Truly Free // COMPLETED

35. The Party to End All Parties

GRAY

"I need plates! Plates people! Where are the plates?" Addison shouts through her house. Aaron comes running over to her with a stack of blue and gold paper plates, almost throwing them.

"My God woman pull yourself together," he mumbles, earning an elbow in the side from me.

"Just let her stress out. There's literally nothing you can do about it."

He agrees to let her be and we leave Addison and Mrs. Brooks inside to go help the men outside. I see my dad and Addison's trying to string lights from the trees outside.

"Boys!"

"Sir?"

"Come over here and do this. We have more important stuff to do," my dad says. I nod and walk across the yard. As Aaron and I hang lights from the trees it brings back memories from the night Addison, Aaron, and I rolled Nat's house. We all hated her so much back then.

Once we finish the lights and return the ladder to the garage, we go back inside to help out with the food. All the side dishes are being prepared in our kitchen with my mom and Mrs. Brooks while Addy's in charge of desserts in her own home. Deciding to help out my girl, I drag Aaron back to the Brooks' house. Walking into the kitchen, my eyes widen at the sight.

In the time it took us to put up the lights, Addison has destroyed her kitchen. She's got one tray of cookies cooling on the counter with another tray in the oven. The countertops are covered in baking ingredients and all the cabinets have been left open.

All of a sudden, the refrigerator door shuts and Addison is standing with a carton of eggs in one arm, a gallon of milk in the other, vanilla extract between her teeth, and a bag of sugar balancing on top of the eggs. She gives us a look, silently telling us to help her, so we rush over and grab some things out of her hands. Once she's free of the vanilla extract she sighs.

"Okay boys, Aaron you watch the cookies. I swear to God if they burn I'll kill you."

"Yes ma'am."

"Gray get me a bowl from the top cabinet, I can't reach them."

I get one down.

"Thanks. Now take those cookies off the rack and put 'em on that plate right there and cover 'em up," she orders. I follow those orders, willing to keep her sane.

"Okay so up next are the cupcakes and we all know how to make those- "

The beeping of the oven interrupts her.

"My God get them out of the oven, Aaron!"

"The oven just went off!" He shouts back.

"Doesn't matter! I have other crap to put in there!"

"Calm down, woman they're just cookies!" He takes the tray out of the oven, slamming it shut. "You're screaming at me over a tray of damn cookies."

The tray is slammed on the counter and the Addison flinches at the sound. Her eyes narrow into slits and even though I can't see her hands behind the counter I know her fists are clenched.