NOTE: IN THE MOOD FOR KING FAMILY CAPERS? CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S HILARIOUS AUDIOBOOK READING BY kaelking12!

https://youtu.be/rG58dff6vqM

CHAPTER 50

Elias

"Alright, Eli. I know you're tired of having my sweaty palms plastered over your eyeballs, but the surprise you've got coming is totally gonna blow your mind. You, ready?"

Tanner tightens his grip around half of my face, and as much as I usually like surprises, this one's starting to suck. Normally, the idea of some super secret present would have me over the moon. But Tanner can't keep a secret. He rambles about them instead. For hours. Non-stop. Until the idea of being surprised is pretty much dead in the water.

Do I know what he got me for my birthday? No.

Do I know the exact number of days, people, and how much secrecy was involved in making this present happen? Yes.

Did I want to spend breakfast watching Lacey eat instead of listening to my brother talk? Absolutely.

But, obviously, none of that happened. Caleigh, Lacey, Mom, and I got lectured to death between sips of horchata while my brother went off about how incredible he's been at planning this moment. Problem is, now that it's here, I'm not even close to excited about it anymore.

"Am I ready, Tanner? I've been ready since you brought it up at breakfast! Hurry it up already. Your hands smell like dick cheese. What the heck were you doing on the drive down here, man?"

My brother stops inching me forward and knees me in the back of the thigh hard enough to bruise. Yeah. Birthday surprise or not—he's still a douchebag.

"First off, if my hands smell, it's from the new lotion I gotta use 'cause the pool's destroying my skin. And second, what was I doing? You're gonna lecture me on where my hands have been when you popped out of your bed room with a chubby bigger than the Florida panhandle? Check yourself, before I cancel the whole car thing on you, hermano!"

Tanner sucks in a sharp breath while I shove my way out of his grip, whip around, and stare at him wide-eyed.

"Car thing? What car thing? What the heck are you—"

The whoosh and crack of my mom's hand landing square in the back of Tanner's head abruptly ends the conversation. He crumbles over like a worn out piece of paper which I absolutely would make fun of him for if his head wasn't something he had to be careful about. Usually my mom's pretty wary around him, but judging from the royal irritation plastered all over her face, she obviously doesn't care this morning.

"Tanner Ramiro-Gonzalo King! You've been talking non-stop all morning long, and the only reason I didn't shush you was because I trusted you not to mention your brother's present. And, now, what do you do? Ruin two weeks of planning in two seconds. I knew I should've asked Lacey to—"

I throw my hands up and stop my mom before she can finish ripping Tanner a new one.

"Mama, slow down a second, okay? Tanner didn't ruin anything 'cause nothing he's saying makes any sense. I mean he usually doesn't make any sense, but randomly bringing up a car outta nowhere is even crazier than—"

A series of two-tone honks come riding on the back of the San Diego breeze stealing my attention off everyone and everything else around me. I turn around and stare down the stone path winding through the front yard to see Lacey sitting in the passenger's seat of Tanner's Wrangler.

I've spent enough mornings and afternoons in my brother's ride to know it backwards and forwards. Dad bought it for him used so it had a decent amount of wear and tear when he got it for his sixteenth.

The body was dented and banged up in places that would bother most people, but Tanner loved it. He passed up on the opportunity for the new car Dad would've bought him for a fixer upper, and, today, he fixed it for me.

The Wrangler's got a new coat of shiny jet black paint, new wheels, a giant red bow on the hood, and a completely redone interior. Tanner's beat up seats are long gone, newly replaced by tan leather ones similar to the ones inside my dad's Mercedes. Whether I wanna believe it or not, my dad's signature is all over this gift.

From the keychain, to the new design. Everything—down to the details.

He was just as much a part of this as the rest of my family.

And I don't understand it because no part of this situation can be understood. I did nothing to deserve any of this.

I've cussed out, disobeyed, and disrespected my dad more times than I care to remember. I nearly cost Tanner his scholarship and swimming career. I've broken Mom's heart more times than I can count. I let down Lacey just a few months back.

And this is what they've done for me.

I try to look up at Lace and put on a smile for her like I'm not falling apart, but I barely have it in me to fake my way through the feeling.

She waves me over, and the second I catch sight of Tanner's keys catching the sunlight in her hand, I break down.

My knees hit the ground before I even have a chance to try to keep myself standing. Tanner, Lacey, Caleigh, and my mom all call out my name, but I don't respond to any of them. I can't. I'm struggling to swallow the swell in my throat that's threatening to spill my guilt and gratitude right out into the open.

