“And me!” Lyla called out enthusiastically, popping out from the swinging hall door. “Didn’t eavesdrop, I swear! I just heard that last line.” Her grimace had both of us laughing, lifting the heavy topic from us even if for only a little while.
“This is very true,” Reid agreed, shooting me a grin. “Who else would keep Cali girl from losing her mind when the three of us drive her crazy?” I knew if I could see my face I would be turning pink at the insinuation blatantly obvious within his question, and the burn in my cheeks only grew when Reid threw me a cocksure smile and a wink.
These boys are going to be the death of me with their dang teasing.
Though not that I would complain.
“All right, I’d just forgotten my phone. Have fun with your conversation,” Lyla stated, retreating back through the employees only door.
“So,” I started, propping my chin into my fist. “Since we’ve got some time, I want to hear a fun story or two.”
“Oh, do you now?” Reid laughed, his hazel gaze lighting up at my change of conversation.
“Mhm, I love hearing about all your guys’ stories,” I admitted, enjoying that there was no worried body language or shadows in his expression. I want my silly clown to be happy.
“Well, in the spirit of winter and since we just had the holiday break not too long ago,” he said with a grin, “King, Jesse, and I had planned to play a little prank one Christmas a few years ago.”
“Meaning you wanted to play a little prank and they came along for the ride?”
“Psh, they were totally in on the planning,” Reid huffed playfully, but based on his reddening cheeks, it was all him. “Anyway, we had gotten a giant blow-up Santa and had planned to put it on the roof of the garage of King’s house.” I sat there, pressing my lips together in an attempt not to laugh because knowing them, something went awry. The more Reid talked, the more extravagant his storytelling became.
“So, you planned on putting a giant ten-foot tall inflatable Santa… on the roof in the middle of winter? Hmm, seems like a good idea,” I teased.
“It went well! We got Santa secured and up there without waking anyone…” He trailed off, his lip quirking up.
“Mhm, then what?” I chuckled, loving how ridiculous this story was because it was one hundred percent my boyfriend.
“It’s slippery in the middle of winter, and well… I may have… possibly… fell off the roof and into a snowbank mid-prank.”
“Holy crap, Reid!” I exclaimed, my jaw dropping. “Hopefully you were all right. Clearly whatever it was, wasn’t too bad seeing as how you’re sitting here.”
“Yeah, Cali girl, I was fine. A bit winded, but the worst part was King and Jesse just left me there while they finished securing the Santa. The assholes even shoved a giant pile of snow from the roof onto me.”
I couldn’t hold it in, both of us bursting with giggles at his story. As much as King and Jesse were the more responsible of the three, I could picture his story as if I were there myself. The more I thought about it, the more I laughed. It was ridiculous and yet so perfectly Reid that by the time I stopped laughing, tears were streaking down my cheeks.
“Okay, Cali girl, I’ll let you get back to work,” Reid brought up when Lyla reemerged from the back, his own laughter still filling his words. “Want to call us when you’re off? We can speakerphone on your drive home before you go back on lockdown.”
“I’d love that.” I stood as he did while making sure to grab my flower. “Talk to you soon, babe.”
“Can’t wait,” he whispered, kissing me one final time before leaving with a wave to Lyla. Without thinking, I took in the flower’s delicate scent again, the velvety petals soft against my nose.
“You are one lucky girl, Emma Bean,” Lyla said with a genuine smile that I couldn’t help but return.
Yeah, yeah, I am.
February 2nd
I’m pretending today’s theme is self-care Sunday because a bath and a face mask are calling my name.
#RelaxationHereICome #InnuendoIntended #SundayFunday
It was dark, nearly pitch black, and when I reached out, my fingertips brushed nothing but air. The silence was terrifying, yet I wasn’t sure why, and my head whipped from side to side in an attempt to see… well, anything.
“Hello, Em.” The mocking greeting echoed off the unseen walls of the space, its clear disdain painting a picture of the sneer that must be twisting the speaker’s face. Brad’s cruel chuckle followed in the moment of silence.
“What do you want?” I bit out, trying to steel myself for whatever was about to come, but when the inky blackness faded, shrinking into the narrow bathroom from the party from hell, I gasped. It became harder and harder to breathe, and the pressure worsened when Brad’s smirking face appeared in front of me, blocking the exit.
“You, babydoll,” he whispered, crowding me. I pushed, punched, and screamed, but nothing worked. The rough grip and unwanted lips brushing on my neck had my stomach rolling.
Oh, God…
Startled awake, I shot up in bed. I was panting, the tightness of my chest constricting until I felt as if I couldn’t get any air, but the longer my sleepy brain recognized that I was in my room, the easier it became to breathe. The thudding of my heart rattled my chest, and the roaring of the blood in my ears slowly faded with each inhale.
“Ugh,” I groaned, shoving the comforter off my lap and stepping up to my stereo. I needed music, something familiar and distracting to shake the final remnants of my vivid nightmare. Wanting—no, needing—to talk to someone comforting to help soothe the residual panic that was left behind, I sank into my office chair and logged in to my computer. As soon as it was booted up, I pulled up the site I knew the guys would get my messages from and shot off a quick group message.
Emma: Morning, boys.
Please tell me they’re at the computer, I pleaded silently. Thankfully, it only took a few seconds before messages started to flow in, their usual greetings grounding me. I wasn’t sure if it had been the slowly increasing nightmares that I had been having, the isolation during my grounding, or what, but I felt like I was slowly going stir crazy. It definitely didn’t help that my mom was actually home. Maybe that would’ve soothed me a few months ago, but now, with the way things were between us, home felt as lonely as ever, and the silence was even more oppressive than before.
Reid: Morning, Cali girl. How’d you sleep? You’re up early.
Kingston: Morning, Babydoll. I hope you slept well.
Jesse: Good morning, Em.
Emma: Slept okay for a while until I had a nightmare. I think being stuck in this tense and awkward situation with my mom since she hasn’t seemed to have left the house all week, claiming needing to ‘babysit me’ is throwing me all out of sorts. Stir crazy I tell you. C R A Z Y. Honestly, I’m considering even calling my dad in Cali despite it being like… super early there just to have someone in my family to freaking talk to.
Jesse: I’m sorry, Em. Can we help?