#champcgnes

brooks: that's not the point of me messaging you. i just needed you to know that.

brooks: eli is having some trouble at school. i don't know how to help him out.

maybe volunteering to go on the field trip was a terrible idea. jed realizes now as he’s in the middle of the crowd at the amusement park, filled with screams from the children running around his feet that his ptsd is much more advanced and severe than he had thought. maybe it was just a bad day but his head is spinning and hears racing. he’s ready to snap at any second. his eyes drift over to paxton giving her a look as if he needed to talk. “i feel overwhelmed.” he whispers as he wraps his arms around her back, practically falling into her as he closes his eyes. he tries to focus on the feeling of her against him much more than the thought of anything bad happening.

to people who knew brooks a few months ago he was practically unrecognizable. he was much more healthy looking, happier, and dressed professionally seeing he got a job at a car dealership. something he loved since cars were one of his favorite things in the world. not to mention he finally got around to fighting for custody to his son, eli. and he won. so now he got eli twice a week and every other weekend. his day just so happened to fall on the spring choir concert that all the kids had to participate in. they’re on time, leaving right after brooks had gotten off work but the parking lot is crazy full. it takes a few minutes to find a spot and finally they make their way inside. “ayy --- e, hold the door open for these people.” brooks calls out to his son as he pushes his phone into his pocket making sure to turn it on silent. it’s not until he looks up that he sees savannah and eli talking. savvy turns to brooks smiling and waving and brooks feels his heart breaking in a million different ways to see just how much the little girl had grown up in the few months. “hi sav, look at you all fancy tonight.” brooks teases holding the door open for both the kids. he looks behind him and notices the ex lover from the corner of his eye. “how’s it going?” he says nervously giving a dumb head nod.