A New Journey (Second Chance #3) (18 page)

The rest of the day passed quickly and by the time Cameron showed up to pick Karla up for their date she was more than ready to get away from everyone.

“You look amazing.” Cameron said as he led Karla down the stairs and out to his car.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Karla said with a small smile. He was wearing pressed khakis and a deep green button down shirt and he looked amazing in it. As she was looking at him, Conner in his faded, well-worn jeans, green hoodie and messy hair popped into her head and she lost all train of thought.

“Are you moving?” Cameron asked as Andrew emerged from the moving truck and looked at Karla expectantly.

“Yes. We had a house fire back at the beginning of October and have been living here since then. We’re moving back in this weekend.” Karla explained as she led Cameron over to where Andrew and Bob were standing. “Cameron, this is my Dad, Dr. Andrew Peterson, and my uncle, Bob Jennings. Dad, Uncle Bob, this is Cameron Reese.”

“Nice to meet you Cameron. Karla told me you’ve been accepted into Vandy’s pre-med program.”

“Yes, sir. I was accepted at the end of last year and I’m just waiting till graduation to go.”

“Vandy has the top pre-med program in the state, possibly the country. Your parents must be proud.”

“My Dad is very proud. My Mom passed away when I was a baby.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. As a Vandy alum, I wish you all the best in the program. It’s tough and requires a lot of hard work, but it makes you a better doctor.”

“Thank you, Dr. Peterson.” Cameron said with a smile.

“Cameron, we have to go or we’re not going to have time to eat before the movie.” Karla said and Cameron smiled at her.

“She’s right, Cameron. We can talk later.” Andrew said and when Cameron smiled he knew he liked the boy. “You two have fun.”

“Bye, Dad. I’ll be back no later than ten.” Karla said as Cameron led her to his car and held open the door for her.

“Your Dad is really nice.” Cameron said and Karla grinned. She’d known those two would get along.

“Thank you. I’m thinking about keeping him.” Karla said and Cameron roared in laughter. As Cameron was backing out of the parking space Karla saw Conner come out the door of the complex. Her smile faded when she saw the look on his face.

“You alright, Karla?” Cameron asked in concern when he saw the look on her face.

She mentally shook herself and reminded herself that Conner was dating Alissa and that Cameron was just a friend she was hanging out with. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired I guess. I’ve been on baby duty all day because I can’t lift anything yet.”

“Baby duty?”

“I was watching baby Mae, my six month old cousin.” Karla explained. When they pulled into the restaurant parking lot she showed Cameron a picture of her, Mae and Harvey that she took today. “They’re great kids.”

“Those two seem to love you a lot.” Cameron said and grinned. “Ever thought of being a pediatrician?”

“I have thought about it because I love kids, but I have decided I want to be a juvenile psychologist for children from abusive homes.”

“Wow. That’s going to be a tough job.”

“I can handle it.” Karla said in a slightly defensive tone.

“I don’t doubt that for a second. I was just saying it’ll be tough.” Cameron said as they walked into the restaurant and were seated immediately. “Now, why don’t you tell me a little more about your family?”

They spent the meal talking about their families and when they headed to the movies they had already decided that friends were all they would ever be.

“Wanna call it a night?” Cameron asked after the movie was over.

“Yeah, I`m exhausted.”

“Should I take you to the apartment or your house?”

“I’m not sure. Let me text my Mom and see where they are.”

“Alright. While you do that I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I’ll be right here.” Karla said with a smile as Cameron walked off.

As she was sending a text to Leslie a shadow fell over her phone. She looked up and locked eyes with Conner. When she looked over and saw Alissa beside him the smile that had formed on her face faded away.

“Having a good time, Karla?” Conner asked.

“We were just leaving.” Cameron answered as he walked up behind Karla. “Ready to get out of here?”

“More than ready.” Karla answered. “Goodnight Conner, Alissa.” Karla said and held her head high as Cameron led her out of the theater.

“Are you okay?” Cameron asked as he opened his car door for Karla.

“Not really.” Karla answered as her eyes filled with tears. “I just want to go home.”

When her phone chimed she saw it was from Leslie so she opened it. “They’re at the house unloading the truck, so you can take me there.”

“You’ll have to direct me to your house.”

“I can do that.” Karla said and less than ten minutes later they were pulling in beside the moving truck.

“This is your house?” Cameron asked in awe.

“This is home sweet home.” Karla confirmed and grinned at the look on Cameron’s face. “Want to help carry boxes in?”

“Sure.” Cameron said and followed Karla up the steps and into the family room. When Karla stopped in front of him he bumped into her and she stumbled a little. His hands came down on her shoulders to steady her and she looked back at him.

“Sorry.” Karla apologized. “Everything just looks so different.”

“It’ll look the same once we get everything moved back in.” Leslie said as she walked down the stairs. “You must be Cameron.”

“I am and you must be Karla’s Mom.” Cameron flashed his bright smile and Leslie smiled back. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Peterson.”

