Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Twenty Six

—

"I never knew anyone 'till I knew you,
I never knew anyone 'till I knew you;
And I know, when it rains, oh, it pours,
Yeah I know I was born to be yours"
Born To Be Yours | Imagine Dragons + Kygo

—

Lilla
[Thursday, June 10th, 2018]

"So," Jason starts as soon as he slides into the seat next to me during sixth period history. We recently started sitting next to each other in the class, him moving next to me instead of brooding in the corner. While I am not a history buff, our teacher is fabulous and having Jason next to me during class makes it all the more enjoyable.

"Yes?" I hum, turning my head to rest in my hand, propped up on the desk. Jason slightly tilts his head to match the angle that mine is at, and I have to fight the strong urge to give him a wide, dorky smile. In favor, I give him a sleepy grin, big enough to make my eyes crinkle.

School is exhausting, no matter how close to the end of the year we are.

"I have a proposal." He pauses again. "Well, Penny and Dad have a proposal. But I am not opposed to it." His gaze shifts around to anywhere but me, and a soft laugh leaves my lips.

"You're so nervous. Did you forget the ring at home?" I kid around. It doesn't seem to put him at ease. "Seriously, Jace. What's up?" Hopefully the nickname helps.

"Dad and Penny would like to have you over for dinner this Saturday night," he blurts. I lift my head from my hand and give him a wide smile. But before I can tell him that that's great, he continues. "Mom and Mama want to have you over for dinner, too. But Mom is trying to wrap up some work stuff right now before summer, so when summer starts they want you over immediately."

"Ooh, meeting the parents? I didn't know you guys were there yet," our history teacher, Mr. Rydell, butts in. Both Jace and I choose to ignore his humorous comment, and focus back in on each other. "By the way, as sweet as this conversation is, don't forget about your Civil War questionnaire."

Thanks to the reminder, we fill in a couple answers while we talk.

"Jason, that's awesome. I would love to come to your dad's for dinner! I just have to talk to my dad, I'm going to be with him this Saturday but as far as I am concerned, he hasn't made any dinner plans. What time to I need to be over?"

Jason reels back, almost as if he thought it wouldn't be this simple. It takes him a moment to comprehend my enthusiasm before he responds to me.

"Six? Is that cool?" I nod.

"Yeah, I'll check with my dad."

With stealth and precision, I slip my phone out of my purse and type out a quick message to my father before directing my attention to the class work.

Me: That guy that I was telling you about, Jason, invited me to dinner at his dad's this Saturday at six! Clear to go?

A response comes in not long after I send the message.

Dad: Of course! But I just have one request — I would like to meet him.

"Fuck," I whisper. Panicked, I look up to double check that Mr. Rydell didn't hear me — he isn't a fan of swearing — and then pat Jason on the arm. "Small problem." His face falls when I say that, like he is worried that I can't come to dinner at all. It's ridiculously endearing.

"Problem?"

"My dad wants to meet you."

I see a wave of concern flood Jason's face. Quickly, he tries to cover it up and brush it off, acting like talking to my father after not socializing with adults for a year is nothing.

"Okay. What's the problem? I'll just pick you up, then." His body shifts in his chair so that he is no longer turned towards me, and I feel like this isn't a finished discussion. My right hand reaches out to cover his left, getting his attention back.

"Jace, my dad is cool. It's going to be just fine. He will love you."

He lifts his head to look at me. He doesn't say anything, just looks at me; cinnamon brown eyes ripping into mine. Air leaves my lungs. Coherent thoughts are temporarily unable to form. My hand remains on his.

"Thanks, Lilly." Giving my hand a squeeze, he pulls his own away, and continues working. The nickname spilled from his mouth effortlessly, like he's been calling me Lilly since we were kids on a playground. Lightly shaking my head, I face down to continue the worksheet.

Yet, my brain can't seem to focus on the work, because there is only one thing that I can seem to think about at this given moment.

Lilly. Lilly. Lilly.

—

[Saturday, June 12th, 2018 - 5:43 PM]

Jace: k... so I think I'm at the right place? Brookside Condominiums, right? If not, then I look like a weirdo loitering in front of some random building.

Me: You got it! Lol ;) Unit 309. Call it and I'll buzz you up!

