Delaney

I slowly entered the apartment and heard slight humming coming from the kitchen followed by the sounds of cabinets closing and pots and pans hitting noisily. I relaxed when I recognized the hums and random singing that were echoing through my apartment.

“Jaime, how many times do I have to tell you to call before you come over,” I said as I grabbed myself a water bottle. I hopped up on the counter and watched as Jaime quickly turned around, jumping at my words.

“Jesus, Delaney, you scared the shit out of me,” he said in a breathy laugh.

“Look who’s talking!” I waved my arms a bit. “You scared me! I thought that someone had broken in.”

Jaime shook his head and continued to move about the kitchen. He poured a packet of top ramen into a pot that was sitting on the stove and then threw the wrapper away in the trashcan. “Well, you gave me a key to your apartment. You should have expected me to drop by unannounced.”

I just shook my head and planted my feet back on the floor as I dusted off the remainder of the water bottle I had. I tossed it into the recycling bin before heading out of the kitchen, calling over my shoulder that I was going to take a quick shower. I entered my bedroom and stripped myself of my sweaty gym clothes and walked into the master bathroom to have a quick rinse.

And then the deep shower thoughts came.

I went over to-do lists in my head. I tried to calculate the finances I would need to return to school in the fall. I added more items to my internal to-do lists and I crossed off things I had already completed. And then I tried to think back to the last time I had heard from my fiance, and I couldn’t remember. As if right on cue, I heard my phone chime from inside my bedroom, telling me that I had a new text message. I finished my shower quickly and wrung out my hair before wrapping a towel around my body.

I walked straight to where my phone was sitting on my made bed and picked it up.

Hey Delly. Just touched down in Venice. Love you.

I sighed and looked down at the tan-line on my ring finger - a small white sliver that reminded me of where my engagement ring had been resting for the last five months. A white sliver that reminded me of how he had taken that ring away just before he left to travel the world with his brother. ‘I love you, Delaney, I really do. I just don’t know if I can promise you my love forever. I need to take this back while I am away, but just know that if I come back, you’ll be the only woman on my mind.’ Tears didn’t fall from my eyes, but I could feel the lump forming in my throat, trying to tell me that it was time for me to show my emotions. But just as I usually do, I swallowed the lump down, tossed my phone back onto the bed and returned back to my life.

I hurried back into the kitchen once I was dressed and grabbed myself a Corona that was sitting on the middle shelf of my refrigerator. I gulped most of the bottle down - using it to help bury that lump of balled up emotions. I could feel Jaime staring at me from the dining room table that was just beside the kitchen, but I ignored him and tilted the beer back to finish it off.

“Easy there, killer,” Jaime smirked a bit. “It’s only noon.”

“Yeah, but it’s a Friday and I don’t have to work tomorrow,” I replied as I grabbed two more bottles. I sat down at the table and slid one of the bottles over to Jaime. He stopped it from sliding by catching it and immediately pulling it up for a quick drink.

“The best thing about Corona is that it tastes like water and not wheat like most beer does,” Jaime said. “The only beer I’ll ever drink.” He looked at the bottle as if he was mesmerized before he pulled it up for another drink.

I looked down at the bowl of Top Ramen that Jaime had prepared for me and couldn’t help but laugh at the meal we were having: beer and ramen. It was obvious that I was a college student living on a tight budget. “Livin’ the good life,” I said as I took my first bite of noodles. “Do you remember my cousin? Ashlynn?” I asked, suddenly remembering the call I had received a few nights ago.

Jaime looked off in the distance, lost in thought for a bit as he tried to remember my cousin. “Dark hair? Tattoos? Works at a bank?” he asked. He didn’t even wait for me to answer before he nodded. “Yeah, I remember you mentioning her, but I don’t think I’ve met her.”

“Really? I’m pretty sure you’ve met her before,” I said.

Jaime stuck his spoon out and pointed it at me as realization stuck. “Oh, you know what, I did meet her. Back when me and you dated,” Jaime said as he wiggled his eyebrows and shot me a knowing smirk.

I choked on my beer when he mentioned our past and a small amount of it dribbled from my chin and down into my ramen. I quickly wiped my chin with the back of my hand and coughed a few more times to clear my throat. I took another drink and then swallowed it down, washing away the scratchy feeling from choking on the liquid. I pushed my bowl away from me now that it had been contaminated with my back-wash that I had choked up.

