The Way We Were

Chapter 3 //

I awoke to the light snores of Daphne. After Hunter, Rashad, and Freddy left, she decided to spend the night. Daphne is an early riser, so the fact that I was up before her shocked me. I slowly reached for her shoulder and cautiously shook her awake. She slowly opened one of her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asked in a raspy voice.

"10:51am." I answered. Her eyes basically fell out of their sockets.

"You're joking!" She screamed. I never understood her and her need to wake up early, even if we had nowhere to go.

She quickly jumped out of bed, "Want me to go make you cereal?"

I giggled. "Yeah, go make me cereal, Daph." Daphne couldn't cook if her life depended on it. All of a sudden, Jack had taken control of my thoughts. He loved to cook, he was one of the best cooks I had ever met. I missed his famous buffalo burgers, and I especially missed him.

"OH MY GOD!" Daphne screamed-- loudly enough to wake the neighborhood up, from the downstairs kitchen. I hurriedly scrambled out of bed and made my way down the stairs.

"What! What! What!" I asked, with an alarmed tone in my voice.

Her mouth was still wide open as she slid the piece of paper across my white marble kitchen counter.

Save the Date: May 20th, 2015.

Please join us, Michelle Payne and Angelo Cobb, as we become one in Holy matrimony.

What the fuck? Who was this Angelo Cobb whom my sister had planned to spend the rest of her life with? As far as I knew, she was still with Kane from across the street. They had been together since I was sixteen. I had talked to Michelle just two months ago and asked her about Kane and she said that, as always, they were doing fine. But, now that I think about it, she dismissed the subject of Kane almost immediately.

"This is perfect!" Daphne squealed, "We're going back to Utah! And now, we're on break! Oh my God, we can literally leave tomorrow!!"

My stomach fell to the ground. I had never even considered the possibility of ever having to return home.

Daphne noticed my uneasiness, "Are you going to be okay? Y'know, seeing Jack and all?"

I couldn't bring myself to burden her with the fact that I wouldn't be. Daphne missed home more than anyone could imagine. If I let her know the truth, it'd be on her mind throughout the entire stay.

"Of course." I smiled, "Book the tickets! I'm just gonna go call Michelle." I grabbed my phone from off the counter and made my way to the opposite side of the house.

"Oh my God! I'm so excited, we can finally see Claire again!!" She was screaming so loud that even though I was 3 rooms down, I could hear her as if she was standing right next to me.

"Bought them!" She announced. There was no going back now. Michelle didn't pick up. She was probably too busy planning her wedding with this man whom I've never heard of before. I texted Hunter, explaining everything and how'd I be leaving tomorrow and inviting him to the wedding. I silently prayed he wouldn't take me up on that offer. I didn't want my past getting mixed up with my future.

"Awh, babe. I wish I could be there with you for Michelle's wedding, but i told Freddy that I'd be in charge of all the meetings and press that are going to pile up from our break. I'm sorry." He sounded so sincere, which only made me feel more shitty. "I feel so bad."

I felt like a terrible person. How could I not want my boyfriend to meet my family? Part of me did want him to meet my parents, Michelle, and Claire. I even wanted him to meet Jack. They all were such important pieces in my life, and it sucked that they would never even know of each other's existence. I wondered what they would think of him. I know my family and Claire would fall in love with him and gush about how lucky I was to have such a sweet and good looking partner. But, I was more curious as to what Jack would think of him. I assumed that Jack wouldn't like him at first. I knew that I probably wouldn't like Jacks' potential new girlfriend either. And I also knew that Jack would see Hunter and I together and know that Hunter is a great person. He was the greatest thing that had happened to me since moving to LA. He knew how to make things better, he knew when to be my best friend and when to be my boyfriend, he knew when to laugh with me, when to cry with me, and when it was best to just leave me alone. I knew I loved Hunter with everything I could, I never doubted that. I doubted if I loved him more than I loved Jack, I doubted if I loved him enough. I wondered if my arrival to Utah and my reunion with Jack would change anything. I sat on my bed, pondering the future, when Daphne walked in, completely oblivious to the struggle I was facing in that moment.