ETA

Day One

We stood as a group.

Cassandra Ann, my best friend from a young age. Well we grew up in the same house so not from just any young age, since birth.

Literally since birth, we were born on the same day in neighboring hospital rooms. Weird I know but our mothers were just as close as we are.

Her blue eyes held a distant stare. She held her sisters hand in her left one and used the other to push a stray blonde lock from her ponytail behind her ear.

Alexandra Ann, another friend from my birth. She was one year older than Cassandra and I but we were all in the same group together.

She wasn't as quirky as her younger sister but she definitely knew how to party better than Cassy.

Unlike Cas, Alex had inherited her fathers light brown eyes. Her hair matched her sisters, thrown into a ponytail out of eagerness.

Her eyes mirrored the look in all of our eyes, worry, happiness, scared.

Natalie Roslyn was my cousin. She grew up next door to us and was born exactly one month after Cassandra and I.

We could of been twins instead of cousins. We both shared long red hair and green eyes. Her eyes were brighter than mine and told everyone how she felt.

Mine were speckled with blue and hid my thoughts.

Natalie had tears brimming her eyes, ready to spill over. Her side braid had been hastily thrown together. The colored streak she had for so long had disappeared when they left.

Three years ago today they left.

Liam, Jackson, Garret, and Mason.

And now we stood, watching the flight coming in from New York, waiting.

Waiting to see a glimpse of Liam's 6"6 tall frame. Or Jackson's bright green eyes. Or to hear Garret's harmonious laugh. Or to eye Mason's shaggy blonde hair.

But as passengers got off one by one and none of them shared the traits as our boys did, our spirits broke.

Specifically I was waiting for Mason. But those three other boys meant just as much to me as Mase did. They were my brothers. And believe it or not they all lived in the neighborhood too.

They were also all one to four months older than me except for Jackson. He was older than Alex by three days, but like the elder Ann sister he hung out in our group.

"I don't see them, why don't I see them Amber?" Natalie asked frantically.

I didn't answer her question, we all knew the answer, today just wasn't the day. It was a long shot to believe that they would be home in exactly three years.

Their mission was only supposed to last three years, but for it to be exact would have to be some pretty crazy statistics.

"They aren't coming," Cass muttered.

Alex sighed, "not today."

My eyes dropped to the floor as I stepped closer to the gate.

"That was the last person," the flight attendant smiled to her fellow co worker.

I nearly fell right there. But instead of dropping to my knees I almost ran out of the horrid building. My friends followed behind me.

"Why?" I whispered.

No one said a word.

"Why?" I said the question I have wanted to know for three years over again this time louder.

Silence answered my question. No one knew why they left. None of those boys had a hard life. The only one that came to a close second was Jackson but he didn't have a bad life after he was adopted.

Jackson hid the truth about his past for a long time but we all eventually caught on. His parents had abandoned him when they couldn't handle the illness he obtained.

But he was immediately adopted by Kat Daniels. She wasn't Kat Daniels then, she was Kat Lovalo. Notorious badass with a heart of gold. While she was 'ditching' she was teaching sick kids in the hospital how to play instruments.

She was also my piano teacher and surprisingly not that much older than any of the people in the group. Jackson was ten and Kat was eighteen when she adopted him.

I'm not sure if that's legal but that woman has connections. She loved him already since she was the one who taught him how to play the drums so well.

Mason only had one parent but his dad died before he was born.

The car ride home was silent, but that was to be expected. I drove since my eyes were the only dry ones. The sad feelings were still there but I was sick of crying.

I had been crying for three years. Some weeks not at all, others every night. The first year was the hardest but I knew that I couldn't spend everyday until they came back crying.

When I got home we all dispersed to our different houses. I went straight to my room and slipped one of Mason's hoodies on. It still held his beautiful scent.

I then crawled into bed and sat there as the empty shell I had become.

A/N:

To the right is Mason Lockhart who is played by Drew Van Acker!