Just for Now

Chapter Nineteen

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Day Seven
Night

Cole stood there for what felt like years.

Cole couldn't take his eyes off where Alli was standing.

What just happened?

He knew the wedding inside had moved on from the first dance. More upbeat music was blasting in the air, but the sound was washed out.

His mind was a whirlwind of emotions and a flood of memories. He replayed every argument, every bitter exchange, and every moment he failed to be the person she needed. How did it come to this? To him watching her walk away?

As the reality of her departure sank in, Cole's knees weakened, and he found himself sinking onto a nearby bench. His head fell into his hands, his fingers gripping his hair in frustration. He knew things had been strained between them, but he never thought she would leave like this, without a backward glance. The weight of his mistakes felt crushing.

He didn't understand how they got here. How they unraveled this much. Cole always thought they would be one of those couples that never wavered. That stuck together through it all. He thought he would tell their kids their story. He thought he would be able to inspire their kids with how much they loved each other.

It made Cole think back to one of his last conversations with his Dad.

They were watching football. It was one of the beginning games in the season. The trees had just started to turn colors, the twins had started their sophomore year of high school, Scar was starting her senior year of college. Cole had just graduated the year before. He had been living with Alli for a few months now in that apartment on Lantern Ave. He met up with his Dad a couple Sundays a month to watch football games together.

The two were on the couch, relaxing while the game played in front of them. The item sitting in Cole's pocket felt heavy as time ticked by. He had been wanting to get his Dad's opinion about something, but he wasn't sure how to just bring it up. Some time during the third quarter, Cole finally cleared his throat to get Reece's attention.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" Cole had asked him, fiddling around with the beer in his hand.

"What's up?" Reece quipped, sitting back into the couch.

Cole didn't know how to start. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he wasn't even actually proposing to Alli. He had no idea how he was gonna build up the courage to do this if he couldn't even bring it up to his Dad. Instead of diving right into it, he decided to turn the conversation to his Dad.

"How did you know you wanted to marry Mom?" Cole asked quietly, his gaze turning to the floor.

"Your mother's always been the best part of my day," Reece said easily with a shrug. "She just... she's always made the world brighter. From the second I met her, I knew I wanted to be with her."

"How did you guys meet?" Cole asked softly. He had asked before, but he didn't know much of the specifics.

Reece smiled wistfully, leaning back. "Met her in a college class and spent the better half of a year trying to figure out how to convince her to go out with me. She didn't make it easy, she wanted me to earn it."

"How'd you do that?"

"Nothing like some grand gesture. I picked up on her coffee order and started bringing it to class. I brought an extra granola bar with me cause her stomach would start growling towards the end of the lecture," Reece rattled off, eyes narrowing like he was trying to remember everything. "One day I added my number to the coffee cup, and she actually texted me. Took her to dinner and we've been together since."