It's Not What It Looks Like (Recently Completed)

Chapter - 15

Zach

I looked at my watch and saw that it's past noon. It's the last day I would be spending with Col before she went into the Witness Protection Program and instead of spending time with her I had been busy arranging a small last minute "Get Back Soon" party. I decided not to call it the going away party because I wanted to make sure that she understood that I would be waiting for her return. Since Col said she wanted to take the Witness Protection Program, I have been trying to convince her that she should stay with me. But, Col was stubborn as hell and won't listen any of it.

I couldn't understand why suddenly she had to go into hiding. I had talked to the detectives and they told me there was no threat to her. There was several attempts to destroy the evidence video which we shot with the hidden camera on the game night. If the video was made public, it would expose many so-called upstanding citizen of the community. So there was pressure from the higher ups to get rid of it. But the detectives have made multiple copies to make sure no one buckled under the pressure. So, I was confused why the DA's office was so keen on making her go underground.

My assumption was that her psychiatrist somehow persuaded Col that going away would be a good idea. I knew Col is not completed healed yet and there was years of trauma that she had to overcome. But, won't the healing be easier when she in surrounded by the people who love her rather than some strangers who would take her in only for the money. I knew Col. I knew she was doing it because of some misguided notion that I was putting my life on hold. What Col didn't know was that she is my life. She is my destiny. I had been an idiot to not realize how much she meant to me. I was in love with her from the moment I saw her in that coffee shop so many months ago but stupidly kept focusing on her deceit. When she was struggling for her life in the hospital, I realized what it meant to lose her. A life without Col was like stranded in a desert without food or water and I didn't want to feel like that every again. Unless she specifically told me that she didn't want me in her life, she would be the epitome of my existence and I would make sure I protected, cherished and loved her with everything I am and I have. Nothing would matter to me more than her. Not football. Not Dad's campaign. Not University. Everything had to wait for a few more weeks until she got a little better.

I had already spoken to the Dean to take classes online. Ryan was ready to video conference the class for me. Dad didn't expect me to campaign for him. He was okay with appealing to the voters through social media. Lakers knew that I would be joining them in the next season nothing the coach said about my current absence was going to change it. Yet for some reason Col had made up her mind that I was sacrificing a lot for her. I was merely scheduling so I could give her enough time while I worked coordinated the rest. Though I tried to explain to her that she wasn't disrupting my life in anyway, she wouldn't listen to any of it. What would all the success mean if she wasn't a part of it?

I wish I could pour my heart out to her, confess my feelings, and let her know that she meant a world to me but given her fragile state of mind, I don't want to overwhelm her. I don't want her to feel compelled to return my feelings. She sees me as a white knight who came to her rescue. But I did want anyone would have done if they really knew her story. I was no selfless savior. I was a selfish man who protected his girl. So I have decided to wait until we overcame this victim-guardian aura that surrounded us before I profess my love for her. I want her to see me as someone who was more than a savior.

Though Col's stubbornness to take the Witness Protection Program is a punch to my gut and made me feel like I was not good enough to protect her, I have come to accept it. If she felt like going away will heal her and make her better then I would give her the space she needed and wait for her. To make sure she understood that I would to eagerly waiting for her to come back to me, I bought her a little something that would remind her of me. I had to use Dad's influence to get a jewelry designer and his craftsman open shop for me early in the morning to make it in the last minute. The Jeweler did an excellent job in transforming my idea into a beautiful bracelet with charms that would remind her of our time together. There was a coffee cup to remind her of our first encounter. A phone to remind her of the phone I sneaked in and the number 315 which is her hospital room number. I also added a lily for her daughter. It's was not an extravagant present just a simple everyday jewelry that could remind her for the good memories we shared.