I was sitting on the Matthews' couch, sitting and laughing at something his mom said, when the door opened up. I didn't realize they'd be here so soon.
The past week had gone by rather slowly, my mom staying true to her word and spending as much time with me as possible. It was cute at first, but quickly got annoying.
Currently, my whole family was together along with Auston's. He had texted his dad that his plane was landing soon, so his dad left to pick him up. Auston didn't know I'd be here, so I'm sure he'd be surprised when he got home.
And the surprise was certainly evident, as Auston's face lit up the moment he saw everyone. "Auston!" his mom shouted, running over to hug him. Even though she had lived with him in Switzerland, it was true that the both of them were really close.
"You're all here." Auston chuckles, going around the room and hugging his sisters next.
He still hadn't spotted me yet, but when he does, his eyes go wide for a second, then a smile breaks onto his face. "What are you doing here?" he asks as I pull him into a hug.
"My year's over, I'm on summer break." I explain.
He doesn't say anything more as he hugs the next person in line, my mom. I sit back on the couch and watch as he exchanges some words with my dad.
His dad looked so happy to see him, obviously they hadn't seen much of each other lately. Auston had lived with his mom and older sister in Switzerland, with occasional visits from his dad and other sister. I had heard from his dad about all the success he had had in Switzerland, which obviously made me very happy for him.
All of us had been sitting around on the couches for hours, just talking and catching up like we used to. My family was originally close with Auston's starting from when we were really young. We lived just down the street, which is how we got to know each other initially. My parents went to their house to welcome them to the neighborhood, and they quickly became friends, hearing stories all about how they used to live in California and more. As kids, we had gone to a few Coyotes games together, which is how Auston initially started liking hockey. Auston would always go with his dad and mine, and since I was an only child, I always felt left out, hence why I was always invited. Just being there with them was how I got so close with Auston. Growing up with him made him feel more like a brother than a friend.
After Ema insisted my family stay over for dinner, the whole group separated. The moms went to the kitchen together to talk about cooking, and both dads went to the basement. Auston went up to his room, and after a few minutes, I decided to join him.
"Hey." I smile, lightly knocking on the door as I walked in. He was laying on his bed, phone in hands.
"Hey. Come sit." he says, gesturing to beside him on the bed.
"Are you tired?" I ask.
"Yeah, I've been up for awhile." he sighs, not breaking eye contact with his phone.
"I can't believe you're back. I haven't talked to you, really talked, for like, two years." I say, feeling sort of sad as I said it.
"I didn't even know you'd be here." he mentions.
"Yeah, I learned you'd be here, so I thought why not come home." I shrug. He nods. "So... what're you gonna do this break?" I ask.
"I don't know. I kinda have a lot of hockey stuff going on, though." he says, finally putting down his phone.
"You'll have time around that, though, right? We should hang out. Let's go watch a hockey game!" I suggest.