Lacey's the first one who reaches me. She catches me in her arms, and the scope of her gentleness has me coming apart at the seams in seconds.

"I don't deserve that, Lace. Or you. Or any of this."

Lacey runs her hands through my hair while I nuzzle into the slope of her shoulder where my brother won't see me crying.

"So, should I give these keys back to Tanner then? I'm sure he wouldn't mind having his car back."

Even in the middle of me feeling like I'm nowhere near good enough for all the love I'm surrounded by, Lacey still manages to pull a smile out of me. She tightens her hold on me, and I almost open my mouth and tell her the truth. 

I almost tell her how important she is to me. How necessary. And how her touch is anchoring me to the world right now. But I'm too scared. Scared of scaring her away. Scared of feeling too much too fast for one person. So I bite my tongue, bury those truths, and hope she can feel them somewhere in my silence.

"Well, since you're not answering me, I'll take that as a 'yes'. No keys for you!" Lacey says, then lets me go and rises to her feet without warning. I come dangerously close to falling flat on my face as soon as she disappears but manage to stop the inevitable from happening at the last second. I bolt up and chase after her, but she dances just out of reach every time I come close to catching her. She darts behind my mom, who despite her frustration with this morning, is wearing a smile wider than the California coastline. I take a second away from trying to get a hold of my girlfriend and pull my mom into a very necessary hug.

"Feliz cumpleaños, mijo. I hope you're happy with our surprise even though your brother ruined it."

I kiss her on the cheek which eases the furrow on her brow a little.

"Even Tanner couldn't ruin something like this. Mamá, no sé cómo agradecerte por esto. Por todos." (Mom, I don't know how to thank you for this. For everything.)

Mom rubs a steady hand up and down my back and shushes me quiet.

"Don't thank me. Thank your brother. This was his and your dad's idea. I wanted to get you something small and feo so I wouldn't feel bad if something happened to it, but those two convinced me otherwise. Use it well, mijo. And be careful driving, okay? Having your license doesn't make you invincible. ¿Me escuchas?" (You hear me?)

"La oigo, Mamá. Tendré cuidado, te lo prometo." (I hear you, Mama. I'll be careful, I promise).

She takes a step back from me, straightens out my shirt, and wipes the salt water trails off my face.

"Good. Then you have my permission to drive."

"What about mine? I'm the guy with final say here. Caleigh's got all the official paperwork in her backpack so, technically, you don't have permission to do anything until you go through me, E."

Tanner comes sauntering up next to Mom with Caleigh on his arm and a punchable smirk pasted across his mouth. Some days, I don't know why Caleigh continues to date him or how she's managed to put up with years of my brother being—my brother. 

He's obnoxious, talks too much, and is 150% more cocky than me. But for some reason, she stays. Even with him looking like a beach bum today in his worn out Billabong tank top and faded Hawaiian boardshorts, she's got her head on his shoulder like she's completely at peace. Caleigh winks at me, mouths a silent "ignore him" and then goes back to staring up at Tanner with stars in her eyes.

I want Lacey to look at me the way Caleigh looks at my brother. I want her to feel safe. Comfortable. Finally at ease because I'm doing something right. Because I've earned her respect and her trust. I want a lot of things when it comes to Lacey, but I need to take things a day at time if I want her to stay.

Tanner snaps me out of my thoughts with an uncalled for sock to the shoulder just to get my attention.

"Hey! Daydreamer. Stop staring at my girlfriend and get to the tearful 'thank you's' you owe me. I left a pack of Kleenex in the glove compartment for you since I figured you'd be emotional."

Tanner laughs at his own sarcasm which is sad and ridiculous but completely him. I think about punching him back but a single look from Caleigh stops me short. If Tanner ever deserved a day without brother-on-brother violence, it's this one.

"Dude, if saying how grateful I am is only gonna give you an ego boner then forget it."

"Too late," he says, all smiles.

Caleigh rolls her eyes and detaches herself from my brother's side. Atta girl.

"I'm gonna leave you two to talk. Tanner, feel free to join me once your head's returned from orbit."

Tanner's jaw just about dislocates itself from his face while Caleigh moseys off toward Lacey and my mom. I stifle a laugh while my brother runs a hand through his shaggy beach hair the way he always does when he's stressed. I throw my arms around him and trap him in a bear hug like I used to when I was little just to take the tension out of the moment.

