When (he)arts Prevail

5

While her father cooked the meat on the grill and her friends snacked and drank, Kaylee decided to go get her camera. She wanted to get some shots from today so she could look back and remember this day.

Everyone was sitting in the patio, except her father and Mike who were chatting by the grill. Kaylee went there first, taking the first photograph of them. Her father noticed her and smiled lightly, continuing to work on the grill. "Get my good angle, will you?"

Kaylee laughed, taking a couple of shots. "All your angles are good, Dad," Kaylee said and moved to the rest of the group.

She knelt on the ground a few feet away from the patio for the next photos, zooming in on Brian as he told the group some story. She paused a bit with her eye on the camera, lost for a moment in his features, until she realized, embarrassed, what she was doing and immediately resumed snapping photos.

She caught her mother chatting with Alyssa, both seeming happy and cheery. Anne-Marie wrapped her arm around Alyssa and started smiling to the camera. Kaylee would much rather catch people unaware and distracted, yet she knew how hard it was for everyone to just pretend she wasn't there. So she gave in to it and let them pose before she took the photographs.

The evening progressed smoothly. Everyone was eating and drinking, the cooler by the table steadily becoming emptier as beers were passed around.

The guys had already spammed their shared WhatsApp group, taunting Nate for his delay and making up stories for why he was late.

Denny, who was not present to help out his brother at his bar, offered his best version which was that Nate had found a 'lab lady' (whatever that meant), and had stayed there experimenting with her (whatever that meant either). Nevertheless, it was enough to have the group cracking up in laughter as they all read the message.

Denny was most definitely the silliest and funniest member of their small group. Kaylee always went home with her cheeks and stomach hurting from laughing so hard when he was around. 

Despite being older than Kaylee, she always looked at him as a younger brother.

"I wish Denny was here," Kaylee said, her voice still laced with remnants of laughter.Brian leaned into Kaylee with a committed look on his face. "He said he would pay you a special visit during the weekend."

Kaylee grimaced. "Oh god, I'm afraid of that."

"He'll probably show up at your door, dressed in a thong and cape, and will sing you a ballad," Mike chuckled.

"Be lucky if he does have a thong," Alyssa put in, on the other side of Kaylee.

Brian threw his head back at the comments, giving in to another fit of laughter. She joined him as did most of the group, everyone shaking their heads at the ridiculous view swirling in their brains now. Kaylee was grateful her parents had retrieved inside a while back, so they didn't witness this conversation.

As the conversation simmered down and the guys nestled together, Johanna came over to the couch Kaylee was sharing with Alyssa.

"What are you most concerned about New York?" Johanna asked.

"Finding a good surf spot."

Alyssa chuckled. "Good luck with that, girl."

It obviously wasn't what Kaylee was most worried about, yet she didn't want to dwell on those topics now, wanting to keep the chat light.

"Nate has helped me finding some nice places the other day. He sent me a ton of links and suggestions. He has friends out there, which helped."

"Oh, right, I forget Nate starts up conversations with anyone who so much as glances at him," Alyssa retorted playfully.

It was the truth. Nate was the type of guy who made friends with everyone by simply starting random conversations with strangers whenever they were doing something he found curious, or when he overheard conversations that interested him.

"He's a people whisperer," Kaylee joked.

"What about places to stay?"

"I'm looking. It's not very cheap out there."

Johanna smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure. My cousin moved to New York a couple of years ago and she had to share a tiny apartment with two more people for a while."

"How about Brian?"

Kaylee threw a glare in Alyssa's direction. "What about him?"

Alyssa pursed her lips, a pointed look in her eyes.

Luckily to Kaylee, Mike decided to break in. "I think we should toast to Kaylee," he announced, raising his glass and getting up from the couch.

"Aw," Kaylee wooed, momentarily putting her thoughts about Brian and issues about New York to the side.

"I hope everything goes well for you," Mike went on, "and you smash that academy campus and show them the real Cali force."

"Thank you, Mickey." Kaylee went around to give Mike a hug.

"And you are obliged to have the most fun and save a spot for me for when I visit," Brian added with a cheeky grin.

"Only if you bring me gifts."

His eyebrow lifted in suspicion. "I thought you should be the one giving me gifts from New York."Kaylee stuck her tongue out at Brian and he winked.

"Stop being disgusting," Alyssa said playfully, earning an elbow on the side from Kaylee. "Here's to Kaylee," Alyssa finished laughing and they all cheered and clinked glasses, downing their cups.

Brian went inside to pick up his guitar and when he returned everyone started asking for songs they could sing.

"I used to play this at school all the time. Girls went crazy."

Kaylee and Alyssa shared a look, rolling their eyes at the same time.

Right then, Kaylee started to hear some heated conversation inside between her parents. All talk ceased. Brian stopped playing, putting down his guitar as Kaylee's mother came outside, followed closely by her father.

Anne-Marie was clutching her phone to her chest, her steps shaky as she trudged down the stairs. Something was wrong.

Kaylee jumped from the couch, hurrying towards her parents as the confusion grew within her. What appeared to be tears stained her mother's cheeks, ruining the make-up on her face, and up close she looked frantic. She was trembling from head to toes.

"What's going on," Kaylee blurt out and at the single word, 'Nate', leaving her mother's lips, Kaylee's blood ran cold. She felt lightheaded all of a sudden, her ears buzzing.

"They called— they're taking him—"

"Who called? Take him where?"

Kaylee wanted to know more, needed to, her words stumbling over her mother's. Her heart started to beat so wildly against her ribcage, it hurt to breathe.

"He's been in an accident," Anne-Marie stuttered finally. "They say it's bad." Her voice cracked on that last word and her legs gave out from underneath her. Kaylee's mother almost crumbled to the floor crying if not for her father holding her upright.

Dread pooled in Kaylee's stomach hearing those words to the point of making her feel sick.

"Where is he?!" She asked in distraught, grabbing onto her mother's arm. "We need to go."

After Kaylee's mother managed to get all the information out, they all rushed to the Hospital, hoping to know more about Nate's state.

However, as it turned out, the situation was way worse than bad.