Jaime made it a point to bring up the fact that we dated every possible chance he got. “Really, Jaime? Seriously?” I laughed as I shook my head.

“What? Would you rather me refer to them as the good ‘ol days?” Jaime laughed and smirked once again.

I shook my head and tried to rid myself of the awkwardness that was slowly beginning to envelop my thoughts by bringing them back to the year that Jaime and I spent as a couple. I could sense the shift in the room as I stiffened up and shut myself off. Even though Jaime was still my best friend after the break-up, I still couldn’t bring myself to think about us together like that. Not anymore, at least. Not now that I had been in a relationship for two years. Not now that I was engaged. Well, supposed be to be engaged.

“When was the last time you talked to Nathan?” Jaime asked, his tone suddenly a lot more quiet and gentle.

I took in a sharp breath at the mentioning of his name and shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about him, but I knew that Jaime just wanted to be there for me and in order for him to be there for me, I needed to tell him things. So I took in another breath and decided to tell him. “He texted me while I was in the shower.”

“...and…?” Jaime pried, obviously wanting to know what the text message said.

“He told me they just arrived in Venice. And that he loves me.”

Jaime let out a laugh that turned into more of a scoff toward the end of his breath. “Yeah, okay,” Jaime said sarcastically.

“Would you stop?” I snapped, a bit too harshly. “I mean...why do you always have to do that when I mention him? You’re the one who asks about him and wants to know what he says and then you go and act like a huge dick about it. I don’t understand why you hate him so much.”

Jaime shook his head, his angry smile still on his face. “I’m not going to say anything. You’ll just get mad about what I have to say. Just like you always do.”

I groaned and stood up, grabbing our bowls from the table and stacking them on top of each other before using my free hand to pick up our empty beer bottles. “Just drop it, okay?” I said before turning around and walking into the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Jaime said through a sigh.

“What were we talking about before we got off topic?” I asked, pausing for a brief second to stare off into space and try to remember how we had even gotten on that topic.

“Um…” Jaime snapped his fingers a few times as he remembered the conversation. “Your cousin! Ashlynn.”

“Oh! That’s right,” I smiled. “Yeah, so, she called me the other night after leaving San Diego and then just dropping off the face of the earth.”

“Oh shit,” Jaime said. “Yeah, I remember how mad you got when she started ignoring your calls. You guys were close, weren’t you?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to admit it out loud because it made the entire situation hurt a lot more, but we were fairly close. Even though we didn’t hang out like friends, we did still keep in touch and make sure to update each other via facebook or a text every now and then. And whenever we had family gatherings we would be right by each other’s side like we had never spent a day apart. When she moved a few hours away for a job offering, we made a promise to stay in touch. Weekly phone calls, a few texts here and there, or even just a lousy facebook message. But as soon as she got settled in, I never heard from her. No calls. No texts. And she never even logged in to her facebook. The only reason I knew she was still alive was through her mom, my Aunt, who I still saw when attending family gatherings.

“What did she want?” Jaime asked.

“To come back to San Diego,” I said. “Oh, and get this. She wants to stay here. After all that, she asked if she could move in with me.”

“Wow, dude. What did you say?”

I walked over to the living room to take a seat and Jaime followed me. I plopped down on the loveseat, leaning my head against one arm and draping my legs over the other. Jaime took a seat on the couch and leaned against the arm that was diagonal from me so he could face me as we spoke. He lifted his legs up after he kicked off his Vans and crossed his ankles over as he rested them on the couch. He slumped down so he was practically laying flat on the couch with his hands crossed over his chest.

“Well, I said that it’s fine.”

“What?” Jaime exclaimed in shock. “Even after she just ditched your relationship you’re taking her back in that easy?”

I shrugged. “She’s still my cousin. I can’t just leave her hanging. Plus, she sounded really...I don’t know, exactly. But something was off. She sounded desperate.”

“You’re going to be desperate for money once she moves in,” Jaime said. “Are you sure you can handle providing for two people, financially? I know you hate talking about it, but you might not even be able to afford going back to school this fall.”

I picked up a throw pillow and pulled it over my face before letting out a loud groan. The pillow absorbed the sound, leaving it as a muffled grunt that echoed through the living room. “I know,” I groaned into the pillow. I pulled it away and cuddled it to my chest. “I didn’t want to tell her that, though. But I’m sure she kind of has an idea. I am a college student, after all.”

