Always There - Part 2 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 203: Always Included You

"What's that?" Jake asked. My stomach instantly dropped, my whole body going cold. I knew I should have expected this, but nothing could have prepared me for the look in his eye, the color instantly draining from his face.

"W-what.. what do you me-"
"We're engaged." Josh said.

You could hear a pin drop.

"You're.. what?" Jake said, his eyes never once straying from mine. I felt horrible. This should have been such a special moment for the two of them. They should be celebrating together, he should be congratulating him.
"Y-yeah." I muttered, now pulling my hand away, shoving it into my pocket.

"When did.. this happen?"
"Just now, a little while ago." Josh said, chiming into what really felt like a conversation that Jake only wanted to be between the two of us.
"You.. you didn't mention anything." Jake muttered.
"You know why I couldn't do that."

This was unbearable.

"Is your mom awake?" I asked, peeking inside behind him. He nodded, moving out of the way as Josh made his way in first, taking my hand again and pulling me in behind him. I followed close, trying my best not to let there be a second where Jake could get me alone.

"Mom!" Josh called out, looking around, pulling me through the house, peeking into the kitchen, eventually finding her and their dad sitting on the couch in the living room.
"There you are!" She yelled back, muting the TV and turning to face us. "Are you guys all packed? What time did you decide to leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah, um.. we.. we have something to tell you." He said, squeezing my hand tighter. I couldn't help but smile at the excitement in his tone. I'm glad he didn't let Jake ruin what was the perfect night.

She was quiet for a moment, holding her stare on his as if trying to assess the situation, I'm sure praying that it was good news.
"What is it?" She asked. Josh peeked down at me, nodding. I pulled my other hand out of my pocket, holding it up for her to see, the ring instantly glistening in the light.

I don't think I'd ever get used to how beautiful it was.

"Oh my gosh.." She whispered, her eyes instantly lighting up.
"We're engaged!" He finally called out, as if it just exploded from within. She jumped up, running over to us, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Oh, honey! This is.. this is beautiful!" She then moved away, looking over at me before hugging me too, lingering a little longer than I expected. But it was so nice to see just how happy she was for us.

"Yeah, but we actually have somewhere to g-"
"Josh, you just got engaged! We have to celebrate!" She sang, already heading into the kitchen. I heard him sigh, smirking over at me, playfully rolling his eyes.
"See, this is what I was trying to avoid." He muttered. I playfully shoved him, but instantly took his hand, pulling him back in.
"She's right. We should celebrate." He leaned in closer.
"I fully intended to celebrate with you at the hotel.. alone." He whispered. My heart jumped.
"We can leave in a little bit. Let's just let her have this."

"Everyone!" She yelled. "Come downstairs!" My stomach dropped, now refusing to turn around as I heard footsteps behind us, knowing they were Jake's, following us into the kitchen. He stayed quiet, making his way in, leaning up against the counter. I could feel his eyes drilling a hole into the side of my head. This was excruciating.

Maybe we should have just gone right to the hotel.

Soon enough Ronnie and Sam made their way into the kitchen, looking around at everyone, just as confused.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, peeking over at me, giving me a gentle smile, his cheeks instantly burning red. I'm sure he was probably wondering if I had told Josh about what had happened, but even still, it wasn't a big deal. I saw no reason to make something out of nothing. I smiled back at him, biting down on my lip, hoping that at least he could be happy for us?

Before the other night, aside from Josh, Sam was one of my best friends, and I hoped that we wouldn't let one innocent kiss come between that.

His Mom looked over at us, nodding, insisting we be the ones to share. Josh sighed, his smile growing as he playfully rolled his eyes, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me in closer.
"Jaime and I are engaged." He said, leaning down and kissing the top of my head. I couldn't help but smile, cuddling closer, knowing that I would never get used to hearing it.

After spending what felt like my entire life imagining what it would be like, it was finally happening. And it didn't feel real. I don't think it ever would. Maybe not until I was walking down the aisle to him.

Maybe not even then.

The room was quiet for a moment, all of the sharing quick glances before Ronnie let out an excited squeal.
"Jaime!" She yelled, making her way over and pulling me into a tight hug. I squeezed her tighter. I had always wanted siblings, but especially a sister. I had never had many girl friends growing up, but she had always been like a sister to me.

Now it was going to be official.

"Oh my god, we always knew this would happen!" She yelled. I heard Josh laughing from behind me, prying her off of me and hugging her tight.
"Thank you, Ron." He said softly.
"This is so exciting, I can't believe it, the first one to get married! Oh my god, we're gonna have a wedding!"
"Yeah, yeah, but.. not until we're done with school." He said. She let out a deep sigh.
"You can be married and go to school! Come on!"
"Ron, we leave tomorrow." He laughed.
"Yeah, but-"
"I promise, we'll let you help all you want when we get back." She stopped, finally nodding as she flashed us an excited grin.
"Okay."

And then I turned to Sam, who was leaning back up against the counter next to Jake, both of their faces seemingly frozen in an uncertain scowl. I could already feel my heart beating faster, just wanting one of them, specifically Sam to say something.. anything.

"You guys.." Their Mom chimed in, shooting them a stern look. Sam eventually snapped out of it, forcing a subtle smile as he made his way over, wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm happy for you." He said softly. I nodded, leaning my head on his shoulder, hugging him tight.
"Thank you." I sighed.

But that was all he could manage.

"Jake?" He shook his head, tightly crossing his arms across his chest, looking down at the floor to avoid our eyes.
"Jake.." She said again. I heard him sigh, peeking back up at me before pushing himself away from the counter and making his way out of the kitchen, his heavy footsteps carrying him upstairs, followed by an echoing slam of his bedroom door.

The room went silent.

"Don't let him ruin this." She said, coming back over to me. "This is so exciting. He'll come around. It's okay." I nodded, biting down on my lip to try and contain the tears that I knew were inevitable.

"Champagne!" She called out, trying her best to change the subject, going over to the bar and pulling a bottle out of their fridge. I nodded, watching as everyone gathered around, grabbing their glasses, hating that he was now all alone while we were celebrating this.

She handed me one with a smile, filling my glass first, followed by Josh's, and then making her way around the room until the final drop filled Sam's glass.
"So, I guess I should say something.." Josh nervously giggled, turning to me. I felt my heart beat faster, an excited grin escaping from my lips.

"Well, first of all, I'm happy to have a family that supports me so much, I know how lucky I am and I never take that for granted. I'm also thankful for the day the neighbors next door decided to move out, because who knows if they hadn't, if I would have ever met you.." He said, turning back to me.
"Jaime, I've always known.. that one day we were going to be here, they've dealt with it for years, so.. I'm finally glad that the day is here where we can start planning the rest of our lives together, but.. my plans have always included you. I love you."

I reached up, pulling him into a long kiss as the room cheered around us, the sound of clanging glasses followed by quick sips and applause.
"And I love you." I whispered, leaning my forehead against his. "Here's to forever."