When the server came over, Patrick ordered a pizza for them to share and the two settled into comfortable conversation.
“So how are your classes going?” Patrick glanced at her as he rubbed beads of water off the edge of his glass.
“Ok I guess,” Katie mused. “I’m doing pretty well in everything. Calculus is really hard though. I’m not sure I’m going to make good enough grades to get into medical school when the time comes.”
Patrick nodded, “You’re one of the smartest girls I know. I’m sure you’ll do fine. We can always Skype. I’ll help you,” he reached across the table and clasped her hand in his.
“What specialty did you finally decide on?” she cocked her head to the side.
“Cardiology,” he averted his eyes. “My grandpa died of a heart attack. I want to go into a field where I can prevent that from happening to someone else.”
“That’s great!” Katie bounced in her seat.
“My professors are really tough though. You’re not the only one that’s struggling,” he shrugged. “Between hockey practice, weight training, classes, and study sessions…I hardly have time to sleep.”
“How’d you get away this weekend?” she quirked her brow.
“Claimed a family emergency,” he grinned.
“Patrick, I’m not an emergency,” Katie scolded.
“No you’re not, but having to wait so long to see you was causing me to go crazy. That is an emergency,” he smirked as he took a sip of water.
She grinned as she took in his expression, “So your classes are really that hard?”
“Yeah…harder than what you’re taking,” he sighed.
“I’m also a year behind where you are,” Katie blushed, knowing that even though Patrick graduated the same time as she had, him being home schooled had allowed him to be given credit for some college classes already. His mom had pushed him to move ahead when his high school courses became too easy.
“That’s true, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” he shook his head.
Just then the pizza came out and the two devoured it. Both were hungry and Katie hadn’t eaten much after her night of drunken behavior.
“This is so good,” she moaned as she stuffed another bite into her mouth. “I’m never getting drunk again. It takes away from all the good things the next day.”
Patrick chuckled, “Yeah, everybody says that. I’m sure you’ll be at a few more parties this year.” She rolled her eyes and giggled as he smirked at her.
When they finished eating, Patrick paid the bill and the couple walked hand in hand back outside.
***
“There’s somewhere I want to take you now,” Katie beamed up at him. “It’s a surprise.”
Patrick shrugged his shoulders, “Ok.”
She led him over to the subway stairs down the block. “It’s going to take a train ride to get there.”
The two walked down the stairs and waited for their train.
“I can’t believe that you know so much about the area. You’re like a regular New Yorker,” Patrick laughed.
“Well you have to remember, I used to live here. I know most of the city like the back of my hand. After moving back for school, it was easy to settle in. It’s almost like I never left,” she waved her hand around pointing at different signs.
The subway train came to a stop in front of them and the doors opened, “This is ours.”
She grabbed Patrick’s hand and pulled him on. “Stick close to me. People can be rude and they can spot an out-of-towner from a mile away.”
The subway ambled along for a few minutes before coming to another stop. Katie pulled Patrick over in front of the doors, and they waited for them to open. He smiled over at her. She had the most determined look on her face. He’d never seen her so confident and sure of herself. The doors flew open and she stepped off the train pulling him behind her.
“We’re here. We just need to get to the top of those steps,” she pointed over at a set of stairs that led to the street level.
Patrick led her through the crowd, and they made their way up. When they got to the top, Patrick gasped.
“Wow, this is what I think of when you tell me about New York. This is amazing,” he spun in circles taking in his surroundings.
They were standing in the middle of Times Square. Lights from billboards surrounded them. Virgin Records, a McDonald’s, Fox Sports, the list went on.
“Over there is where they drop the ball on New Year’s and in the winter a tree will be put up over there,” she pointed.
“This is so cool, have you been here a lot?” he glanced at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Mom used to bring me here every year at Christmas time to look at the decorations,” Katie smiled. “I’ve been waiting to be able to bring you here. It’s amazing isn’t it? This is my New York.”
Patrick continued to look around, afraid that if he stopped he would miss something. “How far are we away from campus now?”
“We’re not close, if that’s what you’re asking. Campus is on one end of the city, this is on the other,” she smiled. “New York has boroughs, this is Manhattan.”
“I’m speechless,” Patrick glanced over at her. “We have to come back for New Year’s.”
“That would be amazing,” Katie squealed. “If you can convince Mom and Dad to let me, I’ll come.”
Patrick thought for a minute. Asking Melanie and Austin to let him take their daughter to Times Square on New Year’s Eve might be harder than he thought.
