My Forever (Canary Series) (11 page)

“Oh, and bring her guitar up here as well. She won’t be able to play the piano while
she’s here, but if she has her guitar she will be able to play something.”

“I can do that, don’t worry I will make sure she has everything that she needs. All I ask is for you to
keep us updated," She said as she went to hug him.

"You know I will
. Thanks for coming so quickly," Nate said returning the hug.

"Anytime, we
care about her too. She's like family, I consider her my sister anyway," she said smiling.

"And you know if you think of anything
else just send me a text," Garrett said.

"Thanks man, for everything. She is lucky to have a friend like you in her life. You were there when I couldn't be,"
Nate said as he hugged Garrett.

"You would have done the same thing man," he
said as he returned Nate's hug.

"Well, we better get going, see you tomorrow," Christine said. She grabbed Garrett’
s arm and led him out.

Nate watched them leave and then turned to the nurse, "Oliv
ia is going to be fine, right?"

The nurse smiled, "With you by her side she is going to get through this. I will come and get you when we're ready to take you to her. So just
sit tight and wait till then. You can grab something to drink while you wait."

"Thanks," he said as the nurse left the waiting room
, leaving him there alone. Nate just went and sat in a chair and leaned his head against the wall. He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. So much had gone down that day that he just wanted to be with his Canary, hold her in his arms and fall asleep.

***

Christine and Garrett had just left the Medical Building and took their time walking to Mapleleaf. So much information had come out about Olivia’s past, about her health and about her and Nate’s relationship. Christine knew they loved each other so to hear that they finally told each other made her smile. She felt bad for Garrett thought, for him to hear that the girl he loves is in love with someone else again had to hurt.

All of a sudden she started to cry. It was like the flood gates opened up and everything that she had been holding in escaped. Garrett rushed to her side and took her into his arms and held her close, "Shhh, it's going to be OK. Liv will make it
through this, I know she will."

As she started to calm down she
leaned back and they both stared at each other for a few moments. Then, before they realized what they were doing, they started kissing. It started soft and slow at first but quickly became passionate.

Christine ended up with her back against a tree and had her hands in Garrett’s hair while he had one hand on her lower back and the other on the tree beside her head. They continued to kiss until Garrett’s' phone went off causing both of them to jump. He took it out of his pocket and s
aw that it was his mom calling.

Christine looked at his phone and looked back up at
him, "You better answer that."

He nodded and worked on steadying his breathing so that she wouldn't ask him a million questions. He hit answer, "Hi mom." He kept his eyes on Christine while his mom went off on him. She just leaned again
st the tree and smiled at him. He couldn't help himself but smile in return. Neither of them expected for this to happen, but were both surprisingly happy that it did.

***

Nate was finally able to go to Olivia’s room shortly after Christine and Garrett left. When he saw her she looked so peaceful, just like an angel. He had tried to sleep but wasn't able to without the fear of losing her creeping into his thoughts. So he texted Blake and asked him if him would bring him a book from his collection. When Blake showed up he handed him a bag full of books along with some snacks, "I didn't know which one you wanted or what you were in the mood for so I just choose different ones. Hope you don't mind."

"It's cool dude, you're the best. Thanks for this, I really mean it. I know it's late a
nd you didn't have to do this."

"Hey
, it's not a problem I was awake anyway. How is she doing? How are you doing?"

"She is doing alright I suppose, she is
just really sick. Sicker than expected, they said that she will have to spend the rest of the term in here then see if she can be released or end up having to be transferred to another hospital. I just hope that she will be able to attend graduation."

"Did you tell them that she is going to be sta
ying in Emersonville with you?"

"Not yet, but I will. That way when it comes close to
time we can make arrangements."

"Good, but you didn't answer my othe
r question. How are you doing?"

"I'm great for the most part. I finally told Olivia that I love her and she said that she loves me. I found out some things about her past that hit me hard. But right now I'm jus
t trying to be strong for her."

"So, a
re you two finally official?"

"I don't know. We didn't get to talk about it before she fell unconscious, but in my heart we are. I will call her my girlfriend even though we haven't had that talk."

