen to believe in the Tim that she knew. The one that was entranced by Gracie, idolised her dad and kissed her with passion and sensitivity. The Tim everyone else knew would not be bothered seeing Julie publically or even be considering talking to her father. He would have pashed and dashed. That was not the Tim she recognised.
"Are you sure?" she asked him. Her head pressed against the windscreen, her feet atop of his.
"Yeah. It won't be so bad," he wasn't that convincing.
"No, that's not what I meant. Are you sure...I'm worth all this hassle?" her voice became quieter with every word spoken. Tim moved his head slowly to face her. Gazing at her, trying to figure out what was going on. He slid across the hood and sandwiched himself next to her. They lay like tightly aligned sardines. There heads were turned toward one another, separated by only their breath. Their noses kissed one another. Yet they did not touch. He looked into her eyes, trying to convince her of his words.
"Yeah you are. Are you sure I'm worth it? I might have to see him at training but you have to live with him," Tim's words reverberated in her head. Her face screwed up and read 'you are an idiot'.
"Tomorrow,"
"Tomorrow," he repeated. He leaned in a gently pressed his lips to hers. Softly he drew away. "If he says no it'll be awhile before I see you. You do realise that." Julie looked at him stunned.
"Wha-what do you mean by that? "he sadly shook his head and stuck to his guns.
"I'm trying Julie but if he says no, I'm not going to go against him," he explained.
"But what about me? You are choosing him over me." Tim put his hand on her thigh. Patting it reassuringly.
"You know that's not it. I respect him. I don't want to disappoint him. I'm used to making people feel disappointed in me, but not him," the strong emotion of his words filtered through to her. Tim thought of her father as a father figure and this was possibly going to break any bond Tim shared with him.
"Maybe things will go well," she attempted to bring some optimism to the fore.
"Maybe," he replied.
The next morning was Tim's last morning. Upon returning the night before, shockingly not smelling like a brewery, more like fruit salad, Tim told her father that he was leaving to live with his brother. Coach had shook his hand and told Tim that he would miss another male around the house and that he was welcome back at anytime. Julie's heart clenched when she heard this. The Coach was uber-protective and that that invite could possibly get snatched back within the next twelve hours.
As he left the shower she met him in their spot, the doorway of the bathroom.
"Let me talk to him with you. He might be less mad if I am there," Julie tried her most convincing tone. Tim looked at Julie with disbelief. "No, it's my job to do."
" Fine. This could be it, couldn't it?" she asked in a vulnerable, tear choked voice. He smiled at her reassuringly and leaned in for a swift but fierce kiss. He walked away. Julie was relieved that the shower's gush of water disguised the sound of her sobbing.
When Julie had finished her shower and gotten clothed, she walked out into the kitchen. Through the breakfast bar area she could see the Coach and Tim having a discussion on the couch. It was quiet. Coach rose from the couch, Tim followed. They shook hands and Tim left. Julie felt her heart in her throat, what did that mean? The Coach turned around and looked at his daughter. Julie's eyes were filled with hope. Perhaps he father wouldn't mind her dating Tim Riggins, fullback extraordinaire and sex on a stick. He father stared at her, visually trying to work out his teenage daughter. The silence felt like centuries.
"Nah uh, no way Julie-bear. No way is that going to happen. Tim Riggins? Nah uh. No. No way. Nope," Julie's remaining hope fell to her stomach like a watermelon off of a skyscraper. Maybe she could try and talk her father around.
"Dad you're not being fair. He's one of your guys. You took him in. You like him. I like him. He respects you. He respects me. Why not?" she tried to keep calm. The Coach continued to look at her disbelievingly.
"I freely admit that Riggins can be a great guy, hell of a backhand. That does not mean I am going to trust him with my daughter," he was beginning to get riled up. Only his wife and daughter dare question his decisions. It made him cranky.
"Daddy..." she tried every arsenal in her armoury.
"Don't try that Daddy crap on me. What did you say? He's one of my guys. Exactly my point. Matt was one of my guys and that sure didn't work out. In fact all of my guys are football players, the ones you used to mock. I hear my guys talking in the locker room about girls like you. I used to be one of those guys. You are not going to date one of my guys." Her dad was pissed. The repetition of the word guys and his stressing of it made that abundantly clear. Julie could feel her relationship with Tim slipping through her fingers at an unyielding pace. She would never be with him again. He wouldn't let it happen and her father sure as hell wouldn't let it happen. Julie didn't know if she had ever felt as empty as she felt in that moment. She looked sadly into her father's face and then she returned to her room. A room she would stay in for the remainder of the weekend, neither eating nor showering. . It was clichéd. It was melodramatic. But in her mind, Julie couldn't see the point. She'd have to go to school seeing Tim and yet not being with him. It was beyond her. He was beyond her.
She refused to cry, that would be like admitting defeat. Taylor's didn't do defeat well.
Author's Note – Are you guys as depressed as I am?