“We’ll figure it out. We’ve got time,” he laughed.
“Are you scared of my dad?” Katie giggled.
“Maybe a little,” Patrick shrugged.
She laughed, “We better start heading back. Maybe we can come back to this side of town tomorrow. There’s a lot to do here. I’ll take you to the MET.”
“Sounds great,” he laughed and hugged her.
The two made their way back down to the subway and hopped a train back to campus. Katie was blissfully happy. The thought of Patrick heading back home the next night brought a wave of sadness through her, though she quickly pushed it away as she hugged him to herself.
***
When morning came around, Katie and Patrick headed back toward Manhattan. They went to see the Empire State Building and rode to the top. After that they went to Macy’s, Grand Central Station, FAO Schwartz, and the MET. They had lunch in China Town, took a train to the ferry and rode out to the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island, and finally stopped where the twin towers once stood.
As Katie approached the monument, she leaned into Patrick. A single tear began to trickle down her cheek, and she swiped at it.
“Are you ok?” Patrick glanced down at her.
“Yeah... I haven’t been here since the tenth anniversary,” she sniffed. “My dad was on the plane that hit the Pentagon, so this exact spot doesn’t mean the same thing to me as it does other people. It’s just the day. Remembering the day still hurts. I don’t remember what happened, I was too little. But I remember all the things he missed growing up. How he wasn’t able to be there for me. All the things my mom had to do on her own.”
She stood in silence for a moment, sending a silent prayer to the heavens, then turned, and reached for Patrick’s hand. Without a word she led him back in the direction of the subway.
“We better get back. You’ve got a bus to catch to get back to school,” she sighed.
“Don’t remind me,” he groaned.
The two made their way back to campus in companionable silence, for they knew their happiness was short lived. They soon would be parted again as they continued on with their studies at different universities.
Katie snuggled into Patrick’s side as the subway train pulled out of the station. She wanted to memorize everything about this day. The sights, smells, and sounds all would remind her of Patrick and their perfect weekend.
Little did she know, he was doing the same thing at that very m
oment.
Chapter 10
March 2017
The months passed in record time as spring approached and winter faded into the background.
Katie and Patrick had made the most of their time over the holidays, spending alternating days at one another’s house. Melanie had made sure to let Katie know that she didn’t want her neglecting her studies in lieu of time with Patrick. Katie had assured her that she was well on her way to becoming a doctor and not to worry.
Patrick on the other hand had been tirelessly arguing with his dad about a transfer to Columbia. He’d held back when he talked to Katie about just how upset his dad was.
“You can’t change your whole future for a girl, Patrick!” his dad had bellowed at the end of one of their fights.
“I love her dad. We want to be together. I’m still gonna be a doctor. You can’t stop me on this one,” Patrick had responded. His father knew he was right, since Patrick’s grandparents had passed away when he was little and left him all their money and investments in a trust, which he had received when he turned 18 – he was now a wealthy man.
Katie had spent the last few evenings of Christmas break trying to convince him to make up with his dad.
“Katie, you don’t understand. I’m worth a lot of money right now. My granddad knew how to invest. I can pay for school wherever I choose to go and still have money left over.” He’d been very convincing in his arguments.
“I just don’t want you to hate me down the road because you did this for me,” she attempted again, but his mind was made up.
Now here they were with him sending in requests for transfers and her dealing with a twist of emotions down in her gut. She was thrilled that in the fall he could join her but was torn over the fact that his parents were upset with his decision. The last thing she wanted was to come between him and his dad. Jason had even begun approaching Melanie at the hospital to beg for help. She’d told him that Katie was not encouraging this, but she was merely trying to be supportive. Jason seemed to be slowly accepting Patrick’s decision. Only time would tell.
***
When Katie came back to the dorm from her latest class, she found Eden flopped on the bed with her phone pressed to her ear.
“I know what you said,” she whined. “I thought you were coming to visit for Spring Break. Don’t you want to see me? I mean especially since you moved out here?”
Katie crinkled her brow and raised her shoulders in question. Eden held up a hand as if saying, “I’ll explain in a minute.” Katie turned and tossed her books on her bed before flopping down.
Eden clicked the phone shut and tossed it on her desk, “That was my boyfriend, the one I told you about that didn’t want to do the long distance thing? Well, he moved out here over Christmas and wants to try again. He says he’s different now and wants a second chance,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
Katie giggled, “Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“Well, I still want him to beg a little. He lives in Manhattan. He’s working for some magazine as their graphic designer,” she flipped her hand in the air. “I told him I wanted to do something over break, but he hasn’t asked for the time off work,” she groaned.