Blake laughed, "Well I say you guys are official because you finally said I love you." He looked down at his watch to see what time it was and freaked because he didn't realize what time it was. "Hey, I got to go. If you need anything remember I’m just a text away. I'm here for you both and don't worry, she is going to beat this."

He slapped
Blake on the back and smiled, "Thanks Blake. You're a good buddy and I mean that." Blake smiled and waved as he left and Nate went back to Olivia's room.

***

A few hours had passed since Blake brought Nate his books and Olivia started to come around. He heard her stirring slightly and placed his book down. He went to her side and got into the bed with her. He sat beside her and put his right arm around her shoulders and moved some of her hair aside with his left hand. "Canary?" Olivia moaned a little bit. "Canary, you need to stop scaring me like this, please," he took hold of her hand and squeezed it softly. "Please, come out of it, I need you here with me." He started to cry gently and laid his head on top of hers.

Nate ended up falling asleep and was awoken by the nurse, "Na
thaniel, it's time to wake up."

He slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the lights. He looked to his right and saw Olivia still out of it, "
How is she doing this morning?"

"She is still the same. We have to put a port in her in an hour so we can start her tr
eatments. That will take about two hours. Why don't you use that time to go and take a shower and get a good meal in your stomach? There is no reason for you to bring yourself down and make yourself sick while she is here. It doesn't help you and it won't help her. I'll call you when she's back in her room."

He looked at the nurse and back at Olivia then back to the nurse, "Alright, but please take good care of Canary. I love her
and can't picture my life without her in it."

"You have my word Nathaniel, nothing but the best care for her. I wil
l be with her the entire time."

He nodded as he found that acceptable. He then leaned down and whispered in Olivia's ear, "I will be back as soon as I get the call. I love you Canary. Just keep fighting." He then kissed her softly on her lips and climbed out of the bed. He went to where his stuff was and packed his bag up. As he reached the door he turned around so he could get one last glimpse of Olivia before she went int
o the operating room to have her port put in.

"Don't worry Nathaniel, like I said
, I will stay with her the entire time," the nurse said. He nodded and left the room.

Once he got out of the
Medical Building he took a deep cleansing breath and made his way to Mapleleaf.

Christine and Garrett were sitting on the couch with his arms wrapped around her holding her close. She looked up at him and smiled, "I’m so happy right now."

"Me too, I just never expected this to happen."

"You never expected what to happen?"

"This, you and me
sitting here, wrapped in each other’s arms. It's kind of perfect."

She laughed, "Can I make a confession?"

"Sure, you know you don't need to ask me. Just be open and honest with me."

"Alright, well, here it goes," Christine s
at up and turned around to look at Garrett. She took his hands in hers and kissed them, "You know that I love Olivia like a sister. Since day one we clicked and I never want to hurt her. But sometimes you can't help how you feel."

Garrett looked at her confused and freed one of his hands to push a piece of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, "What’s on your mind sweetheart?"

She took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes, "Since I first saw you I liked you. I developed a hard core crush on you. Then I found out that you and Liv were best friends and I got excited. But once I got to know you I knew that I was in trouble, I was falling for my best friend’s best friend and knew that it was sort of a lost cause because I could tell that you loved her. It hurt me but I just kept putting on a brave face and acting like everything was okay. So this sort of seems surreal." Garrett laughed and leaned in close to where their lips almost touched, "I promise you that this is very real. And as long as we are confessing right now, I've had a crush on you too, but I was so wrapped up in Olivia that I didn't see that the right person was you. I'm so sorry."

She leaned in and closed the gap that was between them and kissed him. "There is no need to be sorry. All that matters is that we are together now." She smiled and he leaned in and kissed her again then started to tickle her. Christine was laughing so hard she couldn’t seem to talk.

"What's going on here?" Nate said as he dropped his bag. He couldn't believe his eyes, Olivia was in the hospital, her condition unknown and they were here doing who knows what.

Garrett stood up and helped Christine get off the couch. Nate was looking at them in shock trying to wrap his head around what he
had just seen. "Well, is someone going to answer me?"

"Bowen, Garrett and I are, well, we're together now." Christine said as she slowly stepped towards Nate. She stopped when he held up his hands and looked between the two of them but didn't say a word. She got a bit concerned, "Bowen, please say something."