My mind began to soar through the finances that I still needed to acquire before school started in the fall. My stomach clenched as the anxieties rose when I calculated out how short I was when it came to my tuition. Jaime noticed how I had grown more reserved and stood up quickly to break the thoughts. I looked over to him in confusion as he slipped his shoes back on.

“Come on,” he said. “Go get ready and we’ll head over to Vic’s to hang out. It’s been a while since you’ve seen the guys.”

I smiled widely and jumped up quickly. I stopped when I got over to Jaime and wrapped my arms around his neck with a quick hug. I pulled my head off of his shoulder and leaned in, but quickly caught myself. Our breath was intermixed and I could feel his heart pounding. I pulled away quickly and stood by his side, staring down at the floor. I shook my head and then hurried into my room so I could do my make up and grab my purse.

It only took my twenty minutes for me to get ready since I decided to just throw a snap-back on my head instead of actually bothering with my fluffy, blonde waves. I applied my usual makeup - foundation, powder, eyeshadow, top liner, mascara and a bit of lip gloss over a nude lipstick. I changed into some shorts since it was hot and kept on the t-shirt that I was already wearing. I didn’t care too much about how I looked when I was with the guys, after all.

Jaime drove us since he usually didn’t get too drunk whenever we all hung out. We pulled up to Vic’s house right when I got a text message from Ashlynn, telling me that she would be driving down at around three o’clock, which meant that she would arrive at my apartment right around five. I was just about to type out a reply while walking through the front door, but my fingers were stopped when long, skinny arms wrapped around me and spun me through the air.

“Okay, Mike,” I said, unamused. “You can put me down now. I missed you, too, yada-yada, whatever.”

“Wow, Delaney. Thank you so much for those sentimental words. Good to know you’ve missed me after I’ve been gone for two months.”

“Oh shut it, Mike,” I waved my hand around as I pushed my phone into my pocket. “You know I missed you.”

Vic walked in from downstairs and smiled widely when he saw us standing in the living room. I took a seat on one of the long couches while Mike took a seat behind the drumset that was sitting in the corner of the room. “Was that Delaney actually being mushy-gushy?” Vic questioned as he gave Jaime a side hug as a greeting.

“Hardly,” Jaime laughed.

“Yeah, and that’s all you’re going to get,” I said as I scrunched up my nose. I looked around the living room and noticed that our gang was incomplete. “Where’s Tone?”

Vic looked around for a second, looked over to Mike, and then the two of them shrugged. “He’s around here somewhere.”

“He’s been kind of...blah lately,” Mike explained.

“Blah?” I repeated.

“Yeah, you know, like, down or something.”

“Is the word you’re looking for sad?” I asked with a laugh.

Mike cracked a small smile but then shrugged. “I guess so. He’s just been a little off, is all.”

“He just needs to get laid,” Jaime whispered.

“I heard that!” Tony’s voice came booming down the hallway, and soon enough, his heavily tattooed figure came in to view. “Dickhead,” Tony muttered under his breath.

“How did you hear that?” Jaime exclaimed. “I whispered!”

“Even your whisper is loud, Himes,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, hey, Delaney,” Tony smiled as he noticed me.

I gave him a small wave and then adjusted myself so I was sitting up on the couch, using my knees to make me taller so I could see from over the back of it. “So what are the plans?” I asked.

“I think Tony wanted to go out to eat at the bar down the road,” Vic said as he looked over to Tony.

“Why at a bar, though?” Mike asked as he pulled his face back in confusion, giving himself a ridiculous double-chin.

“Because that’s where all the desperate girls are,” Jaime said. “Right, Tony?”

Tony pushed Jaime lightly and mumbled a ‘shut up’ before awkwardly pushing his hair back from his face. “Let’s just go, I’m starving,” Tony muttered. He swung open the front door and walked out without another word.

“You’re right,” I said as I stood up. “He is being weird.”

I slung my purse over my shoulder as we all followed Tony’s lead and walked out to our cars.

-

Tony was chatting up some random girls at the bar while the rest of us sat in the corner drinking and eating. Mike had been feeding me mixed drinks since we had arrived and now I was drunk in the early hours of the evening.. I snatched a few french fries off of Jaime’s plate and dipped them in his ketchup before popping them into my mouth. I continued to do this until I finished off the majority of the basket. Jaime reached down to grab a fry, but his fingertips only met the bottom of his plate.

