Falling Slowly

Chapter Thirty-Four: Everything Has a Season

A/N: This was FOURTEEN pages in Word :) Very proud of this piece. Sorta. I think I suck in a few places. I'm also posting this before I have to go to work which is any minute now! AHHHH! So if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out!

Beautiful graphic done by my friend Courtney! She's amazing and she even used the lyrics to the song that was inspired for the title :)

This is the last chapter before I post the Epilogue tomorrow! Hope you enjoy! ♥♥♥

P.S. If anyone has any song recommendations for this chapter I would love to hear them! ♥

Chapter Thirty-Four: Everything Has a Season

Liam

The next morning I drove the car to Jimmy’s. The old man was in his office but when I pulled into the garage he met me outside. The skin around his eyes crinkled as he brought me into a bear hug, patting my back affectionately like he hadn’t seen me in years rather than two weeks.

“Good to have yer back. You reckon we missed yer around here.”

I chuckled and stepped back to look the old man right in the eyes. “Doubt anybody missed me but you old man.”

He swatted my arm, his expression devoid of humor. But in the next second his mask cracked and the light was back in his brown old eyes.

“So how’d it go? Tell me all about it.”

Jimmy leaned against the car, wiping his grease filled hands with a rag. He waited patiently, the wrinkles around his mouth deepening as the seconds ticked.

“What?”  I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I leaned against the door of his office and crossed one foot in front of the other. “Why you smiling old man? Something happen while I was gone?”

He raised his brows and shook his head all the while keeping a crooked smile plastered on his face.

“You told her you love her, didn’t you.”

I straightened and eyed him warily. How did he know? How did he always know things that he couldn’t have possibly known? I wondered if he had a spy out there keeping an eye on me or something.

“The look on yer’ face says it all, boy.”

“What look?”

“That look,” he pointed at my face and I shrugged, not knowing what in the world the old man was going on about now.

“There’s a sparkle in your eye and you have an extra spring to your step.”

What? I chuckled and shook my head, vying for cool composure. Jimmy saw through the façade.

“C’mon, amuse an old soul. Start from the beginning.”

I cupped the back of my neck and looked up at the ceiling. Where did I even start to tell Jimmy all that happened?

From the beginning, genius.

Right.

Running a hand through my hair, I smiled and recounted the events of our trip. I skipped over the boring details of the twenty-plus hour drive and gave little facts of the seven grueling hours spent completing our homework. I couldn’t give a damn about any of it. But Anya made a good point about not passing, which meant not graduating, and it was something that I couldn’t afford. I needed – no. I wanted to graduate high school. At least with a diploma I could do something – like leave this town behind and start fresh.