“Nice to meet you too, Cameron. You made quite the impression on my husband.”

“He made quite an impression on me as well.” Cameron responded. “Karla mentioned something about moving boxes. Could you use an extra set of hands?”

“We will take all the help we can get.” Andrew said as he entered the room. “Welcome to the moving team.”

“Thanks.” Cameron said with a smile.

“Merry Christmas.” Elliot said as Karla walked down the stairs on Christmas morning.

“Merry Christmas everyone.” Karla said to her family. They were all sitting in the family room together.

“It is so nice to be back home.” Leslie said as she stood up and walked to Karla. “Want to help me with breakfast? Kiara, Manuel and Rosa will be here in a little while.”

“Of course I want to help.” Karla said with a smile. “When are Bob, Meghan and the kids getting here?”

“Around noon.” Andrew answered. “Did you have fun with Callie and Rylee last night?”

“I did. Thanks for letting me go.” Karla answered with a small smile. Instead of their normal Christmas Eve tradition of meeting at Karla’s house and opening gifts, Callie and Rylee invited Karla out for dinner and then to a Christmas party.

“Did Conner show up?” Elliot asked hopefully.

“No, but I sent the gift I got him with Callie. She’s not giving it to him until today though.” Karla answered. “Elliot, Conner and I may not get back together. You know that, right?”

“I know, but I can still hope you will, right?” Elliot asked.

“Of course you can. I’m hoping too.” Karla said sadly. When Elliot grinned and walked away Karla turned to Leslie. “Mom, are you still letting me go with Kiara to Puerto Rico tomorrow?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we?” Leslie answered.

“I don’t know, but I thought maybe since this didn’t come off last week you’d have changed your mind.” She said and held up her arm to indicate the brace.

“You’re only going to be gone for five days, honey. You’ll be back in time for your appointment with Dr. Carpenter.”

“Thanks for letting me go, Mom.” Karla said and hugged Leslie awkwardly.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I felt you needed some time away from here and when Kiara asked I thought it would be the perfect thing to take your mind off of things.”

“Time on the beach with my sister is exactly what I need.” Karla said and Leslie smiled.

“Good. Now, what should we fix for breakfast?” Leslie asked and looked at Karla. When she noticed Karla wasn’t wearing the necklace Conner had gotten her for her fifteenth birthday her heart broke a little.

“I took it off this morning.” Karla said in response to the look on Leslie’s face. “I took the ring off too. They’re both in my jewelry box now. It hurt too much seeing them every day so I decided to stop wearing them, for a while anyway.”

“Oh, honey, are you okay?”

“No, but I will be. If anyone knows how to pick up the pieces and move on, it’s me.”

“You’ll get through this, sweetheart. I know that break-ups are hard, but we’ve all been through them. You dad and I broke up for about six months before we got married.”

“Really? You and Dad have like, the perfect love.”

“We do now, but there was a time I didn’t think we would end up together. I was a sophomore and he was a senior and it just seemed like we had nothing in common. He started acting like I was a piece of property instead of a person so I broke up with him. He held my heart, but I wasn’t going to let him control my life. About a month after we broke up he started dating a girl named Melody. She was a Performing Arts major and was a little out there, but she seemed to be really into him. They dated for about a month before I started dating a guy named Marcus. He was quarterback of the football team. About two weeks after we started dating we ran into Andrew and Melody at a frat party.”

“Oh my gosh. What happened?” Karla asked. This was a very insightful story.

“Well, your Dad was a bit of a hothead back then.” Leslie paused when Karla snorted. “Okay, he’s still a bit of a hothead now, but anyway, he had been drinking and thought he was ten feet tall and bullet proof so he got up in Marcus’ face. It wasn’t pretty. Marcus only hit him once, but once was all it took to knock some sense into him. A couple weeks later Marcus and I decided we’d be better off as just friends, but we still hung out all the time. Right before graduation your Dad came to me and told me that he loved me and that he’d never stopped loving me. He apologized for everything and asked me for another chance, which of course I gave him. Even through all of that I never once stopped loving him.”

“I haven’t stopped loving Conner. I doubt I ever will, but the constant reminder of what we had, and may never have again, was just too much.”

“I can understand that. I just wanted to let you know that it’s okay to hold onto hope. Maybe someday you’ll be telling your own daughter about this in hopes that it’ll help her in the same way.”

“Thank you, Mom.” Karla said and hugged Leslie. “Now, I’m thinking we should have omelets and bacon for breakfast.”

“Sounds yummy.” Leslie said and started pulling things from the fridge.

Just as Karla was placing the bacon on a plate to drain Manuel, Kiara and Rosa came in and Karla’s thoughts focused on her family.

The rest of the day passed quickly and was filled with love and laughter.

When Karla climbed into bed that night she felt better than she had in weeks.

“Call me the minute you get off the plane.” Leslie said as she hugged Karla tightly.