"Listen up, T, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Growing up, I had this stupid idea that you had this like second identity—"

"What does this have to do with you thanking me? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's where this conversation was going before your random old man tangent derailed the whole thing."

I shove him off of me and flip him the bird.

"I'm getting to that, douchebag. Give me a second. Anyway, like I was saying, when I was little, I thought that because you were so good at everything and so good to people that you were some kind of real life superhero living in my house just pretending to be my brother. And I know that's completely idiotic, but for a while, I genuinely believed in that. I believed in you. I still do. I still spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to be like you, man. Maybe not as irritating, but you get what I mean—"

"How am I irritating?"

"Can I finish? Please?"

"Sure thing. But, just to be clear, I'm not irritating. That's your opinion, not a fact."

"Whatever, man. Just let me talk, okay? All I'm trying to say is that I appreciate how you always manage to do so much for me when I haven't even come close to doing the same for you. I'm seriously grateful, Tanner. More than you know. But as grateful as I am, I can't take your car from you. I just—can't. It's too much, and I don't deserve a gift like this—not after what I did to you this year. The whole Josh-Trish situation I started nearly cost you everything, man. So, why would you give this to me?"

My voice comes out unsteady and small, but Tanner throws his arm around my shoulder to ground me.

"Because we're a lot more alike than you think, Eli."

"¡Tanner, venga, apresúrense! (Hurry it up) It took me weeks to get your brother his appointment at the DMV, and if my niño can't get his license because of all your talking, I'm going to—"

"Coming, Mom!"

Tanner starts speed walking the two of us down the stone path toward where Mom, Lacey, and Caleigh are huddled around the car waiting. My mom shoots him a look which he blatantly ignores and then hurries me into the driver's seat like the unfinished conversation I tried to have with him never happened at all.

"Alright, E, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't an emotional moment for me. Handing my baby over to you isn't the easiest thing in the world. But, as long as you take care of my girl and yours—"

Tanner winks at Lacey who climbs into the back seat and smiles up at me through the rearview.

"—then I guess I'll officially allow you to take the keys. Care to do the honors, Lacey?"

Lacey leans into the front, drops the keys into my hand, and kisses me despite my brother being there. Her boldness totally catches me off guard. Lacey's usually shy about kissing me in front of anybody, but I think she knows I need this today. And just like that, I have another million reasons to be grateful. And, all of them belong to her.

 After a while, Tanner clears his throat to try to separate me and Lace, but we do our best to ignore him as long as possible. My mom opens the passenger door and snaps at me to stop which I respond to immediately.

"Eyes and attention on the road, mijo. I know Lacey's beautiful, but you have to focus on your test right now instead of focusing on her. Driving is just as much about protecting other people as it is about protecting those you love, you know."

I do. But the weight of her words hit me even harder as I look up and catch Lacey's eye in the rear view. Suddenly, the gravity of everything I'm about to do comes crashing down on my shoulders. 

If I get my license today, I'm making a commitment—not just to my mom but to everyone else on the road. I'm promising to do everything I can to keep them safe. I'm promising to not make the kinds of stupid mistakes I have in the past. I'm promising to protect the people who mean everything to me. But as much as I wanna honor that expectation, I'm scared that I'll slip up. That I'll make a mistake I can't take back.

I slide the keys into the ignition, grip the wheel, and sit in silence without starting the car for a long while. A hundred thousand doubts flood my veins to the point where they leave me paralyzed. 

I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can be the perfect driver my brother was. I don't want to disappoint my dad or my mom by not living up to Tanner's legacy. But right at the point where I'm about to reach for the keys and walk away from everything, Tanner reaches over and stops me.

"What's the hold up? You okay? You gotta get on the road before you miss your slot. Today's a big day for you, man."

Tanner looks down at my hands which are visibly shaking. Not exactly my best moment, but I can't even hide my nerves anymore.

"You never answered my question earlier," I say.

"Which one?"

"About why you decided to give me all this when you shouldn't have."

Tanner grips my shoulder and looks me dead in the eye without a second of hesitation.

"'Cause I believe in you, Eli. Como siempre lo he hecho y siempre lo haré." (As I always have and always will)

***

Thank you so much for reading/listening you guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter AND I hope some of you who've read CFTM catch on to why this day is so major for Elias and Lacey. Looking forward to sharing the next chapter with you next weekend! 

#RealTalkQuestionoftheWeek

1. Do you have your license? If so, were you excited or intimidated by the idea of driving? 

2. Do you think Elias will pass his driver's test?