Above Water ✔️

4 - i'm so over whites and pinks

Fuck this vacation.

I expected new faces when I got here. That was all fine and dandy. I met Carlos' new girlfriend that I didn't know he had, Jasmine. Sweet girl, a bit loud, but good intentions. I met Phoebe's brother, of course, and her best friend Caitlyn. Also Caitlyn's boyfriend, Ben. All was well with everybody listed. I was fine.

Until.

Of course, there's always a calm before the storm. Not that anyone in the house would know there was a storm afoot. This was just within me.

The next morning, we were all lounging about the house, eating breakfast that Phoebe and Caitlyn cooked. The kids were laughing, the birds were chirping, and I was actually not in a terrible mood. Until.

Until Phoebe looked at her phone and smiled, announcing that some Ashton was almost here. I did not know Ashton, which wasn't a surprise. Phoebe ran outside to greet the new person and didn't come back until five minutes later. Everybody was in the midst of conversation when the front door opened and shut. I watched Caitlyn squeal and jump up to greet them.

Girls were so expressive. I wished I could get away with squealing like that when I saw a sale on Little Debbies.

"The party's here!" I heard from the hallway, but it wasn't a female voice.

I looked over as the four of them walked in. Phoebe, Caitlyn, a pretty blonde girl who I assumed was Ashton, and–

Oh, hell.

Erick approached and dapped the man up, telling him he was so glad they made it. I all but dropped my fork onto my plate. My chewing ceased and my eyes locked on the figure I was least expecting to see. I could feel my heart sinking in my chest, lower and lower, until it was comfortably sat beneath my balls.

Frasier fucking Callahan.

He looked the same, unsurprisingly. Gelled back, slick black hair, thick beard, beady eyes. I wanted to scream, though I sat quietly. Instead, I averted my eyes and stabbed at my eggs with an attempt at an indifferent expression.

"You know them," Phoebe chattered excitedly, gesturing towards a few of us, "but this is Carlos and Jasmine, Erick's friends. And Meek, I told you about him, right, Ashton?"

I glanced up. The blonde–Ashton–smiled widely. She was very, very pretty. Like something out of an H&M commercial. She also seemed younger than the rest of us, half of whom were pushing thirty. "I've heard all about you," she said. "Phoebe says you're a great dancer."

My cheeks flushed. She was referring to my drunken display at their engagement party . . . and wedding . . . and last month's barbecue. I was known to bust a move when under the influence. In my defense, someone passed Molly around at the wedding, so that wasn't completely in my control.

I looked at Phoebe who had a devious grin. "That can not be what you're telling people," I said desperately. I tried to play cool but I accidentally locked eyes with Frasier.

Mistake number one of the day.

He was staring right at me, a perplexed look on his little bitch face. I felt my blood pressure rising. My journal was under my pillow. I just had to get to it.

"Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Frasier," Ashton said, holding his arm like her prized poodle. I tried to play it cool like I'd never met him, nodding at him curtly. His eyes just darted between me and Ashton quickly.

I just stood up and grabbed my plate, excusing myself from the table. Erick followed me into the kitchen and leaned against the counter while I scraped the remnants of my breakfast into the trash. "I'm sorry again about the whole Dallas thing," he said. "I know you didn't want to come and that was probably the only thing you had to look forward to, so I'm just sorry."