Bubblegum

Part 8

Three days in, Eden was stuck in the makeshift studio. Her head was pounding and she listened as Josh and Jake bickered over a verse in her song. She sipped from the lukewarm mug of tea on the small table next to her, taking the headphones off her head and letting them hang around her neck. They'd been working day and night and already had two songs done, but the breakneck pace was starting to wear on Eden.

"Guys, can we pause for a minute?" she cut through their argument, rubbing her forehead. Their heads snapped over to her, as if they just noticed her there for the first time that day. "At least so I can get some ibuprofen?"

"Oh. Yeah," Jake cleared his throat. "It might do us all some good to stretch our legs and come back. Besides, I think it's just about lunch time."

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what Sam's got cooked up for us!" Josh rubbed his hands together. The trio exited the room, heading out towards the living room. Eden moved upstairs and to her bedroom, rifling through her bags, looking for the bottle of pain relievers she had packed. Once she found it, she dry swallowed two of the tablets and then let herself fall face first onto her bed. She wasn't sure how long she'd been laying there like that, but she was jostled awake by the bed shifting.

"Hey, you okay?" she looked up, seeing Jake gazing down at her, a worried look on his face. Eden rolled onto her back and stayed still a minute, realizing her headache was gone, and nodded.

"Yeah," Eden rubbed her eyes. "Was I out a long time?" Jake shrugged noncommittally.

"It's almost dinner time." he said. Eden's eyes widened, and he laughed. "Josh came to get you for lunch, but said you were passed out snoring, so we figured we'd let you sleep for a bit."

"You shouldn't have." Eden sat up, stretching as she did. "I have so much work to do."

"You needed it." Jake insisted quietly. "Besides, I could tell if you had to listen to Josh tell you what note to hit again, you were gonna slug him, so it was good for all of us."

"Good call." Eden chuckled. They sat together in a comfortable silence, and Eden realized how strange that was for the cabin. Silence.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, trying to see if there was any light coming from downstairs.

"Danny started a fire in the pit out back." Jake nodded his head towards the back of the house. "They're probably out there. It's gonna be a great night for grilling."

🎶 🎶 🎶

"Josh no!" Eden called out, laughing as the curly-headed man started pulling fireworks out of a duffle bag he'd brought with him. "Are those even legal? You're gonna get us in trouble!"

"Chill, Mama," Josh shushed the brunette girl, tossing a pack of sparklers at her. "You need to stop worrying so much. Be in the moment, go with the flow."

"That's exactly what we'll tell you when you call us to bail you out." Danny laughed, bringing a bottle of beer to his lips. Eden chuckled and wrapped herself tighter in the large quilt she'd brought outside. It'd been a few hours since dinner, and nobody had wanted to go back inside; only to use the restroom or get a refill on their drinks.

"Just light them away from the house, okay?" Eden asked, gesturing down towards the water front behind them. Josh rolled his eyes, muttering something about being mom'd and trudged down to the shore, Sam and Danny following behind him. Jake was sat on a wooden log across the fire, his guitar in hand, picking out a melody as he stared into the fire. Eden studied his face, watching the shadows of the crackling flames highlight his strong cheekbones, the sharp angle of his nose. His lips were parted slightly and they just barely were moving, as if he were whispering out the notes he was calling to play. The way his fingers moved on the fret board looked otherworldly against the shadows.