“I will, Mom, and I promise to call you at least once a day while we’re there.” Karla promised.

“You better.” Leslie said as she let her go. “Have a safe flight.” 

“I love you, both.” Karla said to Leslie and Elliot before she turned and walked to the security station.

“Think she’ll be alright?” Elliot asked as he and Leslie walked back to where the car was parked.

“I know she will be.” Leslie answered.

The drive home was quiet as they were both lost in their thoughts. When Leslie pulled into the driveway Elliot’s thoughts fled when he saw Conner’s car. “What’s he doing here?”

“I don’t know, but why don’t we find out?” Leslie answered as she stopped the car and turned it off. Elliot was out before she had the key out of the ignition and was walking toward where Conner sat on the steps.

“What are you doing here?” Elliot asked when he stopped in front of Conner.

“I came to see Karla. I have to talk to her.”

“She isn’t here, Conner.” Leslie told him as she walked up to them. “She won’t be back until Monday.”

“What?” Conner said as he got to his feet. “Where is she?”

“She’s on her way to Puerto Rico with Kiara. Their plane leaves in about ten minutes.”

“No.” Conner said in a whisper as he sank back down on the steps.

“You waited this long to say whatever you have to say, so it won’t hurt to wait a few more days.” Elliot told him. As much as he wanted Karla and Conner back together he was still upset with Conner.

“Elliot, that wasn’t very nice.” Leslie scolded.

“It’s alright, Mrs. Peterson. I deserve that and a lot more.”

“You could always try calling Karla after she gets there.” Leslie said, choosing to ignore Conner’s comment.

“I’ve been trying to call her since yesterday, but she’s ignoring my calls and texts. That’s why I decided to come by here. Did Callie and Rylee know she was leaving?”

“As far as I know they did.” Leslie answered. “They all went out night before last so I’m sure Karla told them.”

“I’m going to kill my sister.”

“Conner, I’m sure Callie was just keeping a promise to Karla. Knowing my daughter she didn’t want you to know.”

“Do you know what she gave me for Christmas?” He asked them both.

“No.” Leslie answered honestly.

“I do.” Elliot responded and Conner looked up at him.

“Then you already know why I’m here.”

“I figured as much.” Elliot said as he pulled his house key from his pocket and walked past Conner. “It’s cold out here so why don’t we go inside and talk.”

Conner stood up and followed Elliot into the house and straight into the kitchen before he handed Leslie the small box that he’d been holding. “Here.”

When Leslie opened the box the first thing she saw was a note. “Mind if I read this?”

“Go ahead.” Conner said as he sat at the table.

Leslie unfolded the letter and read it out loud.

Conner,

This is my memory box. I had one when I was a little girl in Texas and started this one when my life started over.

I am giving it to you because my happiest memories have you in them. I hope when you look inside you are taken back to a happy time and that you remember that I have always loved you.

Always, Karla

When Leslie finished reading the note tears were running down her face. When she looked up at Conner he had his face in his hands. “Look inside.” He said softly.

Leslie looked into the box and the first thing she pulled out was a picture of Conner, Karla, Rylee and Callie. She had taken this picture the first night they met to work on a group history project together. They had all grown so much since that night. She laid the picture on the bar and pulled out a ticket stub from a movie they had all gone to a few weeks after the picture was taken. By the time she reached the last thing in the box she was crying so hard she could barely see that it was a picture that was taken just before Karla’s accident. Karla and Conner were sitting together in a classroom at school and one of the other girls had snapped this picture with their phone.

“That last picture was taken at practice. That was the Thursday before Karla’s wreck. Practice hadn’t started yet and we were all sitting around talking about what we were going to do that weekend. I think Callie took the picture and when Karla asked her why she took it she said, ‘Because you two are what love looks like and I wanted to capture that.’”

Leslie walked over to Conner and wrapped her arms around him. “I am so stupid.” Conner said softly. “Friday night, when I saw her leaving with Cameron I was so jealous that I sent Alissa a text and asked her if she wanted to go see a movie. I flaunted her in Karla’s face and the entire time I felt sick to my stomach. I intentionally hurt Karla, but she still feels this way about me. She still loves me enough to want me to be happy.”

“She does love you, but you knew that without her sending this. What I’m wondering is if you still love her.”

“More than life itself.” Conner answered honestly.

“Then my advice is that you pull your head out of your butt and start acting like the young man she met that first day of school instead of a jealous little boy. She and Cam are friends, Conner, that’s it. They went on that one date because Karla promised him she’d go on one date with him, but even before the date they had already established that they would only ever be friends.”

“She’ll be back on Monday?” Conner asked and when Leslie nodded he asked, “What time?”

“Her plane is supposed to be in at four, but Jake is picking them up from the airport.”

“Thank you.” Conner said softly and stood up to leave. “I am going to fix this. I don’t know how yet, but I am going to win her back.”

“I have faith in you, Conner.” Leslie said as he walked out of the kitchen.