“What the...Delaney! You ate all of my fries,” he said with a pout.

I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket and pulled it out while I rolled my eyes. “Wah wah, you big baby,” I commented, earning a laugh from Vic as he shook his head. He pushed his plate over to Jaime to share the rest of his fries as I tried to steady my gaze so I could read the speech bubble that had appeared on my texting conversation with Ashlynn.

“Aw fuck!” I said a bit too loudly. I stood up quickly, grabbing my purse from the back of the chair. I held my phone out in front of my face again and narrowed my eyes, making sure I had read the message correctly. “Jaime! We gotta go. Ashlynn’s already at my apartment.”

“What?” Jaime asked, pulling himself away from his conversation with Vic. “I guess we’ll see you later, then.”

“Yeah, we’ll probably head out, too, then,” Mike said as he stood up from the table. He called for Tony’s attention from across the bar and we waited for a minute as Tony slowly made his way over to us, stopping a few times to say something to the girls he was with from over his shoulder.

“What’s up?” he asked as he approached us. He was clearly in a much better mood now that he had gotten some alcohol in his system. And I was sure that the female attention was a picker-upper also.

“We’re heading out. You coming?” Vic asked as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

Tony seemed to think about it for a minute and I couldn’t help but grow impatient. I began to tap my foot, growing louder and louder with every passing second. Tony noticed my impatience and quickly looked over his shoulder to the girls that were giggling and shooting glances over at us every few seconds. “I’ll stay,” he said quickly. “I can call a cab.”

“Okay, good. Call us if you need anything. Be safe, blah blah blah,” I said quickly. I grabbed Jaime’s forearm and began to pull him away from the table. “Now let’s go, Jaime! My cousin is here we have to go let her in.” My tug nearly caused him to trip over the tall stool that he was sitting in, but he steadied himself and fell into step behind me as I rushed toward the door. I could hear his footsteps falter a bit as he struggled to keep up with my fast pace.

I opened up the passenger door to Jaime’s car and slipped in, buckling myself quickly. I felt horrible for forgetting about Ashlynn’s text from earlier that had told me what time she would be arriving. It was already six o’clock - an hour after the time she was supposed to arrive. I just hoped that she hadn’t been sitting outside of my apartment for an hour trying to get ahold of me. But then again, why did I feel so bad about it? A part of me wanted her to suffer a bit after the way she had made me suffer by cutting off all communication with me.

As Jaime pulled into the parking space beside my sitting Honda, I pushed my drunken thoughts of revenge out of my mind and focussed on the good in the situation: Ashlynn was back now and we could finally talk again. As I stepped out of the car I noticed a black jeep sitting in the parking space across the lot. The brake lights were on and I could see the exhaust leaving the back of the running vehicle and mixing into the night air. As soon as I took a step closer to the complex, the red lights faded out and the pipe stopped humming, the last of the exhaust swirled into the night and then disappeared. The car door opened as I watched as a set of black combat boots found their way to the pavement beside the jeep.

“Is that her?” Jaime asked as he met my side, panting slightly from how quickly we had been moving.

“I think so,” I whispered. I placed a hand on Jaime’s bicep when he started to take a step forward. “Wait, I want to make sure.”

I didn’t quite recognize the girl that had exited the jeep. She had the same petite build as Ashlynn, but she seemed so much more mature. Her short body didn’t seem so childish anymore and her skinny legs didn’t look as scrawny. She looked like an adult - she looked good.

“Del?”

I watched as the petite girl turned around and called my name. The subtle waves in her dark hair seemed to reflect the moonlight perfectly, creating a glow around her face.

“Ash?” I responded, my voice sounding quiet and scared as it echoed through the still night. “Wow.” The word slipped before I could even register what was happening.

Ashlynn began to walk toward us, her boots squishing against the rubble of the pavement as she walked across the street. She smiled widely, but not enough to show any teeth. She stopped a couple of feet in front of us and just kind of stared with that nervous smile stretched up her cheeks. I didn’t know what to do so I just duplicated her smile and tried to think about something to say or do to break the awkwardness of our reunion. I didn’t necessarily expect it to be all hugs and giggles, but I didn’t prepare myself for the tension that was slowly suffocating me, making the thought of saying anything quickly diminish.

“Hi,” Jaime said a bit too forcefully. It was clear that he had sensed the tension and was trying to rescue me.

