Till Death Do Us Part

by Lari Smythe

  Chapter 5

  I stopped by the house after school to check in. I kind of liked doing that now, and I know Elizabeth and Benjamin appreciated it. I was really surprised when I walked in, there was a lot of furniture in the house, most of it looked new—not new like new style, but new to the house.

  "Ah, there you are," Elizabeth said, gliding up to me. "how was school?"

  "Crazy."

  She looked puzzled. "I'm afraid you'll have to choose another word if I am to understand."

  "Uh, well, how about wonderful, fantastic, amazing, incredible?"

  "You are describing your day, not your young suitor?" Benjamin said, joining us.

  "Yes, it was an amazing day and I still have the game tonight."

  "Ah, football," Benjaim said as he exchanged a glance with Elizabeth.

  "Would you guys like to come?"

  Elizabeth gawked, but quickly regained her composure. "It would mean a lot to you?"

  "Yes, and I know it would mean the world to Jason if you came to see him play."

  "Perhaps later in the year when it is colder and the game is after sunset," Benjamin suggested.

  "Really? You'd really put yourself out there like that for us?"

  "We love you dear," Elizabeth said, "we would do anything for you and certainly we owe young Jason our gratitude. If he would enjoy our presence then we will make an effort to attend a game."

  "Perhaps in a few weeks time," Benjamin added, "but you must explain the intricacies of the game to me before we attend. Ah, but with all the talk of football, what was it that made your day so amazing?"

  "Can I tell you later? I want to hunt before the game, today was a little overwhelming."

  "I thought you had your thirst under control?" Elizabeth said with obvious concern.

  "I do, it's just we had a pep rally—all the students in one place—and it was a little much. I'm just being cautious."

  They both nodded their approval.

  "I hate to just pop in and then run out again, but I don't have a lot of time before the game."

  "We understand," Elizabeth said. You should change, you don't want to get blood on Jason's jersey."

  "He gave me this one, but you're right. Maybe I'll take it with me so I don't have to come all the way back to change. Are any of my things here yet?"

  "Yes," Elizabeth said, "Melanie and I moved your things into your room this afternoon."

  "Thank you. Well, I should run."

  I raced upstairs and put on a tee shirt and then headed back downstairs with my new, jersey tucked in the back of my jeans.

  "Thanks again, guys," I said as I headed for the back door.

  Benjamin called after me, "Try the west side of the valley I saw a herd there last evening."

  The corn fields, although withered, had not yet been harvested and provided good cover for me, and a food source for the dear. Even so, the hunt took longer than I'd planned—the dear population was seriously depleted—and I had to settle for a yearling, but it would do for the time being. The sun had yet to set when I made it to Maple Avenue and in the distance I could see the stadium lights. They weren't needed, but they would be before the game was over and they added a special atmosphere.

  I changed tops, and decided to just leave my bloody tee shirt behind. I don't know whether I was just distracted or what, but I made a mess of the kill. I felt sorry for the animal, it deserved better than to struggle like that—to face it's final moment on this earth in fear and pain—especially due to my ineptness. I shook it off as best I could and started a fast jog toward the school.

  The first thing I noticed when I got to the school, was the two local news vans in the parking lot. There really must be a lot riding on this opening game. The band was already playing The National Anthem when I paid and then headed through the gates. When I got to the bleachers, Cathy waved at me from our spot, so I jogged up the aisle toward the top.

  "Oh, Hi, Mrs. Whitaker," I said as we made eye contact. "I hope you don't mind if I sit with Cathy."

  "Of course not, you should be with your friends."

  "Thanks." I started up the stairs, but stepped back down to her row. "He'll do fine—heck, what am I saying—he'll be amazing tonight, he wants this so bad."

  She looked up, the worry etched in her face. "There's so much riding on this game, I don't know if he's ready for this kind of pressure."

  I sat down on the step next to her. "I guess you've seen the news people then?" I said.

  She nodded.

  I patted her on the knee. "Don't worry, I've seen him under pressure and he is amazing." I stood. "You'll see, at the end of the night, you're going to be so proud of him."

  "I'm proud of him win or lose." she said.

  "I know—me too, but winning is so much more fun. Enjoy the game." I raced up the steps and got to Cathy just as we kicked off.

