“Yeah, but if it weren’t for me being friends with you, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess. Riley would be on her way to becoming a veterinarian, Eli would still be in Haiti. And Josh would still be sitting somewhere on campus trying to figure out his major. Paige would be poking people with needles right now instead of holed up somewhere trying to make sense of all of this. Aiden and Ace would be serving their second year of service, and Mark would be off somewhere with his camera ready to take a picture for Time magazine or some shit,” Jared said, shoving his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath in and let it go with a heavy sigh.
“So what?” Josh piped up. “Are we supposed to turn our back on you because life got a little harder for all of us? ‘Cause I gotta tell you, Jared, life’s been a real bitch to me lately, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. We can either deal with it or let it devour us. I’d rather deal with it. I’d rather know we’re all together now instead of apart. Together, we’re stronger and can protect each other like we always have.”
Eli chuckled, saying, “Preach it brother.”
“Shut up, Eli,” Josh said, giving him the middle finger, but he cracked a smile before he could stop it.
“That’s all great and shit, but what about where my life was headed… where Paige’s life was headed? I can pick up the pieces after everything is said and done. Keep taking pictures, keep moving forward in my career, but she can’t. If she misses school, it will hold her back from being who she wants to be. How is that fair to her?” I asked, realizing I was more worried over what it would do to her than what it’d do to me.
“About that,” Riley said, bumping her knee into mine as she turned in her chair to face me. “Paige won’t have to go back to school. Everything, and I mean everything, she needs to fast track her to becoming a nurse, hell, even a doctor, is right here under this roof.”
“I don’t think I follow you,” I replied, wondering how in the world that could be possible.
“It means that if Paige wanted to, she could join the medic team with me,” Eli said, getting to his feet.
Jared came around the table, fingers interlaced with the girl he’d hugged earlier, and stopped just behind Ace. “What Eli means is that we all have jobs here. You and Paige could too, and we’d all be back together again. Like before, only a little more badass.”
They were all staring at me. Even the girl linked to Jared. “And who are you?” I asked her.
“Skylar Murphy,” Jared answered for her with a grin that made his eyes twinkle as he said her name.
She elbowed him in the ribs and rolled her eyes as she said, “Just Murphy, please.”
“Oh my God! Do you know what this means?” Riley asked, tugging me out of my chair and grabbing my arms with a solid shake.
Aiden’s hand landed on my shoulder with a solid hold, keeping me from losing my balance as he said, “Yeah, we’re going home!”
Riley let go of me, jabbing her finger in the air. “And we’re all going to be together, which is what Paige and Mark have been waiting on so they can get married!”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea, considering the potential threat hanging over us?” Ace asked.
Jared snorted. “Not to be a downer, but do you think there will ever be a time when something isn’t going on? This is our life now. Might as well accept it and roll with the punches.”
CHANGE WAS ALL AROUND ME. Everything was different. My life. My dreams. All of it.
Maybe some of it was for the best. Maybe it would push Mark and me to make more of ourselves than we would have on our own.
Crossing my arms tightly, I stepped out onto the dock and made my way to where Mark stood looking out over the water.
Coming back to the cabin and being around our friends after such a long absence from both had enveloped us in something like a constrictive hug. Both needing it, while desperately trying to come to terms with it.
“Hey,” I said, stepping up beside him and sighing when he pulled me into his arms.
I leaned back, turning my head slightly to fit into the crook of his neck. His cheek brushed against my hair and he asked, “Can you believe this place?”
I snorted. “No. But then again, we are talking about Jared’s parents, so…”
“True. It still feels the same here though,” he answered, watching the water ripple along the surface with the wind.
Arriving at the cabin, or what used to be the cabin, had sort of floored us all. No one knew what to say when we’d got our first glimpse of the new and improved place.
What used to be one story with a kitchen, living room, and six bedrooms with bathrooms was gone. Its replacement was two stories, ten bedrooms with full bathrooms, a massive open-floor kitchen/living room, a movie theater room, and a game room. Grant and Nadia had gone all out to make the cabin a place where all of us could live together, for an unforeseeable amount of time.
“It’s like they just knew…” I said, leaving the rest of what I was thinking unsaid. It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on the things none of us could change.
“How are you holding up with all of this?” Mark asked.
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. “Honestly? I don’t know how to feel right now. It’s like this huge war being waged right here,” I said, poking my finger against my chest. “I’m happy to see everyone. We’re here together—just like we wanted—but for all the wrong reasons. I’m missing classes and work. I don’t know what to do with myself. My life is literally on hold at this point.”
He hugged me tighter. “Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. If you want to leave, we’ll go. They can’t hold us here.”
I snorted. “Can you imagine the look on all of their faces if we just walked out with our suitcases behind us? No. I love you for that though. It’s nice to hear you’d do that to make me happy.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I’d do anything to make you happy, Paige.”
“What about you? How do you feel about it?” I asked, flipping his question back on him.