Nate looked at her, "What do you want me to say? Liv is in the hospital, still unconscious, getting a port put in as we speak, and you guys are here having a grand time laughing. She's your best friend Garrett and your roommate Christine. So while this is going on you choose now to tell me about you two being together?"

Christine took another step forward but stopped when he took a step back. He bent down, grabbed his bag and headed towards his and Garrett’s room. Nate froze at the staircase and turned to look at them. "Congrats, I hope you two are happy." Before they could reply he was gone.

Christine went and sat back on the couch and Garrett sat beside her, putting his left arm around her and holding her close. "He's right; we should have waited until Olivia was doing better to tell him about us. Then we could have told them when all four of us were together."

"Honey, do you honestly believe that? Because I know that if we waited he would be angry and wonder why we kept it from him. Olivia
, of course, will understand why we waited." She laughed slightly and nodded her head and he smiled, "How about I go talk to him and see how he’s doing. And while I'm doing that you can pack Liv's bag." Christine nodded again and laid her head on his shoulder. He rubbed her back trying to comfort her. "It'll be OK, don't worry. Liv will get better, Nate will calm down and we will all be happy."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I trust you." She gave him a gentle kiss before she got up. "Well, I guess you better go talk
to him and I will get her stuff together."

He stood up and gave her a hug, "I will see you in a little bit." He kissed her on the forehead and headed towards his room. Christine watched him until he was no longer visible and went over to the piano bench to get Olivia's books then headed to their room to pack her a bag.

* * *

             
Nate had just got done putting some of his books that Blake had brought him up on the bookcase. He was getting his clothes to change into after his shower when Garrett came in. "Dude, how you holding up?"

Nate turned to look at him with tears in his eyes, "I'm barely holding up. This sucks, she doesn't deserve any of this. Why couldn't it have been me? I would be more than happy to take her place." He collapsed into the chair by the window and just let it all out.

Garrett walked over to the other chair that was across from where Nate was and sat down. "She's a fighter; Poptart has been through so much and has survived all that she has been faced with. She is one of the strongest people I know. I only wish I was half as strong as she is."

"Garrett, why do you call her Poptart?"

Garrett laughed, "Well, it's funny actually. For the longest time, it was actually the last time she was sick, she craved only Pop Tarts, and that seemed to be the only thing she would eat. So I started calling her Poptart."

"And what caused her to call you Jellybean?"

"I don't know because I hate jellybeans." Both guys laughed, "Why do you call her Canary?"

Nate smiled, "Because she's a little songbird. And Songbird just didn't seem to fit but Canary did. It came so naturally to me to call her that. So I called her Canary and she smiled and it just stuck."

"It fits her perfectly. Look, I know that we got off on the wrong foot and I want to apologize. I’m extremely protective of her, and was angry that she would go to you first and not me like she used to."

"I understand, trust me
. I'm extremely protective of her too. She means the world to me. I want to say sorry if I'm overstepping in anyway. The last thing I want to do is cause a rift in a lifelong friendship."

"Dude, don't worry about it. I was so jealous that I didn't see the good in her going to you. But Christine helped me see that I was wrong and also that it was my fault."

"What do you mean ‘your fault’?"

"I pushed her away. I treated her like she was going to break at any moment. I should have known better, I knew that she was strong and would get through everything but I only saw the weak broken girl that needed rescuing."

"Well you kind of had a good reason. You knew everything that she had been through here at school and back at home."

"But I knew she would fight and get past it
too."

"You were keeping an eye out for her. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I ended up pushing her away. She ran to you, she trusted you and confided in you. You treated her with respect, care, and love; while I just treated her like a wounded bird."

Nate laughed, "Dude, you really do need to forgive yourself. You did what you thought was best. Now all you have to do is focus on your relationship with Christine and know that Liv is being taken care of. How did you and Christie get together anyways?"

Garrett leaned back in his chair and laughed, "Actually, it just happened last night. We were walking back from the Medical Building, she was upset, we kissed and then this morning we woke up on the couch in each other’s arms. We ended up confessing that we both had crushes on the other and the rest is history."

Nate laughed hard, "Well congrats and I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm happy for the both of you. I hope you guys work out, I really do. You guys deserve to be happy."

"Thanks man."

