"Are you sure nothing is up with her?" I asked Haley, nodding to Emily frantically moving about their house.
"Sade," Haley sighed, glancing in the direction of my gaze. "She's too superstitious for her own good. I mean, honestly, she believes those damn crystals you bring home from the mines have more influence over her life than she does. If she is scared of a rock's magical powers, imagine her paranoia when a live animal, who is literally known for having magical powers, chooses her out of everyone."
I stayed silent. Logically, Haley had a point. It had only been a week since the Rare Green Jelly chose Emily as its next victim, and she's seemed perpetually frazzled since. But, deep down, I couldn't help but feel that she was acting weird even before the festival. She'd barely said a word to any of us since Sam and Alex's party, and she couldn't be that mad over a spilled beer...could she?
I dismissed the thought, and reprimanded myself for continuing to stare. Haley is right. The Jelly situation would freak anyone out.
It'd been a few days since I'd been at the farm—I'd been staying with Haley ever since Sam freaked out over an infestation he found in the bathroom. Conveniently enough, there's no such thing as an exterminator in Pelican Town, so Sam called Lewis, who reached out to a specialist from Zuzu City. Between the pests themselves, the commute from the City, and an apparently tedious eradication process, my "roommates" and I were asked to vacate the premises for a few days.
While it wasn't a huge deal—thanks to my newly implemented sprinkler system and automatic animal feeders—I missed the busyness of life out there. