#trailercreek

where were you, on another planet? (leland!) // && @trailercreek

a morning filled with a sunrise, some horse shit and a bunch of cowboys who didn't want to listen. 4am wake ups felt like nothing anymore. the only thing that brought cade any solice was that delaney was still back at his house, or at least he hoped that she'd stayed. cade had woken up before the sun, as he always did, but the brunette hadn't seem fazed by his waking. actually, if cade had looked close enough, it looked like delaney got cozier the second the king bed became free. whatever this was between them, whether just sex or maybe a little bit more, it felt good. it felt right opening up his home again, giving delaney the space to make it her home too. cade would've never admitted it, but having her interrupt his routine didn't feel like much of an interruption. it felt, well, it felt like she was slipping right back into what was already going on.

fire works cracked up above them, the only other sound in the air being kids giggling happy to each other. cade knew he was lucky, but the have the view they did from the eaton ranch was one the things he was luckiest for. there were multiple properties on the land, most built by hand by the eaton brother who now lived inside. however, cade was smart. not only was he the oldest (so he got the first choice of where he'd live), but he was the smartest in picking out things for the bigger picture. years later, after building said house by hand, he now sat in front of it with the bed of his truck pointed towards downtown bethel creek. his kid, their kid, running around with his cousins and friends in laughter beside them.

they weren't really together anymore, but maybe they were? technically speaking, neither of them had said the words we're breaking up. they hadn't really talked about it in months or for what felt like years. he had gotten the news long ago that football was no longer. cole, maeve at least assumed, had to reevaluate his life and well, apparently maeve was no longer part of that. they had drifted apart, things had changed but maeve was still in love with him. maybe she'd always be in love with, at least until she received closure like she was supposed to. even now in their early twenties, maeve still giggled at colton like he had hung the moon. in their past, he would've told her that he had put it up there himself just for her. now, all she got were a couple of flirty texts and maybe a booty call here and there. she'd go too, of course she'd always go.

cole had officially broken her heart. the injury was hard enoug: countless hours spent by his bedside, listening intently on what and how the doctors had told her that she could help. hours of rehab in the family garage, text messages reminding him to take his pain medicine. watching a piece of his identity dance further and further away from his grasp was starting to feel like she was losing a piece of him too. he would get back to where he was. he had to and maeve would be right by his side the entire time.

"i am fi - " and then she tripped, catching herself before she fell flat on her butt in the middle of main street. lips pressed together, eyes narrowing in the direction of her oldest friend. thank god she was still on her feet, but maeve immediately made a mental note to get rid of these heals the next time she thought they were a good idea. there was no place for anything above six inches in a place like bethel creek. a finger in his direction with furrowed eyebrows, almost accusatory before dipping in her purse to throw him the keys to her own truck. without another word, maeve waved him off before any laughing starting.

"it should!" because she was pissed. maeve was beyond pissed, actually. "maybe ill be mad at the cold too! do you think that'll make it listen? do you think that'll make the cold finally listen to me?" it had been a long time since something had made maeve ravenously jealous. when they were younger, there were other girls. sometimes at other schools, maybe at their own but once they'd look at him for too long then she'd get annoyed. she would cause a fight, he'd reassure her that maeve was the only girl in the world and that was that. until tonight, however, when cole walked into her bar with some out of town-er and acted like he didn't know her from the next person. maeve might have been overreacting, but he didn't even give her a hug when he ordered their drinks. there was no romantic relationship between the two of them any longer, but god. they weren't just friends. not even close, so what the hell was that?

"fuck," she was beautiful. she was more than beautiful, she was funny. she was sweet, she was kind, she was adventurous. cade didn't want to be like the rest of the guys in town, coming to see her at the club for whatever benefit they could think of. she was more than that, deserved more than that. he was no better than them, however, eyeing her from across his living room. eyes moved from her bare feet to her calves, to her thighs. the way her cut off shorts were half unbutton, the bottom of her swimsuit peaking beneath the denim. it felt more intimate, like this could be real. a night of bourbon, the hot tub bubbling outside. "blue," he whispered, arms stretching out on the back of his couch. fingers were digging into the fabric of the lounger, "you deserve that. you deserve good." cade was sure, however, he couldn't give that to her.