  Coach hadn't overstated our defense, they gave up a first down, but forced a punt after that. I was glad I'd decided to hunt before the game as Jason and the offense took the field. That churning sensation that boiled up inside me—the one I'd grown to love—was very powerful tonight. I would have to be very careful with Jason after the game.

  We drove down the field in a relatively conservative manner, a bit surprising given the strength of the offense I had witnessed on the practice field, but they must be going easy to calm the jitters and avoid mistakes. I thought they were close enough for a field goal, but Coach elected to punt. We pinned them on their own five yard line.

  While our defense was on the field, Jason came back to the water jug behind the bench. He looked up and spotted me right away. I smiled and waved. He nodded—no wave—but I figured he was in game mode, he had that look of determination on his face. Our next drive would be a good one, I'd bet on it.

  Our defense held them to a three and out. Alex jogged out on the field to receive the punt. He caught the ball at about the opponents forty yard line. He made some amazing moves and returned the ball all the way to the original line of scrimmage. The crowd was going wild.

  Jason led the offense out onto the field so fast that the opposing Coach called a time out. Jason looked up at me, that beautiful toothy smile of his was visible even under his helmet. He laced his fingers together and then forced his palms outward to stretch them.

  Nice diversion, I thought.

  The referee stepped away from the ball and the teams lined up. We were lined up tight, like it was going to be a run, but then Jason called some numbers and the receivers spread out across the line of scrimmage. The defense quickly started spreading out. We hiked the ball on Jason's first call and he followed Matt through the center of the line and into the end zone untouched—touchdown!

  The crowd erupted with cheers! The band played the fight song and the cheerleaders jumped and screamed to their routine as loud as they could.

  Jason took a knee, then got up, turned and pointed directly toward me. His hand turned to a fist, and he pounded it once against his heart. He and Matt then jumped and bumped chests and then jogged back to the sidelines.

  "Did you see that?" Cathy said.

  "He did that for you."

  If a vampire was allowed to feel what heaven was like, I felt it right then and there.

  We scored twice more before halftime and Jason made the same gesture toward me each time. The opposition never crossed the fifty yard line before halftime. The whole team pointed up to Cathy and I as they headed back to the locker room for halftime. I was so thrilled, I hugged Cathy.

  "Sorry," I immediately said as I released her. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

  "No, it's fine, I get it, you're just excited—I know I am."

  "Yeah, Alex did great, that runback to the five and then the touchdown catch, amazing."

  Cathy flopped down on the bleacher. "I need to catch my breath."

  I sat down with her.

  The team came out with that fire that Jason instilled in his teammates and played incredibly. I felt it—of course
for me it was a completely different kind of fire—and although he didn't always realize it, I was his in everyway I could be.

  As the final seconds ticked off on the scoreboard, I couldn't help think back to the time I'd watched those crimson numerals flash by thinking they signified the end of everything. 00:00, the game was over.

  "Come on," Cathy shouted.

  "You go ahead, I'll be there in a minute."

  "Okay." Cathy ran down the bleachers almost falling when she hit the landing.

  I looked out over the chaos on the field as the majority of the students that were at the game poured out onto the field to congratulate the team. I saw Jason momentarily, but he vanished in the sea of celebration. Coach looked up at me and smiled when he walked back behind the bench to put away his headset and clipboard. He really did have such a warm smile and I was so happy for him. While he was standing there, one of the sports broadcaster's and his cameraman walked up to him for an interview. I could have listened if I wanted to, but I knew he would give the credit to the team, it was who he was—a very special man.

  As I surveyed the area, I saw Jason's mom, still in the stands, talking with a few of the other parents—ah, I thought as I listened in, she was accepting their congratulations. How perfect. Could the night—the day—been any more perfect? When the crowd began to thin out I walked down to where she was sitting.

  "Told you," I said.

  She looked up at me and scooted over for me to sit with her. "Yes, yes you did."

  I sat down on the bleacher next to her. "You must be so proud, why aren't you down there with Jason, sharing his big moment?"

  "I could ask you the same," she said.

  "There will be time, later. Go ahead, I'm sure he's looking for you." I twisted to the side so she could get past me.

