All Of You (Riley McDonough)

All Of You

"Toby, what are you doing here?" The shock was unexplainable. How did he find us? Why was he even here?

"You know this man?" Alex's grandma asks and I nodded respectfully. "Well, I could've sworn a striking resemblance." She eyes us both, smiling. She always smiles.

"Can I talk to him, privately?" I said the last part quite sternly, emphasizing to let him know. Grandmother accepts the permission and with that, my brother stands up from his seat and follows me to a quiet and empty space where I could probably knock some sense into him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I held the strongest grip on his arm, Toby wincing and trying to get out of my grip. Once I set him free, he replies. "I told you I'm coming with you." Is he insane!?

"No, I told you not to! We came here to take a break and if Sasha comes to find you, I'm sure paparazzi will come next." Damn, why did he have to come along? What does he want?

"I can't leave now, if I do, they'd suspect. They'd check the flight I was in, correct?" He's right. "And besides, I left Connor there, he can handle it."

"What's gonna happen to those songwriting sessions?" Because we write them all together, we're not as experienced as Connor with independent songwriting.

"He's got it, but he needs two songs by us when we get back," That's what I was afraid of. "So what now?"

"I already stay in a hotel just a few blocks away, I'm good."

"Get out of here," I joked, slapping him on the arm, Toby leaving and heading back to the living room where they were.

We all began conversing about what happened back in New York and Florida. Everything was good. Alex hated talking about her career in front of her grandmother because she didn't want to look sad before her. She was already old, she couldn't want to see her granddaughter frown more than she does.

So we talked about us instead, us as Before You Exit. We're brothers and we make music, that's about it, I guess. I don't know what else she wants to know since that's all about it. "Where's your other brother?"

"He's uh- back in California, doing songwriting."

" He should've tagged along, right?" She giggles. "He'll come, soon."

"That's good to hear then. Alex, how is Jack?" And right there, the atmosphere became different. There was dead silence, nothing else. It began to heat up, slowly, her grandmother oblivious to it.

She could tell her everything, and she'd always listen to it. She just didn't want to spare the sadness that would come along with it.

"He's terrible, ma. The movie finished then I left, I broke up with him, done." The shock on her grandmother's face was terrible, I didn't want her to see that the nice boy Jack she thought wasn't really a nice boy.

But after Alex listing down the reasons why he was terrible, she completely understood. She'll always stay with her granddaughter and believe her.

By the end of the day, we all agreed that Jack was a big jerk face, and we were all happy about it. It was already ten and Ma -I had permission to call her grandma that- already hit the hay two hours before. Toby, on the other hand, left fifteen minutes ago to his hotel where he'll explain everything to Connor and Sasha and set things straight.

Once I head to the guest room, Alex just got out of the shower, so it was finally my turn. It just occurred to me now that I've been staring. That was awkward. "Um-" I looked away, scratching behind my neck, heat reaching my cheeks.

I hear her chuckling. "Just get in and don't stare to much."

"It's nothing I haven't seen before." I remarked, her eyes getting larger in shock. There was a long silence in the room, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Oh.