Where Life Takes Us

Chapter Twenty-One

CHAPTER TWENTY RECAP: After Avery confesses about her old life, Wade decides it's time to open up about his past with encouragement from Avery. He reveals his mother left his family for her job years ago and with his dad's newfound alcohol problems, it led to a tragic car accident. His dad's death left him and his sisters scarred for life. To help his grandpa make ends meet, Wade confesses he started working at an early age to help his family and hasn't been able to get over the accident. Avery comforts Wade, and the two eventually reconcile.

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Chapter Twenty-One

W A D E

Since the Winter Formal Dance, I always thought the most complicated problem I had was when Avery and I had that big argument about our misunderstandings. Neither of us realized that telling each other about secrets we'd never think to say to anyone would be the key to us making up.

After that, I didn't think I had anything else to worry about. That was until, two days later when I woke up early one morning and found Grandpa at the dining table.

"Morning, Grandpa," I nonchalantly greeted, still in my boxers while helping myself to fresh waffles and bacon. "Did the bills come in?"

It was obvious Grandpa wasn't paying attention. His eyes were glued to the papers in his hand, before he slowly answered, "Yes, they did."

"Something wrong?" I concernedly asked, walking over to him with my plate and taking a seat in a chair.

"Everything else is fine, rent just went up a little higher," Grandpa revealed, shaking his head and drinking from his coffee. "Maybe by a little too much."

"It can't be that bad," I joked, grabbing the bills for the apartment's rent and taking a big bite from my waffle.

Scanning the paper for what we'd have to pay, my eyes widened when I found out that the total had gone up by at least another hundred. To others, it probably didn't mean anything. To us, it made the difference of having enough to making ends meet.

Out of nowhere, I choked on my waffle. I was probably taken aback by how much the rent had gone up compared to last month. Even as I gagged on the waffle and Grandpa rushed to get me water, the only thing I thought about was figuring out a way to pay rent by the end of the month.

How were Grandpa and I supposed to pay for higher rent when we barely paid regular rent on time every month?

"I know, that happened to me when I drank my coffee," Grandpa chuckled, handing me some water and taking a seat across from me.

Through his amused smile, I could tell he was worried about our situation. We were pretty similar — cracking jokes to hide our worrying or problems — so it wasn't hard to tell he was thinking about our situation as much as I was.

"Don't worry, Grandpa," I reassured, but before he could interrupt, I cut him off. "I'll find a way to make sure we'll pay the rent, I'll ask for extra hours at work."

"Don't stress over this," Grandpa reminded me, stealing bacon from my plate. "You're my grandson. You're supposed to be living your own life and doing what you want to do, not worrying about paying bills."

But all I could think about was, if I was meant to protect my loved ones, wouldn't it make me a bad person if I didn't try my hardest to help our situation?

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Later that day, I waited for the owner of the sports store I worked at so I could ask him about working at least a couple hours before or after my shifts. Anything to make sure we could pay rent in time.