Jaylen Evans

Birthday Part 3

Jaylen pov
I don't know how it happened. One second, Jesus and I were running around the backyard, laughing so hard my ribs hurt. The next, he tripped over his own feet and faceplanted into the bushes. I doubled over gasping for breath between laughs
Jaylen: Dude! You good?
Jesus: I think the bush is eating me
That only made me laugh harder. I grabbed his arm and yanked but Jesus was still half-stuck, flailing like a fish out of water.
Jaylen: Okay, okay, wait. On three, you push, I pull
Jesus: Got it
Jaylen: One... two—
The back door slammed open
Lena: Jaylen Evans!
I froze.
Lena stood there, arms crossed, giving me The Mom Look. Oh. We were in trouble. Behind her, Stef was barely holding back a laugh but Lena? Nope. Not amused. Jesus finally managed to roll out of the bush landing flat on his back
Jesus: Hey mama
She just raised an eyebrow. Jesus and I exchanged a look. Then we legged it. We got about three steps before Jay and Kelly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed us
Jay: Nice try
Jay was dragging me inside. Kelly had Jesus in a headlock
Kelly: thought you could outrun a firefighter and a cop? Rookie mistake boys

Stef PoV
Calling two sugar-high, hyperactive teenage boys was already a challenge. But dealing with the crash? That was a whole other battle. Jesus and Jaylen were sprawled on the couch looking like they'd just run three marathons. Jaylen groaned dramatically draping an arm over his face
Jaylen: I think I'm dying
Jesus: This is worse than leg day
Lena smirked standing over them with her hands on her hips
Lena: I hope it was worth it
Jaylen peeked at her from under his arm
Jaylen: No regrets
Jesus weakly fist-bumped him
Jesus: Zero regrets
Callie who had been watching the whole thing in amusement leaned toward me
Callie: We should record this for future blackmail
Stef: Already on it
Jay sat on the arm of the couch looking down at Jaylen
Jay: So. You gonna survive?
Jaylen dramatically rolled onto his side
Jaylen: Doubtful
Jay: Well if you do survive I'd suggest water and a nap
Jaylen: Naps are for babies
Jesus: I want a nap
Kelly: Oh, how the mighty have fallen
Lena: Alright enough chaos. Both of you drink some water and get some rest. No more sugar
Jesus sighed but took the bottle of water Stef handed him. Jaylen though crossed his arms. Jaylen: not tired
Jay: You literally just said you were dying
Jaylen: Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm tired
Jay: Happy birthday kiddo
Jaylen: Yeah. It was a good one

We had dinner and after I went up to bed. I tried so hard to fight it. I really did. But the moment I hit my bed, my body betrayed me. My eyes got heavy. My arms and legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. And no matter how much I tried to convince myself I wasn't tired, my body was like, Nope. We're done here. Still, I forced myself to stay awake, staring at the ceiling. The day had been... weird. Good, but weird. I didn't think I'd make it through my birthday without breaking. I thought I'd spend the whole day drowning in grief, feeling like celebrating was some kind of betrayal. But somehow I made it.
Not just made it—enjoyed it. I rolled over, messing with the dog tag necklace Jay had given me. There was a knock at my door.
Jaylen: yeah
The door cracked open and Jay poked his head in
Jay: You decent?
Jaylen: Depends on your definition of decent
Jay snorted but stepped inside anyway, closing the door behind him. For a second, he just stood there, looking at me like he was trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he sighed and sat on the edge of my bed
Jay: I know today wasn't easy for you
Jaylen: It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be
Jay: That's saying a lot coming from you
Jaylen: Don't get used to it
Jay huffed a quiet laugh. Then, after a moment, he reached over and ruffled my hair.
Jaylen: Dude—seriously?
Jay: Seriously. Happy birthday, kid
Jaylen: Thanks, Jay

Kelly pov
I was sat on the couch and Jay came back down
Kelly: he okay?
Jay: yeah
Kelly: we should get going. I'm gonna see him before we go.
I went up and noticed the light still on. I knocked lightly before pushing the door open
Kelly: we're gonna go back to the hotel
Jaylen was sitting cross-legged on his bed, a shoebox full of photos spread out in front of him.
And not just any photos. Family photos. Jaylen didn't look up. He was staring at a picture in his hands, his fingers tracing over it. It was a photo of his parents. His mom was laughing, head thrown back, while his dad had an arm around her, smiling at the camera.
Jaylen: I almost forgot what her laugh sounded like
I sat on the edge of the bed
Kelly: It's been a while since you looked at these, huh?
He nodded setting the picture down and picking up another one. This time it was of him probably six or seven on my shoulders, both of us grinning like idiots.
Jaylen: I made you carry me everywhere when I was little
Kelly: Yeah you did. You were also a menace
Jaylen: I was
I glanced at the next picture. It was me, Jay and Jaylen at a Cubs game. Jaylen had a baseball cap that was way too big for his head and I remembered how he kept pushing it up every five seconds just to see.
Kelly: You kept dropping popcorn in my lap that day
Jaylen: That was on purpose
Kelly: brat
His smirk faded a little as he shuffled through more pictures.
Jaylen: I was scared to look at these
Kelly: why?
His fingers tightened around the edges of a photo.
Jaylen: Because I thought it'd hurt too much
I inhaled slowly, watching as he stared down at the images of the life he'd lost.
Jaylen: It does hurt but... it also helps
Kelly: You don't have to forget, you know. You don't have to push the memories away to keep going. They're yours. They're part of you. No one can take that from you
He looked back at the pictures, his fingers running over them gently, like they were something fragile.
Jaylen: Do you think they'd be proud of me?
Kelly: Yeah, buddy. I do