Your Mind Is A Stream of Colors (ReaderxJosh Kiszka)

Chapter Five

You woke up the next morning to the strong scent of coffee overtaking your senses. There was a quiet bustling behind you in the kitchen as someone busied themselves organizing dishes. The morning sun shined in through the window above the sink and displayed streaks through the room onto the brick mantle of the fireplace in front of you. The fire had long since burned out after your late night chat with Sam.

You uncurled yourself from your sleeping position and stretched your limbs out far above your head and extended your back. A slight groan escaped your lips as you wiped the sleep from your eyes. The person in the kitchen came around and set a mug of steaming hot coffee on the short table beside you. It was Karen still in her pajamas with a happy grin on her face.

"Sleep well?" She asked as she sat herself down beside you with her own cup.
"Yeah, actually. I forgot how cozy it is here."
"We missed having you around, Y/N. We're glad you decided to come."
You took a long sip of the hot liquid. "Me too. It's nice to see everyone again."
"I wish it could have been under better circumstances but it seems like you're getting along well."  Her statement came out sounding more like a question as she crossed one leg over the other.
"Yeah, no. It's been really nice. Sam and I stayed up all night talking.  Did you know he double fisted beers in the middle of a park fountain?"
Karen laughed and nodded her reply. "Jake sent me the pictures.  Some things never change, do they?"

The two of you sat there making small talk while you worked your way through the first of what would be many cups of coffee that day.  After awhile, Lori and the dads strolled into the kitchen which Karen took as her queue to get up and start making breakfast.  Lori joined her in the kitchen while Kelly and Dan made their way out to their way out to the patio to drink their coffee. One by one, the others started to straggle into the living area.  Jake and Danny sat at the table while Sam sat on the other end of the sofa from you.  He had his chin propped up on his hand and his eyes closed like he wasn't quite awake yet.  Ronnie joined her father out on the patio when she came out and Josh was the last to join the rest of you.  He plopped down on the sofa between you and Sam and crossed his legs beneath him.  He was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before which led you to believe he passed out the moment he laid down for bed. That probably explained why he was the most awake out of the lot of you.

As you all grabbed a plate and sat around the glass patio table for breakfast, Kelly was the first to strike up conversation with the group. He sat at the head of the table next to his wife with Dan and Lori across from them. Danny sat between Ronnie and his mom while you were sandwiched between the twins. Sam sat on the other side of Josh so he could throw his scrambled eggs at you. God knows he wasn't going to eat them.

"What are you guys getting up to today?" Kelly asked the men sitting around you. You couldn't answer because you had no clue. You made eye contact with Ronnie who simply shrugged in response.
"We're gonna go on the trails," Jake said. "It's supposed to get to the high 80's today."
"The pike trail?" Sam perked up mid-throw with a small chunk of egg between his fingers.

You remembered all the times you used to hike the pike trail when you were younger. It wasn't a horribly long trek, but it was fairly strenuous. The beaten trail weaved through the vast forest that laid upon the other side of the river. It climbed up and down hills and wound around in what seemed like never ending turns before it opened up to a clearing with beautiful flowers lining a small pond. It was always you and Sam who had gone, usually in the middle of the summer.

"That's what we were thinking," Josh chimed in. "Make sure you bring a towel. I don't want to hear you complain the whole way back."  With that, Sam changed his mind and threw the chunk of scrambled egg at his brother, hitting Josh square on the tip of his nose.
"Boys!" Karen exclaimed, although she couldn't hide her laughter.