Colliding with Fate

~Twenty-Five~

I woke up the next morning with Claire by my side, sleeping quietly. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to go for a drive. I needed to collect myself and think about last night. I got out of bed and left the house at around nine-thirty. My mind was racing. I got in my car and began to just drive. I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do, but I needed to leave for a moment. I needed to escape from reality and find myself again before I did anything else. Driving about forty miles an hour down a one-way street, I receive a text.

Unknown: Hey, this is Fate. I just wanted to tell you good morning and I hope your day goes well.

I pull over and quickly respond:

You busy?

Not even a minute later Fate responds with, Nope. What's up?

Pick you up in ten, I texted back. I didn't wait to see what his response was even though my phone sounded twice, signaling text messages. Ten minutes later, I pull up in his driveway. Fate and Destiny were outside chatting away with smiles on their faces that only widen as they see my car parked. Fate wheels his way towards me as I get out to greet them.

"Hey there, stranger," I smiled softly at the sight of Fate. It hadn't been long since I last saw him, but I still had missed him. The grin on his face sent my heart racing. Destiny hurried along and helped him into the car, then folded up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk. When she finished up, she came around to my side and hugged me.

"Please take care of him." She whispered. My chest tightened at her words.

"Of course," I managed. "Of course I will." There were tears in her eyes when she pulled away. My eyebrows drew together in confusion at that, but before I could ask she broke away and hurried inside. Fate rapped his hand against the dashboard, a sign he was all set to go.

I sat down in the seat and sighed. "Alright, Evie. I know that look. Something's wrong." Fate immediately reported. I took another deep breath as I looked over at him with narrowed eyes. Truth was, Fate always knew. He knew when I was having a good day and when I wasn't. He knew when I needed to talk and when I needed to be left alone. How could he just look at me and know? It left me in complete awe at him.

How could someone be so freaking perfect?

"Care to share your thoughts?" Fate said quietly as if he was careful not to interrupt them. He always had that sensitivity about him. It wasn't a vulnerability, but a sense of empathy for others. He was so sweet and gentle. I shook myself out of my own head and turned to face him. He was dressed in a grey long-sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black sweatpants. The cast on his leg looked bulky and uncomfortable.

He smiled lightly at me. "You're staring, Lewis."

I rolled my eyes. "Wrong. I'm admiring, Westbrook." I replied. Fate chuckled under his breath at that and returned his view to the dashboard.

"Where are we going?" He asked after a moment's silence.

I put the key in the ignition. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'd go anywhere with you," Fate replied. I smiled and peeled out of the driveway.

---

We ended up going to breakfast. We both decided on coffee and pancakes. I was still a bit shaken up about last night, but I didn't know how to tell him. Every time I planned on telling Fate, my throat closed up. I didn't understand. While he was talking about school and his classes, I wasn't able to focus on what he was saying. I heard him, yet my mind couldn't register what he was saying.

"Claire and Ethan are together." I blurted out before I could stop myself. Fate's pancake falls off of his fork midway as he stares at me. I felt myself flush. He was in the middle of a sentence when I just casually said something that was far from casual.

"I knew something was bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?" Fate said kindly. I nodded.

"I... I just don't know what to think. Like, how long have they been sneaking behind my back? When did this even start to take place? And why did I have to find out by accident? I wish they would have just told me flat out, you know?"

Fate listened and nodded along with what I was saying understandingly. "Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Of course I do." I replied. With that, Fate put down his fork and reached his hand across the table to encase mine. I felt my hand twitch in excitement.

"Okay. I understand how you're feeling completely. If I were in your position, I would have the same questions. But I'm not, and I'm seeing this from a different perspective than you are, which means I also understand and Claire and Ethan kept it under the radar. You're Ethan's baby sister and Claire's best friend. They probably thought they were doing the best thing by keeping it from you. They were probably scared of you being upset and disapproving of them. Now, just because I understand why they did it, doesn't mean I approve. I wish they would have trusted you a bit more and told you what was going on between them. Knowing a bit about how Ethan is, I can tell he doesn't like secrets, so I can only assume that this was very important to them and they wouldn't have kept it a secret without good reason." When he finished, I was shocked. Fate squeezed my hand comfortingly and offered me a crooked smile. I hadn't realized how much I needed to hear someone say what Fate just did. He was absolutely right. I needed to make things right between my brother, my best friend, and me.

I thanked Fate and finished eating my pancakes, then we said our goodbyes to the guy at the register before we got back into the car. "Wanna come over and watch a movie?" I asked as we peeled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, sure."

When we got home, I helped Fate inside to get settled in on the couch. We decided on a Star Wars movie and we both fell asleep about halfway into it. When we woke up, the credits were rolling, dramatic music accompanying the words on the screen. Fate's arm was draped over my shoulders as I leaned into him. Neither one of us made any move to get up, so we simply cuddled together in silence as we watched the credits continue to roll.

Under me, Fate's heartbeat sped up as he shifted. "You okay?" I whispered, scared to ruin the beautiful, comfortable silence between us.

"I think so." He replied. I lifted my head up to ask him again if he was okay, but I was cut off by Fate quickly pressing his lips against mine. When he pulled away, he was smiling. "Much better." He grinned.

---

Wooohoooo another chapter! Low-key this took me a week to do so please bear with me:(

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