Quiet vs. Loud

Taking A Break

Rayne's POV

"Mom, I know Jackson is hurt and can't do anything right now, but if he rings that bell one more time, I am going to take it and bury it in the backyard." I said as I stormed into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Mom turned from the sink and came and sat with me. "What is he doing now?" she asked me with a slight smile. "He has started calling for me every few minutes, and each time, he wants something silly. I mean, the last two times he called me in there, it was first to close the curtains on the window, then five minutes later he called me back to open them again. I know he is lonely, but I am going crazy. I mean, I sleep in there every night, but I also spend almost all day in there too. I am so far behind on other stuff I have to do."

Mom just shook her head and put her arm around me. She knew how much trouble Jackson had been in the 3 weeks since he came home from the hospital. Everyone else had tried to help him, but for some reason, he only wanted me. I love him, but he was wearing me out.

"How about you take a few days and go do something for yourself." Mom said. "Today is Friday, and I don't have to work and Evan will be home by lunchtime, so starting right now, you are officially off Jackson duty. You can take today to catch up on whatever you have to do around here and then you can have the weekend for yourself."

I sighed and looked at her with a smile. "I would love to take a weekend for myself, but I don't have anywhere to go. Riker and the band have an interview this afternoon, and then Riker, Rocky, Rydel and Ratliff leave for a weekend trip to Florida tonight after the interview. So maybe I'll just take today for myself and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow." I felt my phone go off in my pocket, so I pulled it out and saw that I had a text message from Rydel. I read it, smiled, and turned to Mom. "Right now, I am meeting Rydel outside. She just texted me and said that she has a surprise for me." I gave Mom and hug and headed outside, stopping first by the door to slide my shoes on and grab my sunglasses.

Rydel was just coming out of her house and she ran over to me and gave me a hug. Then we went and sat on her porch. I looked at her and asked "So, what's this big surprise that you said you have for me?" She just sat there smiling and shook her head. "Nope, not right now. I can't tell you yet. But you are going to love it, and also love me when I tell you what it is." "Why can't you tell me now?" I asked her. She just smiled. "I promise to tell you soon what it is, but I have to wait for a few more pieces to fall into place. But don't worry, you are going to love it."

We sat on the porch for a little while until we saw Mark pulling up in the van. "Hey Mark" I said as he got out of the van and walked toward the house. "Hey Rayne, hey Rydel" he answered. He hugged Rydel then turned and hugged me. "Good to see you out of your house Rayne. For a while there, we thought Jackson was never going to let you leave." I smiled at him. "I didn't think he would either. But Mom told me that I was off duty this weekend. However, I know that you guys are going to be gone, so I told her that I would just take today for myself. Maybe I can take a weekend later when you guys are going to be home." I saw Rydel glance at Mark and saw him give her a slight nod in return, but I didn't think anything about it. "'Well, I'm gonna go in and see if your mom needs me to do anything." Mark said as he opened the front door. "Rydel, don't forget that you need to have your stuff packed and in the van before you leave for the interview. I am dropping you guys off at the airport and we are leaving right after the interview." "I know dad" Rydel said with a smile. "I am almost done packing. I just have a few more things to pack, and they are in the dryer right now. As soon as they are dry, I will pack them. I'll be in in just a few minutes to check on them."

After a few minutes, Rydel and I went inside, and were met with chaos. Ross and Ryland were playing xBox in the living room, and the two of them were louder than the game itself. Ratliff was hanging upside down off the couch while playing on his phone. Rocky was following Stormie around begging her to make mac & cheese for him. I didn't see Riker, but I could hear him yelling from upstairs, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Rydel just looked at me and grinned. "Welcome to Crazy Town, population of 5. Occasionally other people visit, but these 5 live here permanently." About that time Stormie came in from the kitchen. "Hey Rayne, glad to see you sweetie. Sorry everything is so crazy." "That's OK" I said as I gave Stormie a hug. "We deal with crazy at my house too, just quieter. What can I do to help?" Stormie just shrugged. "Well, if you don't mind, can you go up and see what Riker is yelling about? Rydel, can you please find some duct tape to shut up Ross and Ryland? I think your dad has some in the study. I'm gonna go deal with Rocky and his mac & cheese."