Growing up in Fort Collins, Colorado, being a biker was definitely not uncommon. In fact, if you didn't have one member of your family own a motorcycle, you probably weren't from there.
Elizabeth (Liz) Collins wasn't a stranger to the speed of life...
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There was nothing to be said for a while after Jason and I had gotten back together.
I obviously had to dismount his bed once his doctor came back in, so then he could check out the lack of skin, but I stayed in the room the whole day.
He had been coming in and out of consciousness for a while as the doctor had put him on some heavy morphine to help him with the pain, but we managed to sneak in some conversations here and there.
I was gathering up my stuff to head out, back to my house when Jason woke up and stared at me.
"Shit- sorry, morphine is no joke."
"It's fine, really. I should be heading out anyway, it's almost 11."
He sat up, his bare chest on full display since he had argued with the doctor about having to wear a dress for the duration of his stay. Ultimately, the doctor gave up on arguing with him and allowed him to wear his jeans.
"Wait. Stay for 10 more minutes, please."
I looked at my phone, checking the time once more before nodding. I didn't have to be home till midnight, I had just thought he'd want some sleep.
"What's up?" I asked, sitting on the edge of his hospital bed with my thighs towards him. He placed a hand on my left one and looked down. "What?"
"How much time have we wasted hating each other?"
I thought he was joking, so I stifled out a laugh. When I saw his sad smile, I knew he wasn't finding this as funny. "I don't get it. Why are you asking me that?"
"'Cause you're leaving in how many days Ellie? Like 20?"
I hadn't processed that yes, my summer was basically over now. I was set to go to Seattle in less-than-a-month and rekindling things with Jason was going to make the transition that much harder.
"Jason, let's - let's not do this right now." I tried to move from off the bed, but he gripped onto my hand, and I sighed.
"If not now, then when? When you tell me to meet you at the airport to say goodbye?"
"Flights there are only 3 hours long, and driving is only a day. It's not gonna be that bad."
He cocked his head to the side. "Ellie, I don't make enough to fly to see you. Even if I did, when would we be able to see each other? Every couple of months? Maybe even once a year?"
"You can always see me." I sarcastically replied, reaching for his phone on the counter to hold it up.
He almost smacked the phone out of my hand, but decided against it and yanked it out instead.
"Ellie, I'm being serious."
I wanted to tell him that it didn't matter how we made it happen, cause at this point it just had to work. I couldn't and wouldn't do anything to change where I was going in the fall and he wouldn't and couldn't do anything to change where he was in his life. So whatever we decided, we needed to make it happen. For both of us.
