You Had Me All Along

You Had Me All Along - Chapter 38

    Keys in hand! It's mine! Carson texted an hour later, along with a photo of an empty apartment.

    Nice! I can't wait to see it, I sent back.

I was currently taking a break from food prep, the task my mom had given me for the morning. Dylan and Dalton were organizing and setting up the back yard, with dad. Trinity and Sam were in and outside too, trying to help.

Well as you can see it's empty. I have my duffle bag with clothes and a few things but not much else. Tyler actually gave me the futon, so I have to get it over here. What time should I be at your place?

Around noon? I told him, checking the clock on the wall. It was still a couple of hours away.

Got it. See you then.

~~~

When Michael and Rose pulled their little two door car into the driveway, a bit after noon, my heart was beating fast. Carson was already there, by my side. Dalton and Dylan were there, literally at the door waiting. None of us had seen Michael since Thanksgiving, but even then it was a very short visit. Now, we knew everything was riding on this.

"Wow, it's a full greeting here, huh?" Michael said, walking up the path towards the house, with Rose close behind.

There were eight of us there, on the porch, waiting. I noticed right away that Rose looked overwhelmed. She had always been quiet, shy. She knew my parents were hard on her and Michael for choosing to live far away and now for moving to a different country. She had every right to be nervous for this party.

"Michael, we've missed you!" mom said loudly, wrapping he arms around him, once he was close enough.    "Boys, go get their bags and bring them up to the guest room."

Dylan and Dalton hugged Michael next, and then went down towards the car to retrieve their bags. My brothers were best friends growing up, but I knew Michael felt out of place, sometimes. He was older, and Dalton and Dylan were twins. Michael had always wanted to get out of Seaside, as long as I could remember.

We were inside the house again before it was my turn to get Michael's attention. Trinity and Sam had pulled Rose through the house and out to the back yard - it was a beautiful day, thankfully, so we would spend the afternoon out back. Carson stood nearby, but not too close.

"So, how's life here these days?" Michael asked me, glancing at Carson after releasing me from a hug.

"It's good," I said, and meant it. "I'm just working, you know..."

"You didn't apply to college yet?" he asked, already judging me.

"I took a year off, to decide what I want to do."

"I know. But you're almost twenty. You shouldn't be living with mom and dad." He said this with a laugh, but I knew he was serious. He was always serious.

I swallowed hard. "This is Carson, my boyfriend."

Michael looked at him again, half nodding. "Hey. Well, I better go see where Rose is."

"The party's in the backyard," I said, but he was already passing through the kitchen.

"You okay?" Carson asked, obviously noticing my annoyed look.

I rolled my eyes, walking to him. "It's always the same. Don't know why I expected any different this time."

"Well, he's your brother. So, I get why you'd want him to be... nice?" A smile crept onto his lips.

"That's not his way. I don't think he's been nice to me since I was in middle school. I always hoped, though," I shrugged.

Carson brought me close and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my head. "I'm here. We will get through this party together."

Once my grandmother and her partner, Joe, arrived, dad fired up the barbecue. He was cooking steaks and corn on the cob and chicken breasts, burgers. I had prepared salads and pastas. Everything was set out on tables in the yard, under our gazebo. Dad's sister, Renee, was late, and she didn't have her daughter with her, but everything really went smoothly. Everyone ate, talked, and drank. Carson and I did not drink, though. We sat in chair, side by side, holding hands. We watched and took in the party. We joined in conversations around us. It was a great afternoon, all in all. Michael and Rose seemed really happy, which I was glad about. They'd been together for years, and though we saw them rarely and Michael wasn't all that nice to me, I felt happy for them both. I was glad that I had Carson close by, too. He really opened up, talked with my parents and my grandmother, and even talked with Dylan about football for awhile. 

A few hours later, early evening approached and our guests were gone. Everyone helped clean up from the party, and suddenly the kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off, again. Dad retreated to his office to do some work, while mom suggested Michael and Rose go relax, as if they deserved it more than the rest of us. Everyone was staying in the house that night, and then they'd all be gone at some point the next day. The party had gone well and my mom was thrilled, but I knew the next day would be hard. Especially for her.

"How can I help?" Carson asked, directing the question at my mom.

She looked completely wiped out, but continued to load the dish washer. "Oh, dear, you're a guest."

"Well, you fed me and allowed me at your family party, so the least I can do is help now," he smiled.

Mom shot a look at me, then nodded. "If you insist. There's garbage bags in the yard that need to go to the garage."

"Consider it done," he finished, already going back towards the back door.

Dylan and Sam had disappeared, but Dalton and Trinity were around, possibly still in the yard, drinking. Now, I poured a glass of wine and started sipping it.

"I noticed you and Carson didn't drink at the party," my mom told me, right away. She'd likely had five or six glasses of wine.

"We didn't. He's... sober. And I mean, I'm not legally -"

"Sober? You mean, because he's an alcoholic?"

"Mom, shhh."

"Well, Arden, I think this is something you should have told me."

"It's not a big deal. He's fine, being around people drinking," I whispered, now taking the dishes off the counter and moving them to their places in the cupboard.

"I would have liked to have known, before the party," she said again. "So, he was -"

"I'm not going into his back story right now, Mom," I interrupted, and she nodded.

"Okay. Just tell me he's okay, and you are." She smiled, quickly, then went right back to what she was doing.

"We are more than okay," I finished.