  She took two steps down the bleachers and then turned back. "Why don't you join me?"

  "Thanks, that's nice of you, but you go ahead, I'll be along in a few minutes."

  "You sure?"

  "Yes, he will always be yours first, always."

  I picked up the heightened sense in her scent. She had that warm, adoring emotion pulsing though her, and she should, she had every right to be proud of her son. She smiled briefly and then walked down to the field. I watched her all the way until she found Jason. It wasn't difficult, he was where the camera lights were. It was so Jason the way he pulled her into view of the camera and gave her a big kiss. It was a perfect family moment, one they both deserved, they had been through so much. But as I watched them, I began to wonder if I fit in that picture. Sure, Jason and I had incredible chemistry, but our worlds were so different and I would never make him part of mine and I could only pretend to be part of his. I sighed, that worry was for another day. Suddenly I realized Jason's mom was leading him over to where I was sitting. The cameras were gone, so I got up and walked down to meet them.

  Jason grabbed me, pulled me into his arms and gave me a huge hug. And then—right there in front of his mom and anyone else who was standing there—kissed me. Not just a warm, affectionate kiss, but a kiss like—well like there was a whole lot more to come. When he finally came up for air, he looked at me with those beautiful, chocolate eyes and said, "Well, what do you think?"

  There was really only one thing I was thinking, but I said, "About what?"

  "The salute."

  "Oh, you mean when you score?"

  He winked. "Yeah, that one."

  True I couldn't blush, but I was so embarrassed I looked down at the ground.

  Jason eased his grip on me. "Did you see it Mom? The whole team is going to do it, every time we score—we all agreed—it wasn't even my idea."

  "Really?" I said, looking back up at him.

  "Yeah, it was Matt's idea, he's a huge fan of yours after what you did for us."

  "He's the running back, the big boy?" Jason's mom said. "I thought he wasn't—well lets just say, in your corner."

  "No Mom, after everything that went down last year we're tight and he thinks Izzy is something real special." He kissed me. "I couldn't agree more."

  We started for the exit.

  "Hey," Jason said, "I gotta go change, but how about we grab some pizza—the three of us?"

  "I don't know, you kids—"

  "Sure Mrs. Whitaker, we'd love for you to join us." Truth is, I meant it. Right now—after that kiss—wasn't the time to be alone with Jason.

  "Perfect, How about you two go on ahead and grab a table, I'm sure the place will be packed. I'll meet you there. See ya." Jason ran off toward the locker room.

  "Do you need to tell Elizabeth you'll be out late?" Jason's mom said.

  "No, she knows I was going to go out with Jason after the game."

  "She's very trusting."

  "She adores Jason, she knows I'm safe when I'm with him." There was so much of that I shouldn't have said. Mrs. Whitaker didn't adore me and she definitely didn't think Jason was safe when he was with me. "Well, I'll meet—"

  "Do you have your car here?" she asked.

  "Actually, I rode with Cathy."

  "Well, why don't you ride with me, my car is right over there."

  Perfect, a nice little friendly ride with Jason's mom—alone.

  It was a quiet ride. We talked a little about some of the game highlights, but nothing personal. It was probably better that way.

  The pizza place was packed like Jason said, but when Mrs. Whitaker put her name on the waiting list, the guy asked if she was Jason's mom. When she said she was, he said he would see what he could do. He came to get us just a few minutes later.

  "Right this way, we have a special table for you. Your son will be joining you lovely ladies, yes?"

  "He should be here any minute," Jason's mom said.

  "Wonderful. Do you suppose he would pose for a picture? We like to put signed photographs of the local athletic stars on our walls to add to the decor—it keeps it current, you know." He waved his hand toward the entrance and sure enough, there were autographed pictures on the walls—kind of a sports bar theme I'd never really noticed.

  "I'm sure he'd be glad to," Jason's mom said.

  "Excellent. What can I get you two ladies to drink?"

  "Water would be nice," Jason's mom said.

  "I'll have the same," I added.

  "The usual for Jason?" he said to me.

  "Sure," I said, "I'm sure he'll be really thirsty."

  "Ah, I'll make it an extra large then." The waiter bowed and retreated to the kitchen.

  "The usual?" Jason's mom said.