Seconds later, the landline ringtone blares through the condo, and my arm darts out to grab it. I give Jason a quick hello, and type in the code to let him into the building. My leg bounces up and down at an alarming rate from my position on the couch.

"Was that Jason?" My dad, Jake, questions.

"Yep. He's on his way up." My leg continues bouncing so hard that I am afraid that the downstairs neighbors can hear it.

"Cool. And, just to refresh my memory," Dad sits down next to me, "this is the kid whose little brother you used to tutor? I remember that, but you guys never really hung out."

"Yeah, but don't bring up his brother. And Jason and I recently became friends."

Dad instantly puts his hands up in surrender, how dare me assume that he would bring up my friend's dead brother the first time they meet. It's just hard to predict what parents will do sometimes, and I need my bases covered.

"I won't! I'm not that much of an asshole," he groans, making me laugh. Then, he pauses, nodding. His eyes are focused on my leg, which hasn't stopped it's up-and-down shaking. "And for God's sake, calm down! You look very nice, you already know his family, they love you. This isn't a big deal."

I don't get the opportunity to thank him, because there are a few curt knocks on the door right when he finishes assuring me. Without even thinking about it, I jump up and practically run to answer the door.

"Hi!" I smile, leaning in to wrap my arms around his neck for a quick hug. His hands rest on my waist — we haven't hugged that much — and we pull away at the same time when we hear my dad approaching. Jason clears his throat.

"Hi there, Mr. Harris. It's great to meet you. Thank you for letting Lilla come over to my dad's for dinner, they are really excited to see her." He holds out his hand, and my dad grins widely, meeting Jason's hand in a solid handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too, Jason. And please, call me Jake. Formalities aren't my thing. Lilla is really excited for tonight, I could barely keep her sitting down. She's been perched on the edge of the couch for an hour."

Jeez, Dad, can you not for just one night.

Jason just looks down at me, a sparkle in his eyes and a chuckle escaping.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. I've been looking forward to this too."

"Have her home by—" Dad starts, but then he stops himself. Looking from Jason and I, back and forth, he makes a careless gesture with his hands. "Nevermind. I have to push her to get herself out of the house sometimes, so please, have her for as long as you want. Get arrested, throw a party, I don't care. Get her back here in one piece by tomorrow and we're fine."

I can tell that Jason is taken aback by this, but he recovers quickly, lightly grasping my hand and guiding me towards him.

"She's in good hands, Jake. I promise."

"Okay, well you two have a good night. Don't let me hold you back any longer." Dad practically ushers us out of the door, after saying his final goodbyes. Jason and I take one look at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Get arrested? Have her back in one piece? Aren't a lot of fathers all 'have her home by 10 or I snap your neck'?"

"My Dad was a party animal in high school, and college. He wants me to have fun, but he knows I'm responsible, so it gives me a decent amount of freedom."

Jason huffs.

"Well, I'm not sure I would consider dinner with my dad's side 'freedom'. But hey, to each their own."

Him and I fall into a comfortable silence, staying that way as we enter the elevator to go back to the ground floor. I see him turn his head out of my peripheral vision, and then his head goes back to facing the elevator doors.

"You look great," he comments, breaking the silence.

Just about too stunned to say anything but a bashful "thanks", I look down at my outfit; a dark sundress that falls to my knees and has cold shoulders, and a pair of strappy pink sandals to match the splashes of color on the dress. I smile to myself as I repeat the compliment in my head.

"I'm sorry if the hug made you uncomfortable," I spit out abruptly, as we leave the elevator. Jason stops walking and faces me.

"What?" He asks, amused.

"I don't know if it was 'cause my dad was there or you just weren't expecting it, I was just excited and—"

"Lilla," he cuts me off, bracing his hands on my bare shoulders. He bends over only a little so that he can look me in the eye. "It didn't make me uncomfortable at all. It was just unexpected. Don't worry."

I wish you called me Lilly, a quiet voice in my head goes on, but I don't vocalize this wish.

Inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, I nod, mouth twisting up to form only a hint of a smile. Jason grins, straightening up, and moving his left hand to rest on the small of my back as we leave the lobby together.

When we reach his car, he opens the car door for me, and we both make some really stupid joke about chivalry; British accents involved.

"Ready to have dinner with my dad, Penny and Carl?" He asks as soon as he plops into the drivers seat. I face him with a reassuring smile.

"Born ready."