120: Your Tribe

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Emma gently nudged you awake but you tried everything in your power to resist being pulled to consciousness. You knew what facing the day would bring and you would have done almost anything to avoid it all together. Emma nudged you a little less gentle the second time as she coerced:
"C'mon, hun. You gotta get up. We've got breakfast here for you."

You rolled over, half awake to find her and Jaden standing over you. Jaden held a bagel, cup of coffee, and a nervous expression.

You groaned the rest of the way awake and took the coffee first

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You groaned the rest of the way awake and took the coffee first. You looked past them to make sure no one else was there waiting to join the wake-up train but couldnt figure out if you were glad or sad to see no one else standing behind them:
"Is Chase with you?"

Jaden: "No. He stayed the night last night but-"

You and Emma both jerked around to face him so abruptly that you almost spilled the coffee in his hand:
"What?!"

Jaden: "Relax. He just got in a fight with his mom and crashed at my house. Nothing happened."

Emm: "Nope. Absolutely not. You aren't just gonna drop a bombshell like that and then skeert out like you didn't just admit you you did."

Jaden: "Look, it's really not a big deal. I was up in my room and Addi let him in. He was upset and had nowhere to go so I let him stay."

You: "And your parents were just chill with that? You're out at home, right?"

Jaden: Yeah, but Addi and I are both 21 years old. It's really just not a big deal to them. I think they're just grateful we are both willing to live at home."

He looked at Emma and then at you and knew he'd probably said too much. Hearing about his parent's healthy relationship with their kids was hard on her considering her family hadn't even bothered to come home for Christmas.

You took the coffee and tried to pick at the bagel as you admitted:
"I guess it's best that he isn't here, to be honest. He's my best friend but he's just so angry about the whole situation. It's a lot of pressure."

Emma sat down next to you:
"Is Josh meeting us there?"

You sipped the coffee and tried to answer as casually as possible, hoping it wouldn't open up a line of questioning:
"No. He's not coming."

Jaden: "What?! What excuse could he possibly have for blowing off such an important day?"

You got up and pushed past them both to begin digging for clothes to change into:
"He's not coming because I didn't tell him about the subpoena."

Emma: "Girl. He is going to be so hurt. He just wants to be there for you."

You: "I just didn't want him to call off work for something that I'm hoping will take 5 minutes. I promise to call him after and tell him all about it, okay?"

SHOULD JOSH BE THERE ANYWAY?

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