Count On Me

New Beginnings

A/N: Updates will probably be a little slower (I'll aim for every other week?) until after the holiday season is over. I have a very, very busy December coming up and may not have much time to write.

Thank you as always for the votes and comments!

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016 | 2:45 PM | FOUR

I lean the mattress and box spring against one wall as Zeke tilts the bedframe up to lean against another.

"What are they doing at Crater Lake?" I ask as I wipe my brow with the back of my hand. "I thought they were coming up the coast."

"They were," Zeke answers, calling out from the hall as he drags the mop bucket into the room. I pick up the broom and begin to sweep the wood floor so Zeke can follow with the mop. "They stayed along the coast from San Diego up to the Redwoods. But they'll have plenty of time to surf the Oregon coast once they're living here. Uriah said they wanted to cliff dive at Crater Lake on the way up since it's so far south, they may not make it that far again for a while."

I shudder at the thought of jumping from such a great height ― and on purpose?! ― as Zeke babbles on.

"I can't wait for them to get here! Tris already promised they'll go skydiving with me for my birthday, like they did for Uri's. You should have seen her brother's face when we were making those plans," Zeke chuckles. "I don't know how Tris and her brother came from the same family, he thought we were all completely insane. Wish I could've taken that week off to go white water rafting in the Colorado River with them."

"Probably could have if they had told you ahead of time," I point out.

Zeke laughs. "Very true," he says, grinning. "Not much for planning, those two."

It's obvious how fond Zeke is of them both, but honesty, the few tales Zeke has relayed to me have left me nervous about living with this pair. When they landed themselves in jail a year ago Zeke chuckled about it for days. Currently, they have spent the past two or so months wandering their way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean on their round-about way to Portland. Never any plan for what comes next. That spontaneity unnerves me; can you really count on people who float through life like that? And these are people I will be depending on to pay their part of the rent and utilities.

"Yeah, seems that way," I say without humor. "Given what we're up to today."

When I woke up this morning I knew exactly how I planned to spend my weekend. It has been a busy week of classes condensed to four- and eight-week summer sessions (two of one, two of the other) during the day, nights working security, and the stress and dread of finals approaching in the coming week. I would wake up early, as usual, for a run and a workout. Then after a shower and breakfast, I would study in my quiet, empty apartment.

And that's exactly how I started my day. I even turned off my phone so that Zeke wouldn't call and drag me away from my work.

That backfired before lunchtime hit: Zeke opened my front door with the spare key, waltzing in without even bothering to knock. That I wouldn't answer the phone was his excuse for barging in. And instead of studying, my time since Zeke's arrival has been occupied helping to finish cleaning out his old room because ― surprise! ― Uriah and what's-her-name will be setting off from Crater Lake tomorrow morning and expect to arrive by the afternoon. Leave it to Zeke to put everything off to the last minute.

But Zeke is my best friend. He accepted me without question, he is loyal, and he keeps me from taking myself too seriously. I know I owe him a lot. It was less the potential financial strain and more my friendship with Zeke that pushed me to agree to Zeke's request. His brother was about to graduate high school and wanted to move out here and be closer to Zeke. I could understand why Uriah wouldn't want to stay in Chicago; Zeke and Uriah lost their dad a few months before I met Zeke, and their mother has enrolled in a graduate program in Seattle. No reason for Uriah to stay there, except for his girlfriend. But Zeke's brother has a lot more courage than I had when I decided to leave home, and brought it up with the girl, who agreed to come with him. I haven't met or spoken to either of them yet.