i set my phone on the desk, fiddling with my rings ; twirling and pulling them on and off my fingers. the call connected and i was met with three pairs of eyes. austin, alexys, and nick. i leaned forward, resting my chin in my palm. i pursed my lips, uncomfortable with the silence wafting through the air.
"hey guys," i forced a smile, hoping they wouldn't notice my slightly puffy eyes and red face from crying a little over half an hour ago.
a look of knowing flashed in alexys eyes. caught. nick and austin were intensely staring at the screen, studying my face. the three of them were sitting on the ground, a blue and red sign that said "beanz" hanging on a white wall behind them.
"whattup i'm austin. nice to meet you em," the faux blond smiled widely at me, waving slightly. "hey austin. it's nice to meet you," a laugh erupted from my throat, i waved back and a genuine smile spread across my face.
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"em you know i love you and care about you, we all do.. can you tell us what's going on? what's happening in six months?" alexys pleaded, her eyes filled with tears and her voice wavered. nick grasped alexys' hand in his and rubbed small circles on it with his thumb.
i shifted my gaze to my fingers, twiddling with them — picking my brain for the right words to explain my current situation.
"lex.. this really is not something i wanna talk about over facetime. please. i really can't. it's too important. i'll pick you guys up in an hour"
"can the rest of the prettymuch boys come?" she questioned and i nodded.
"i'll see you in an hour , text me the address"
wifeyyy alexys💗 call duration 06:14
♡
an hour later i pulled up in front of the address that alexys texted me. i got out of my range rover and leaned against it, waiting for alexys and the boys to exit the house. the front door flew open and a brown haired beauty bounced out - 5 boys in tow behind her.
"i don't think i can fit a skyscraper in my car lex" i joked, referring to one of the boys that towered over me. he smiled, prominent dimples showing up on his cheeks.
alexys giggled and encircled her arms around me, giving a squeeze. we held each other for a second longer before i turned to give nick and austin a quick hug.
i pulled away from austin's embrace and looked at the three boys from prettymuch that i've never met. my eyes were quickly drawn to the boy that was wearing glasses — his name is brandon, if i remember correctly from my earlier conversation with austin. i scanned his face briefly before meeting his eyes.
they were brown, i've never really been too intrigued by brown eyes but something about his were different.
he stretched his hand out for me to shake and introduced himself "i'm brandon," he smiled slightly. "emerson, but you guys can call me em," i took his hand into mine, shaking it and smiling back before studying his face a little more.
i noticed the dark circles under his eyes. and how beautiful his smile was. i also noticed how the smile never reached his eyes - i saw a different person while gazing into those brown orbs. looking into them i saw a tired boy; he looked completely withdrawn from reality, there was a vacancy and emptiness in them that made my heart ache.
his grip loosened and i released his hand, missing the warmth of them in mine. i cleared my throat and tore my gaze from his, introducing myself to the last two boys; who i learned are edwin and zion.
"shall we?" i clapped my hands, glancing at the people before me.
i hopped into the drivers seat, leaving the group to work out seating arrangements. the boys and alexys glanced at each other before diving for the passenger door. edwin yanked the door open and alexys swiftly slid in the seat. she flashed a smile at the guys "you snooze you lose boys!" she winked and laughed.
they groaned before mumbling amongst each other. "nick and edwin, y'all are the smallest so you should sit on the ground" zion suggested.
edwin scoffed and rolled his eyes, "hell no bro, i'm not sitting by yo nasty ass feet". zion pulled a face at edwin before smacking the back of his head and mumbling "man, shut up. they're not nasty".
"why don't four of you squish and someone lay across your laps?" i cut in before they started bickering again. they slowly nodded before agreeing; zion slid in the seat behind me, austin next to him, edwin next to austin, and brandon sitting behind alexys — leaving nick to sprawl across their laps.
i glanced at the boys in the rear view mirror one last time before pulling out of the driveway "get ready guys, this is gonna be a long drive"
♡
after two pit stops, four bags of red vines, a lot a karaoke, and the boys constantly complaining about being uncomfortable — we finally got to the small desert like area that i loved dearly.
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joshua tree national park. i parked next to the familiar abandoned house and got out of the car, walking to the trunk grabbing out a couple of blankets and my backpack that contained some canvases, art supplies, and a few snacks. i started walking to the house until i realized that the boys and alexys weren't following behind me, i turned around and walked back to the car.
"you guys coming or are you just gonna sit here?" i questioned, raising an eyebrow. "you see we're not tryna die, you know all the guys got girlfriends and i wanna live to get a girl and see our first alb—" zion babbled on before austin covered his mouth "what zion was trying to say is, this place is a little sketch.. you're not tryna murder us are you" he nervously laughed.
i shook my head and started laughing, "you need to chill and live a little". i motioned them to follow me and started walking to the house, the guys and alexys hesitantly trailing behind me.
♡♡
goal : 4 votes , 4 comments for the next chapter:)