  "We come here a lot, it's kind of the high school hangout."

  "After all these years." Jason's mom pointed toward the entrance. "See the photo—third from the right at the top?"

  "Yes."

  "That was my high school sweetheart, he was the running back like Jason's friend Matt."

  "That's pretty cool." It was clearly not Jason's father in the picture and it occurred to me that this was probably a not so subtle hint about high school sweethearts not being a permanent thing. I figured I should play along. "Is that Jason's dad?" I asked.

  "No, I didn't meet Tom until college—I think I was a junior when we met."

  "That sounds nice," I said, not knowing what else to say.

  "There you are," Jason said, sliding into the booth next to me. "What are you talking about?"

  I started to point to the photo, but thought better of it.

  "We were just talking about life after high school," Jason's mom said.

  Jason rolled his eyes and gave me a sympathetic glance. Just then the waiter brought our drinks and asked if he could take Jason's picture.

  "Sure," Jason said.

  I shook my head when he reached for me. This definitely needed to be a picture of just him. Thankfully, he didn't press it, his mom would not have been too pleased if I was in the picture. He went with the waiter over by the counter and posed for the picture and then promised to come back and sign it after the photo was developed.r />
  "Ah, life in the spotlight," Jason joked as he slid back into the booth.

  Jason's mom smiled, but said, "Jason told me about your big day at school. How nice for you."

  "Thank you, it was totally unexpected, I wasn't even sure I was going to go through with it."

  "But you did," Jason's mom said.

  Jason picked up on her hidden meaning. "You know why she did it?" he said.

  "Well," Jason's mom began, "I'm sure the attention—"

  "No!"

  "Jason, please keep your voice down," she said.

  I put my hand on his arm and when he looked over at me I gave my head a little shake. I didn't want to be the cause of ruining the evening.

  "No, Mom, that's why she almost didn't do it. I keep telling you this, but you're just not getting it—Izzy is my number one fan, even over you. She would never do anything to take away from what I do, or who I am. Heck, she makes me who I am."

  His mom's face hardened, but it looked more hurt than angry. I squeezed Jason's arm, but he pulled it away.

  "I love you Mom, and I love Izzy, she's my future. What she did was selfless. She stood up in front of the entire school—let Coach make a spectacle of her—to try and stop the rumors from spreading."

  "Rumors?"

  "The stuff from last year. Derricks little, moron brother started it and a bunch of the freshman were trying to show off by making fun of us. It was going to happen, sooner or later I was going to punch one of 'em, and well, goodbye football season."

  Just then the waiter arrived with the pizza and Jason and his mom ate in silence. I guess I was always going to be that girl to her, no matter what I did, and while I was glad Jason didn't let it get between us, I hated what it did to their relationship. Jason's mom flagged down the waiter for the bill.

  "Oh, no, no, no," the waiter said, "it is on the house." He turned to Jason. "Thank you so much for the photo and good luck this year." He bowed and headed off toward another table.

  "Well, I guess we should be going," Jason said. He stood and I slid over to the edge of the seat.

  "Where?" Jason's mom said, "It's late, I'm sure the last movie has already started."

  Jason pulled me up next to him. "We'll probably head over to Izzy's place."

  "Aren't you too tired to work on the house?"

  "We moved in today," I interjected.

  "Your parents will be up?" She directed the question to me.

  "Yes, they'll be up."

  "Satisfied?" Jason huffed. "We'll walk you out to your car." He took my hand, we waited for his mom, and then silently followed her out to her car. Jason held the door while she climbed in behind the wheel.

  "Not too late," she said as she started the engine. Obviously she was worried about the, 'what teenagers do alone at night' thing.

  "I'll see you in the morning, mom." Jason pushed her door gently closed although it was obvious he would have rather slammed it.

  She hesitated, but then drove off.

  "Sorry about that," Jason said as he turned toward me.

  I forced a smile. "Well I guess the 'nothing good happens after midnight' thing isn't just for our generation. "So, you really want to visit my parents?"

  "Uh, not exactly, but—"

  "How about down by the river where we had our first date?" I offered.

  His face lit up. "I think I put the boom box in the back of the Rover the other day."

  "Well, what are we waiting for?"