The Decuplets

Zach and Josh Alliance

Zach

Ella and I's "conversation" didn't go exactly as I planned. I was hoping she'd forgive me, and I still don't know if she did. By the end, she was more crying than talking, and the last thing that happened was she hugged me and ran up the stairs to her room, still sniffling.

Though I didn't know how to approach it, I needed to prove that I meant everything I said. I needed a plan to get her back, asap. Luckily I knew a guy who was in a similar situation.

Josh had been walking around this resort dramatically moping like he was in some terrible prison. It was so painful to watch that I almost felt worse for him than I did for myself—not that anyone should feel bad for me. I fucked up, and she deserves to mad at me, but I need to make it up to her.

I had found Josh sitting by the pool alone when I proposed my plan (or lack thereof).

"If we work together, we can get them back," I said.

He turned his head lazily and shielded his eyes from the sun. "What's your plan?"

"I, um, well I don't have a plan right now. That's why I'm talking to you."

He looked slightly invested, now sitting up. "We could buy them flowers?"

"Not enough. We need something more elaborate, something more thoughtful."

"Flowers and a nice dinner?"

"Think bigger," I urged before coming up with my own idea: "Let's rent Palomino Island."

Palomino Island is a tiny island just ten minutes off the mainland with the resort's best restaurant. Gabe and I split some serious mango barbecue ribs over there.

"The whole thing?" he asked skeptically.

"Yeah, why not? We'll set it up with candles and get them flowers."

"That is pretty romantic."

"Right?"

"Okay, I'm in."

-

We begged the resort to let us rent it for the night, and I must say, it came out at a pretty high price. Usually the island is closed after 5 anyway, so I think we got scammed, but whatever.

Josh and I left for the island first to set up. By the time we were done decorating, the place was beautiful. There were flowers and candles on each table and the lights of the outdoor restaurant were dimmed.

"This is perfect," I said in awe.

"Oh yeah," Josh grinned, "We're getting some tonight."

I asked Gabe to send them around 7, but at 7:15 I got a text from him.

"I can't find them," he wrote.

"Uh oh," I said, turning my phone to Josh. "Keep me updated," I typed to Gabe.

The following 45 minutes were extremely slow, sitting there with nothing to say. Eventually, my phone began to ring.

"Sorry, Zach, you have to forget about the island. The two of them are crazy drunk. We tried talking to them but they ran off again."

"Alright," I sighed, "We'll come home soon." I hung up and looked at Josh. "I say we have dinner here anyways. I'm starving."

And so we did. We talked a lot about Scarlett and Ella because they were all we could think about.

"So if you like her so much, why not just ask her to be your girlfriend and maybe not get with other girls?" I asked.

"I don't know why I did it honestly. Why didn't you just ask Ella to be your girlfriend?" Josh replied.

"I wish I did, but I didn't want to scare her away. It felt a little soon." I paused. "I told her I loved her today."

His eyes widened. "Isn't that a little too soon?"

"Maybe, but I know it's true."

"How did she react?"

"She said it back. Sort of. She said she's loved me since she was ten."

"Ten? Holy shit, you fucked up bad."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Josh and I spent a couple hours engrossed in conversation since our boat was scheduled for 10. When I left the island, I knew my dream of having even one normal day with Ella in Puerto Rico was dead.

My mind flashed back to the eleven of us choosing where to take our vacation.

"I used to always go here with my family," Ella reminisced, "it's my favorite place on Earth. They have a wedding venue, and I am so getting married there."

A couple of the boys nudged me. "Noted," I teased, and she swatted my arm, blushing.

I doubt she'll want to get married there now. The thought of me ruining her childhood fantasy made me feel awful.

Josh sensed the concern written on my face. "We'll get them back," he comforted.

I smiled weakly at him. We waited silently at the bottom of the funicular, waiting for it to come down. When we stepped inside, we found Ella and Scarlett passed out on the floor.

"No way" were the only words I found. It was no wonder why the boys couldn't find them.

I knelt down in front of Ella and picked her hand up. "Ella," I said, and I heard Josh doing the same with Scarlett.

She sat up groggily, wiping her eyes. Her hair was all messy. It was adorable.

She squeezed my hand. "Hey, Zach," she grinned. Am I crazy, or is she happy to see me? "I'm drunk."

"I figured," I said.

She slumped against the glass wall. "So many cocktails."

"Looks like it. Ready to go home?"

She nodded. "Let's go home," she replied.