I fling the door open and stop in my tracks. My brothers stand in the doorway, their ears pressed to the open space where the door was. I raise my eyebrows and clear my throat.
Christian jumps. "Oh, we, we were just, uh-"
"Eavesdropping?" I say, crossing my arms.
They all nod simultaneously. "So, is he your boyfriend?" Aidan asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
I chuckle nervously. "Not exactly."
Tyler frowns. "Well, who is he then?"
Aidan: "I'm confused."
Christian: "Wait, who invited us here again?"
I laugh and put up my hands. "Hold it. Just hold it. That's Jack. He's...."I trail off, thinking of how to explain it. "He's my best friend. I live with him. His mom is housing me temporarily."
Jack's face saddens. "Temporarily?"
I shake his question off. "I'll explain later."
Out of no where, Casey sticks his head in the front door. "I'm Casey." He says, coming to stand next to me and throwing an arm around my shoulders.
All three boys look utterly confused. "Wait, now who's he?" Tyler asks, trying to work it all out in his head.
Aidan nods. "Oh I get it! This ones your boyfriend."
Casey smiles. "I'm her best friend."
Aidan shakes his head. "Geez girl, you sure have a lot of boy best friends." I punch his arm and smile, realizing I have the life I've dreamed of for seven years. And then I remember Asher.
"Wait, Casey. If you're here, who's with Asher?"
He frowns at me. "Someone's supposed to stay with Asher?"
My eyes bug out and I grab Jack's hand. "Can you drive me to the hospital?"
He sprints out the door with me right behind him. "Yea, sure."
*****
Asher DeAngelo. "That's the one." I say, pointing at the sign that says his name.
Jack, Casey, my brothers and I run into his room and throw the curtain to the side. "Asher?" I ask anxiously. But he's not there. His bed sheets are messed up, crumpled in a ball on his mattress. "Asher!" I yell. Oh my God, what happened to him?
I dart to his bed and see a piece of paper sticking out of the bed. In small, messy black ink, is a long, well thought out message.
Piper, I'm really sorry. This is all my fault, however, you probably think it's yours. Everything you did to me, everything we did to each other, I deserved. Everything I did to you, was done for a reason. I never should've lied to you and I shouldn't have done it twice, nonetheless. I decided to actually go to live with my aunt. Please believe me. Please trust me. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye, I couldn't face you with this. I just couldn't bare to admit this to you. I don't think we should go any farther with our relationship. You're my best friend on the entire world, but more, you're basically my one and only sister, Piper. I don't want anything to affect our wonderful friendship, so I think we should keep it that way and not let anything change that. Please be safe, stay with the Griffos. Don't go back to the home no matter what. Notice Jack. And you know exactly what I mean. I'll miss you like crazy, Piper. I never wanted it to be like this, to end like this. I'm sorry Piper. I love you.
Casey, take care of her, and if you ever do anything to her, I will hunt you down and kill you. Thanks for being so great to her. I appreciate it.
Jack, Piper loves you. I can tell. I could tell the second I saw the way she looked at you. She's always liked you, always will. You belong with we and I know you'll never do anything to hurt her. Thanks for being there, Jack. Tell her how you feel, because I know I'm right. And I know you lover her back.
I love you guys. Take care.
My hands tremble and the note drops to the floor. This is NOT happening. That did NOT just happen.
"Piper...." Casey whispers. I feel his hand on my shoulder, but this time I don't shake it off. Instead I put my hand in his other one and squeeze. Then, I turn around and push myself up against him, needing a big hug.
I don't know how long we stand there, me wrapped in his arms, squeezing his hand in mine. It could be minutes or hours, but it feels like days.
I calm my racing heart and cry against his chest. My tears soak his shirt, but at this point, neither of us care.
At some point, my brothers disappear and Jack joins the hug. Standing in the middle of the hospital, in the middle of a hug with my best friends ever, I think one thought. One tiny, little, terrifying thought.
Goodbye, Asher.