Ashlynn jumped at the slightest and broke her gaze, pulling it away from me and slowly over to Jaime. Her smile lessened but didn’t leave. “Uh...hi,” she said softly.

“I’m Jaime,” he said with his usual smile. I swear that boy hadn’t felt an ounce of awkward in his entire life. Every smile he gave was genuine, his dimples caving in at the corners of his mouth, his cheek bones round and prominent.

“I think we’ve met before, actually,” Ashlynn said as she outstretched her hand anyway. Jaime took her hand and as they shook she laughed a bit and said, “but it’s nice to meet you again, anyway.”

“Do you...uh...wanna go inside now?” I asked before anything could fall silent again.

Ashlynn nodded and then hiked a thumb over her shoulder to point toward her jeep. “Could you guys help me with my bags? I don’t have too much.”

I nodded and then turned to Jaime. “Go unlock the door and make sure her bedroom is presentable, please.”

Jaime nodded and then headed off toward the steps. He turned to give me an encouraging smile before he turned around the building to get to my apartment. I watched as he disappeared around the corner and then took in a deep breath as I followed Ashlynn over to her backseat of her jeep.

“Wow, this is nice, Ash,” I commented as I gently ran my fingertips over the glossy exterior of the vehicle. No dust or dirt got caught on my fingertips. All I felt was the cool metal as I traced over the doorframe. “Is this new?”

“Yes, actually,” she smiled widely, “It’s a 2011, but I just got it not too long ago.”

“It’s in perfect condition,” I commented as she handed me a couple of suitcases.

Ashlynn nodded as she pulled out a briefcase, her purse, and two small duffel bags. “Yeah I got lucky. I bought it used but the owners never used it. I guess they bought it for their son but he didn’t want it.”

“Ungrateful shit,” I muttered with a laugh.

Ashlynn laughed as well, but it seemed rigid and slightly forced as she shut the door with her elbow since her hands were full. I lead her up the stairs, pointing out a couple of random facts about the neighboring residents as we rounded the building.

“Complex B, Apartment 32,” I told her as we entered through the already-open door. The lights were on and Jaime was rummaging around in the kitchen. I couldn’t help but laugh at how that was the second time I had walked into my own home with Jaime in my kitchen going through my food like he lived there, too.

“I know,” Ashlynn said softly. “I remember.”

I blushed a little bit and let out a quiet “oh” as we continued on to the second bedroom. I placed her bags down near the foot of the futon that Jaime had pulled down into a bed.

“I hope you don’t mind sleeping on a futon. It’s really comfortable, though. Feels like a real bed.”

Ashlynn nodded as she looked around the empty room. “It’s fine,” she said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” I responded. I followed her head as she gazed around the room over and over again as if some more furniture would appear the more she looked at it. The room wasn’t much - a decent size with white walls, a plump futon, and an end table sitting by itself in the corner of the room. “You can hang stuff up or add whatever you want. I know it’s not much. And same for the bathroom in the hall. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks,” she repeated as she walked over to her purse. She picked it up off the floor and set it back down on the futon.

“Did you want dinner or anything? I might have something you can microwave or something to stick in the oven.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m alright.”

“Okay, well, do you drink? Did you want to just hang out and watch TV with us or something?”

Ashlynn shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You can go spend time with Jaime. I don’t want to be the third-wheel.”

I froze up at her words. The last time Ashlynn and I had spoken was when I was still dating Jaime. Did she think that we were still together? I wondered why her mother didn’t tell her about Nathan. My entire family knew about my engagement and since they didn’t really approve of it, they couldn’t help but gossip about it every chance they got.

“Oh, no,” I corrected. “I’m actually engaged...kind of...to Nathan.”

Ashlynn stopped digging through her purse and stood up straight, looking at me with confusion furrowing her eyebrows. “Who the heck is Nathan?” she asked as she crinkled her nose a bit.

Anger suddenly began to bubble up from deep down, and being drunk wasn’t exactly helping this situation, either. My loose lips were growing tired of being forced shut and the thoughts of betrayal came back into my mind as I thought about how suddenly Ashlynn had cut me off from her life. “Well, maybe if you would have answered my calls you would know.”

Ashlynn sighed and shook her head almost as if she was expecting me to bring it up. “Don’t start. I just got here,” she spoke through another sigh and looked down.