"But if you hurt her you will have to deal with me. Understand? We grew up together and she is like my sister."

"I understand. Trust me, I won't hurt her. I really care about her and plus I know that, not only will I have to answer to you, but to Liv as well. Look Nate I know that we have to tell Liv. But how will we do that?"

"Just be honest with her, that's all you can do. When she wakes up I will let you guys know and you can tell her then.
Deal?" Nate puts his hand out for Garrett to take and shake.

Garrett took Nate’s hand in a firm grip and gave it a
hard shake, "Deal." He then let go of the hand, "Do you think she will wake up soon?"

"I hope so because I sure do miss
her." He looked at his phone to check and see if he had any missed calls or texts. When he saw that there was nothing he decided that it was time for him to take a shower. "I better go and get cleaned up so that way when I get the call to let me know that she is in her room I can just go straight there."

"Good idea
. Is there anything I can do to make sure that you have everything ready for when you get the call?"

Nate was already at the door to the bathroom when he turned around, "Yeah, can you go and check to see if Christine has everything that Liv needs?"

"Sure, not a problem. Are you all packed?"

"Yeah, wasn't hard since I haven't unpacked yet anyway," Nate turned back around
, went into the bathroom and shut the door. Once it shut he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he took his shower.

Garrett looked around and decided to
change into some clean clothes before going to help Christine. When he opened his drawer he saw a sweatshirt that Olivia always loved and would steal every time she was at his house. He decided that she should have it. It was an old worn Harvard sweatshirt that was a faded maroon from being washed so many times. Every time she would come to his house she would go straight for it. No matter where it was she always seemed to find it.

Once he changed and had the sweatshirt in his hands he left his room and went to the girl’s room to help Christine.

* * *

             
Christine was in her room with her music blaring. She was dancing around to “99 Lives” by The Trews. She had a small suitcase on her bed opened to make packing easier. She already had Olivia's books, her pillow and blanket packed. Now she just needed to pack some clothes for her.

She was so into her dancing that she didn't even notice that Garrett was in the
doorway watching until she heard him clapping when the song ended. She turned around quickly, causing her ponytail to whack her in the face, "Hayes, what are you doing here?"

He laughed and stepped into the room, "Well
, I came to help you pack but obviously I'm late to the party." He laughed. When “Fallen” by Scott Fleenor came on he put the sweatshirt he was holding into the suitcase and grabbed Christine and started dancing with her.

She started to laugh, "What are you doing?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm dancing with my girl."

"Who knew that you were such a romantic?"

"Oh darling, you haven't seen anything yet," he pulled her closer and started to sing along with the music.

After the song was over he kissed her temple and let her go. She had a big smile on
her face and went to turn the volume down. "Well, that was a delightful treat. What brought that on?" She turned around and leaned against the dresser.

Garrett smiled, "I just thought that we could use some fun. I honestly couldn't help myself; I had to dance with you. But I just came to help you pack
Liv's bag." He walked over to Christine's bed and looked inside the suitcase.

She walked over and looked inside and saw the sweatshirt. She picked it up and looked at is as she sat down then looked up at him, "What's this?"

"It's a sweatshirt that I figured Liv would like to have." Christine placed the sweatshirt on her lap and looked at him with a slight look of confusion in her eyes. "It's not what you think. Every time Olivia would come to my house she would somehow find this sweatshirt no matter where it was. Even if I couldn't find it she could. So I thought that it was time that she kept it for good."

"That is so sweet of you. She will love that." She folded the sweatshirt back up and placed it in the suitcase. "I just need to get her some more clothes and then I'm done with packing. I have her books packed along with her pillow and blankets." She stood up, walked over to Olivia's dresser and started to get out pajama pants and tops for her.

Garrett got up and walked over to Olivia's desk and picked up a photo of Ian, Nate, Christine and her at Clarksville, a local town where students would go to do some shopping during the school year, "How did I not know?"

"Not know what Hayes?" Christine asked as she moved to the next drawer.

"Not know that Olivia and Nate loved each other. I should have seen it. How did Ian not see it?"

"He might have known but was so in love with her that he just looked past it."

"I don't know if I could do that."

"What?"

"Still be with someone knowing that they love someone else." Christine laughed and he turned to look at her, "What are you laughing at?"