third time's a charm

"scout's honor"

chapter twenty-nine: scout's honor

Monday, January 1. 4:46 am.

I woke up to the sound of soft mumbling and furrowed my brows as I tried to make out what was being said. My eyes slowly fluttered open and I was surprised to find that I was laying on my couch, and that Jamie was fast asleep beside me, his limbs sprawled out and his head laying directly above my own. I smiled at the sight, unable to contain my admiration for him. I gently placed my lips on his cheek and watched as his lips curled into a smile, even though he was asleep.

I looked around the room to see everyone else asleep on the floor. Rowan and Vales were cuddled up close to the television—Will and Claire were lying beside one another just beside of the couch.

I heard footsteps coming closer to the living room and I immediately guessed that it was my parents coming back from their night out. I started to worry that they'd be upset when they saw the six of us, but as they walked in and laid their eyes on the scene, I could only see smiles.

"Hey," I whispered as their eyes roamed around the room. My mom placed her finger to her lips and motioned me to come over. I took my time crawling over Jamie, trying my hardest not to wake him. I did so successfully and walked over to my parents, before following them to the kitchen.

"Did you guys have a good night?" Mom asked me as we made it far enough away to speak in our regular voices.

"I'd say so, yeah," I told them, finding myself incapable of keeping a smile from my face. Scenes from the previous hours filled my head and I laughed to myself as I recalled Vales and Will drunkenly singing to the songs that played as we waited for the ball to drop. I also recalled the many sweet things Jamie had said to me and kissing him at midnight, starting the year as happy as I possibly could. I looked over at the kitchen clock to see that it was nearing five in the morning and my eyes widened.

"Did you guys just get back?" I looked between my mom and my dad and they both let out soft laughs as they began to nod. "You crazy kids... what am I supposed to do with you?"

"Oh, c'mon—let us have some fun," Dad joked, which caused me to laugh. I bit the insides of my cheeks as I realized this was the best interaction we had shared since he had been home.

"I'll let it slide... just this once."

"Thanks, honey. We appreciate it," Mom said before making her way over to me and kissing me the top of my head. "We haven't slept... maybe you could take care of the other crazy kids? I'm beat."

"Sure thing," I told her as I began nodding my head. "You guys get some rest... I've got it under control. Just—no funny business, got it?"

"Elle," Mom began, sending me a roll of her eyes. "You should get some rest. I'm guessing they'll be out for awhile, too."

"Yeah, yeah... will do," I told her, nodding once again. I reached forward and kissed her cheek before telling the two of them to get to bed. To my surprise, my dad took a step toward me and gave me a kiss on the head before exiting the room. Although we hadn't exchanged many words, I felt better about his presence.

I started to walk back to the living room, looking forward to curling up beside Jamie. I took a step into the living room and was surprisingly met with Jamie taking a step toward me. I gasped, but then immediately began to quietly laugh. I pulled Jamie out of the room and looked up to see him with a dopey, sleepy smile.

"Where did you go?" Jamie asked, bringing his hands up to his eyes as he rubbed them tiredly.

"My parents just got home," I told him just before pretending to gag. "They were out having fun."