“Well, Patrick had mentioned something about going to Ocean City for a weekend. Maybe you could come with us, bring mystery guy if you want,” Katie smiled.
“I might just do that,” Eden smirked. “You’re not going to want your own room are you?”
“No!” Katie blushed. “We‘re not there yet. I’ll call Patrick and let him know that you’re coming with us. He’s driving, so we just need to chip in for gas.”
“Sounds great. I gotta go to class,” Eden grabbed her books and headed out the door.
“I’ll meet you in the quad later, ok?” Katie shouted after her. “We can discuss the trip.”
“Sure,” Eden waved before disappearing around the corner.
***
After Eden left, Katie called Patrick to ask if it was ok for her to join them on their trip for Spring Break. He agreed, and they made plans to talk longer that night.
After gathering what she needed to study with, Katie grabbed her backpack and headed to the quad. She figured she’d lay in the sunshine and attempt to study her Calculus while she waited for Eden to get out of one of her many art classes.
When she arrived, she found a sunny spot away from the crowds and plopped down. She spread out her things on the grass and began to lose herself in her studies. She was so engrossed in the book, she failed to notice the time or the tall shadow approaching her with a slight swagger in its gait.
“Katie?” a voice called out. “Is that you?”
Katie glanced up and then went right back to her Calculus book before realizing what she’d just seen. When her brain began to process the observation, her head snapped back up and her mouth dropped open. She looked back in the direction of the voice and covered her mouth with her hands. It had been four years, but other than the slight stubble on his jaw, he looked basically the same. Time had only made him look better, more like a man than a boy.
“What are you doing here?” she gasped.
He plopped down beside her. “Meeting a friend. I live here now.”
“I never thought I’d see you again,” she was dumbfounded.
“You look good,” he smiled as he leaned over and attempted to hug her.
Katie stiffened, “You too, Zach.” She smiled in return before anger quickly began to take over. “I can’t believe that you came back to this area and didn’t bother to try and find me.”
“I didn’t know where you’d be,” he shrugged. “I mean, it’s been what? Four years? People do move around, you know? I’ve got some time to kill, wanna grab a coffee?”
“Ummm… I’m supposed to be meeting my roommate in a little while. Let me let her know I can’t make it,” Katie pulled out her phone to text Eden. “Why are you on campus?” she mumbled as she pushed send and closed her cell.
He shrugged his shoulders, “Supposed to be meeting up with my girlfriend later for dinner.”
“Girlfriend, huh? Anyone I might know?” she cocked her eyebrow up at him.
“I don’t think so,” Zach rubbed his hand across the back of his neck.
Katie began packing up her backpack with all her books and notes as Zach rose to a standing position.
“So you did it, huh? Decided to become a doctor like your ma?” he stated as he watched her drop an Anatomy book in her backpack.
“Well, I’m trying,” she giggled. “There’s a coffee shop right around the corner from campus if you want to go there?”
“I’ve got a better idea. I’ve got my car back now. Feel like a drive? For old times sake?” he smirked.
“Ok, for old time’s sake. Where do you want to go?” she forced a smile as her voice began to betray her nervousness. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be alone with him right now. Would Patrick be ok with this? Probably not she mused.
“There’s a great place near my apartment. I was thinking we could go there,” he reached for her hand and began leading her to the edge of campus where he was parked. The feeling that shot through her was all too familiar. It was like he had never left. She swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat as he pulled her towards the parking lot, silently wondering if he felt it, too.
When they rounded the corner, Zach’s Camaro came into view. It looked the same as it did the first time she saw it, still shiny and new. Whoever had garaged it for him, had taken great care of it.
***
After a short drive, Katie and Zach arrived at The Purple Rhino. It was a small pub-like coffee shop frequented by most of the hip young crowd on the Upper East Side. They sat at a small table in the back having polite conversation.
“I hardly know where to start,” Katie blushed.
“I just want to know what you’ve been up to for the past four years,” Zach shrugged. “I wanna know how t
he snarky girl I once knew turned into such a confident beautiful woman.”
“Well, Mom and Austin got married a few years back. I have a baby brother now,” she smiled as she thought of the boy. “His name is Joey. He’s almost three. Hannah’s at NYU, but we see each other all the time. Ummmm… that’s about it really,” she shrugged and took another sip of her latte. “What have you been up too?”
The Boy Next Door Page 9