“I’m not the only one you ignored, right? Because surely your mom would have told you about Nathan,” I said. “What’s going on with you?” Worry was in my tone now, but anger was still prevident.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Ashlynn’s voice rose a bit. I was sure that Jaime could hear us now, especially since my apartment wasn’t exactly private.

“You never even gave me a chance to understand!” I shouted. “You just left me with false promises and then went off to wherever the fuck you moved to and just lived your happy little life without anybody to bother you!”

Ashlynn picked up her purse, pulling her keys out of the front pocket as she slung it over her shoulder and began to head toward the hallway. She pushed passed me, causing me to stumble into the door a bit before I regained my footing and followed her toward the living room. She was heading straight toward the front door. Had I really pissed her off that bad?

“Why the fuck are you leaving?” I shouted after her. I stopped in front of the TV that was on, blocking Jaime from his view and thus forcing him to tune in the argument that was unveiling right in the middle of the living room. “You’re just going to leave and not say anything again? Well at least this time I know not to wait around for a call to know you’re alright.”

Ashlynn paused after she pulled open the front door and turned around. I could see tears brimming her eyes and I immediately felt horrible for dishing all of this out within the first twenty minutes of seeing her after so many years. I cursed myself for getting drunk even though I knew that she was going to be coming into town that night. I cursed myself for being so confrontational.

“You don’t know shit, Delaney. You’re my cousin and I love you, but don’t be so accusing when you don’t know the first thing about my life. And yeah, I can leave if I want because I’m a fucking adult and I’ll talk to you when I want to.” Ashlynn huffed and turned around again, her body completely outside the apartment. She stared through the open door with anger seething through her gritted teeth. “Grow up, Del. You know that everybody has their own stories, don’t assume mine is so perfect.”

She walked away, leaving the door wide open.

“That went well,” Jaime said with a sarcastic smile after a brief second of silence.

“Oh, can it,” I muttered. “Give me your key,” I said as I held my hand out.

“What? Are you kicking me out?” Jaime asked with a joking smile and mock hurt on his face. I couldn’t help but immediately feel more at ease with his jokes.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to him, snatching his keys off of the table. I pulled my apartment key off of his ring and then tossed his keys onto his lap. I walked to the open door of my apartment and steppped outside. I looked around the balcony before pulling up the floral-print mat that was sitting in front of my door. I dropped the key beneath it and dropped the mat back down, stepping on it make sure it flattened out so nobody could see that the key was beneath it.

“Still leaving a key under the mat after that?” Jaime asked with a raised eyebrow.

I sighed. “I’m not always a heartless bitch, Jaime.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Jaime muttered. I pulled my fist back and punched him in the arm without hesitation. Jaime whimpered and then coiled back, rubbing the spot I had hit with a pout. “Meanie.”

“Yeah, Yeah.” I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the couch beside him. I stared at the television, but didn’t really take anything in. I could still feel the lingering tension in the room, pulling me into the pressure and build up that was weighing down on my chest.

“Delly?” Jaime asked gently. I turned to face him and saw worry and sadness on his face. I didn’t know why he was looking at me that way, not until I realized that he was only mirroring the emotions that were being displayed on my face. He reached up and wiped his thumb under my left eye just before the tears could roll down my cheek. “Don’t cry.”

“This is going to be so hard,” I sighed. I wasn’t one to usually cry, but when I did it was always with Jaime around. I felt bad for pouring my emotions out on him, but his presence made me comfortable enough to release my emotions. Jaime wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I took a fistfull of his t-shirt as I allowed myself to crumble under his touch - the tears falling freely as I cried out my stress and anger.

“Shh,” Jaime cooed as he gently rubbed small circles onto my side. “It’s going to be alright.”

I sniffled a bit and wiped my face into his shirt. “I hope so.”

Notes

Hey guys, Elise (eliseypoo) here! Here's the first official chapter of the story. Jolee and I decided to go ahead and post both the preface and the first chapter for you guys to get things going a bit.

We've actually been working on this story since mid-September, but have been talking about a collaboration for AGES now. I'm so glad we finally got one going! She's such a fabulous writer and I think our styles match well and can make an interesting collab. Don't you guys think so, too?

Let us know what you think. This is my first collaboration and I would really like to know how we're doing. I can't wait for you guys to read more of this - I'm pretty sure you're going to love it, because I know I do!

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving, by the way :)

<3 Elise.