“I’m trying to process it. Ya know? I’m so damn angry they kept all of this from me. From us. And I’m hurt, even though I sort of understand why they did what they did. It doesn’t make it any easier. We always told each other everything, but it’s like as soon as we started our lives apart, all of it changed. We promised each other that would never happen,” he answered.
I understood completely how he felt, because I felt the same way. Not so much with the guys, but definitely with Riley. Riley had been my one and only friend through high school. And it wasn’t because I’d been some stuck-up snob. I just didn’t put myself out there for meaningless friendships and catty girl fights. I’d always been sort of a loner, preferring my own company to that of a crowd. And truthfully, I’d almost walked away from Riley because of her connection with the Six.
Riley never listened to my excuses, wouldn’t hear them at all, and kept picking away at me until I finally caved. It was easier, because I really liked her even if she came with six very unruly boys. It had felt like they watched me, waiting for what—I don’t know—but they watched me as much as I watched them. Until one day, we all just stopped watching one another and something like acceptance happened. I’d told Riley that one night when we were talking, just the two of us. She’d blown me off, telling me it was just my overactive imagination added to the fact I always tried to not fit in by keeping to myself.
I could remember the moment clearly, as if it happened yesterday. I’d agreed to go swimming with Riley when she showed up at my house and all but dragged me out to her truck. Caught up in my own little world, I didn’t think about where she was taking me until she rolled to a stop in the front yard at the cabin. I should have known, but while she’d chatted away behind the wheel, I’d been caught up with my own internal thoughts of which grant programs I still needed to submit forms and essays to. Jumping headfirst into the medical field, I knew I’d need a lot of financial backin
g for school. My parents, while they would do what they could, wouldn’t be able to fork over that kind of cash. With only two years left of high school, I needed to get my shit together to make it happen.
When Riley had showed up that day, I was sitting in front of my laptop, fingers shoved into my hair as I struggled with the simplest of questions. Where do you see yourself in five years? I’d stared at the question for what felt like hours, trying to work it out. One—because who the hell knew that answer? And two—what if I couldn’t get the necessary scholarships and had to work at the local grocery story to make ends meet? What if I never got the chance to do what I wanted to do because I’d never make the kind of money I’d need to be out on my own and go to school?
Riley had stormed my room, pulled my rolling chair out from under my desk, spun me around, and glared at me. “That’s it! Get your bathing suit. You’re coming with me,” she’d said.
“But I…”
“No,” she’d said, cutting me off from making more excuses. “It’s summer, and you’re not going to hide behind that.” She stabbed her finger at my computer monitor. “You have to get out of the house and live a little before you drive yourself completely crazy.”
“Riley, I…”
“No.” She’d turned her back on me and riffled through my chest of drawers, pulling out my bathing suit and tossing it in my lap. “Go change.”
I’d done as she asked, only because I knew she’d keep at me anyway if I didn’t, and then followed her to her truck. The whole time, I was running over different scenarios of acceptance and rejections from each scholarship I’d applied to, or planned to apply too.
So when she shut her truck off and the sound of six rowdy boys broke through my worried thoughts, it was too late to make her take me home. Worse was when Jared opened my door and drowned me with a stream of icy cold water from the massive water gun he held.
“Get out of the truck, Holton!” he said, laughing like an ass.
I’d fired out of the truck, snatched the water gun, and drowned him. “Who’s laughing now, dickhead?” I shouted at him, making sure to get a good shot of it in his ear.
God, I could remember it all so clearly. That moment when it all clicked into place and there weren’t any lines, imaginary on my behalf or not, with the Six. Although, I never pushed myself to be any more than someone whom they accepted. That didn’t stop them from giving me a bunch of shit and treating me the same way they treated Riley. As one of their own. Although, Riley was more like a sister to them than she ever was a friend. Well, to everyone except Ace. The two of them danced around each other for almost a year before they admitted how they felt. Nothing like waiting until the last possible minute to tell someone you care about them, knowing they were leaving to start a whole new phase in their life.
After the guys had left, it was just Riley and me. I did my best to be there for her. But it seemed like she couldn’t catch a break. Her dad dying had been her absolute breaking point. Thinking back on it made my heart ache. I wasn’t sure how I would have managed without Ace’s mom, Mary, to help get Riley through it. It wasn’t all bad; we’d had some fun too. Watching Jared perform on stage had been pretty amazing up until the crowd almost crushed her. I vowed that day I’d never go to another one of his concerts again.
Out of every friendship I had with the Six, the one that confounded me the most was Jared. He was such a pain in the ass, smart mouthed, sometimes arrogant, and a bastard. Oddly enough, he was one of my best guy friends ever. I’d never tell him that though. I could be a complete bitch to him, and he’d laugh it off and give it right back to me. Like draws to like, I supposed.
Mark chuckled, dropping his arms from around me as he said, “Looks like Jared’s doing his best at making it feel like we never left.”
I turned to look back toward the cabin and saw Jared dumping an armful of wood on the ground beside an impressive-looking stack Aiden had dosed with lighter fluid.
The wind changed direction, carrying bits and pieces of their conversation to us. Mark shifted restlessly beside me, and I knew he wanted to be a part of whatever it was they were talking about. He’d missed them.
