Happy Anniversary.

31. In Between.

So, I'm not a fan of this chapter. It gets a lot better in the next few chapters...Just so you guys know, there will be about 39 chapters and an epilogue.

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Alex's POV

"It's going to be a really fun weekend, and I'd really like Alex to come. There won't be a lot of us, and it's costing next to nothing because of the off-season prices." Rian explained to my parents. We were currently sitting in my dining room, the four of us, discussing Rian's pre-Christmas plans. He was going to the beach with Cassadee, Flyzik, and Zack, and he was trying to convince my parents to let me go. As Rian had told me before he asked my parents, he was also going to get Jack to come, but no matter how much they tried to trust me, there was no way they would let me go if they knew Jack would be there. They were looking hesitant as it was, and they were like putty in Rian's hands most of the time. We came to the mutual decision it would be better to leave that one detail out of the weekend.

Thinking of Jack, I peeked my head into the living room where Jack and both of his siblings were passed out. Once Jack explained everything to Mrs. Hoover, she had told him she would come to get them tonight, but to give her the day to get her house ready for them. She would have dinner with us before taking them with her. She was more than happy to house them, despite the circumstances, and I was grateful. Rian called me not long after Jack decided to lay down with his idea, and I forced him to come over both to talk to my parents and so I could tell him everything. 

"I don't know, Rian...I guess, if you're going to be with him the whole weekend..." My mom gave in. My dad just looked between the two, following whatever my mother's decision was.

"Thanks guys. Maybe I'll get that Christmas shopping I've been procrastinating on done!" I joked.

My dad rolled his eyes in mock exasperation before turning to the stove and checking on our food. We were going to have spaghetti and meatballs, and my dad had made five times more than he would have for the three of us. "Rian, would you like to stay for dinner?" He asked.

My mom's face lit up. She knew Rian could never turn her down. "Oh, yes honey! Tell us: how is your family doing?" They launched into a conversation of Rian's family and Cassadee; my mother thought they were the cutest thing and would probably be more heartbroken than them if they broke up.

Seeing as I was no longer necessary to the conversation, I motioned to Rian that I would talk to him after dinner and made my way into where the Barakat children were fast asleep, finding Jack and curling up next to him, deciding I could doze off for a few minutes next to him.

Soon, a few minutes turned into an hour, and I was shocked out of my slumber by the doorbell ringing. Jack and Joe slept right through the disturbance, but May was just as alarmed as me. We made eye contact; faintly, I heard footsteps headed toward the door, but I was more focused on the terrified-looking girl across from me. Her skin was pale and bruised and her eyes were wild with shock. The dark tendrils that escaped her very messy ponytail shook in waves. Her body was shaking so hard it seemed as though she was shivering. Without any warning, she jumped off her couch, jostling and waking Joe beside her. She couldn't be bothered to worry about her brother as she raced to the bathroom, the door slamming behind her.