“How much do you wanna bet Jared starts shouting for everyone in like ten seconds?” I asked with a shake of my head.
“More like five,” Mark said, never taking his eyes away from them.
Ace said something that made Jared throw his head back with a laugh.
“For as screwed up as the situation is… it’s good to be home,” Mark said, turning to me as he lifted his hands to capture my face against his palms. “Back to where we started.”
He kissed me until my knees weakened and my heart thundered in my chest. He probably would have kept kissing me had his phone not gone off, startling both of us.
He pulled back with a sigh and checked his phone. Chuckling, he turned the screen so I could read the text message.
Jared: Stop sucking face and get your asses over here.
I rolled my eyes. “Why do you even have your phone?”
“I was gonna call my parents to let them know we’re here, but I don’t know what to say to them,” he said, putting his phone back on the clip at his waist
“I know what you mean. How do we tell our parents that we’re here at the cabin, but we can’t go anywhere because someone might see us?” I asked, realizing how insane it sounded.
Mark grumbled beside me. “This is a damn mess.”
“Yep. Do you think Aiden, Josh, and Eli will call their parents?” I wondered.
“Guess the only way to find out is to ask,” Mark answered as we walked along the worn planks of the dock, making our way to where Jared and Ace had put the final touches on what looked to be an impressive start to a damn fine bonfire.
“…don’t know how she puts up with me honestly,” I heard Jared tell Ace as we got closer.
“It’s probably ‘cause you sing to her,” Ace said, dusting off his hands. “That’s why we kept you around. Entertainment purposes and all.”
Jared snorted, shaking his head. “Never thought it would all turn out like this though.”
He sounded sad. Sullen almost. I couldn’t blame him. He had so much going for him. The band, his career, all of it taken from him before he’d even had a chance to live it.
“I’m gonna go round everyone up. Grab some chairs, would ya?” Jared said over his shoulder, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked away.
Ace sighed. “I knew it was gonna be hard for him. Coming back here, I mean. If all the changes don’t get us, the memories will.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jared so calm before. When did life take that from us? It never mattered how shitty a situation was. As long as we were all together, we found a way to just be happy,” Mark said.
“Maybe it’ll just take a few days to settle in. This is a good start though,” Ace said, pointing at the dancing flames.
There wasn’t anything really forced about being back together again. But the undercurrent of change rippled through the air. Life had taken all of us in different directions, leaving behind some damn good memories, but also a sort of barrier of time that no matter how much we wanted to overlook it, we simply couldn’t. I had no doubt we could all pick up where we left off, friendship wise.
We’d always be friends, no matter where life took us. And really, it had only been a little over a year ago when we’d said goodbye to one another. Yet, it felt so much longer than that. And with that year came so many changes that it would take more than one bonfire to piece it all back together in some sort of patchwork layout that fit us all.
The biggest change was seeing Jared with Murphy and Aiden with Airen. Could they have names more alike? My tongue tied more than once when trying to distinguish between the two. Josh joked, calling them the A-team. At least with Josh joking the way he always had, it put a lighter spin on things.
But how long will it last? This whole situation is a shit show that’s disrupting everyone�
�s lives.
I shook off the thought as a burst of wind carrying the fresh scent of cut pine rolled over me. Alabama at night in November was chilly, but not cold enough to freeze you, yet even knowing that, I couldn’t wait until the boys got the fire rolling hot enough to chase off the block of icy dread lodged in the center of my chest.
Mark and Ace walked the short distance to the shed to grab the chairs as Eli came out, steaming cup in his hands.
He stopped next to me, handing me the cup. “Hold this, would ya?”
The heat warmed my hands as I wrapped them around the porcelain and inhaled the sweet scented steam. Eli loved his hot cocoa, and by the smell of it, it was his favorite kind. My mouth watered as I fought the urge to take a greedy sip.
Riley laughed behind me, catching me in the act.
“Saw you drooling from the window and thought I better bring you one of your own,” she said, gesturing for me to switch cups.
Cautious not to burn myself, I blew against the rising heat before taking a small sip. I couldn’t help the groan of pleasure that rolled through me as the taste of dark chocolate, a dash of sugar, and the creamy froth of milk hit my tongue.
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS?" PAIGE fired back at Riley.
The mood changed around the fire when Riley brought up the wedding.
“Why not? We’re all here, and there are plenty of us to help get everything ready,” Riley answered as her eyes roamed over the circle we’d created around the warming flames.
“For starters, my dress is hanging up in the back of my closet.” She paused, but only briefly. “In New York.”
“So?” Jared said, cutting Riley off from replying. “It’s not like it would be hard to have someone go and get it.”
“Weddings take time to plan, you guys. It’s more than just the dress. It’s everything from invitations, to flowers, and then there’s the reception. You can’t put something like that together overnight. Especially when you can’t nail down a date because your friends won’t get in touch with you about their schedules,” she said as her eyebrows pulled together in a scowl that said she wasn’t happy with them in the slightest.
The Vows We Make (The Six Series Book 4) Page 4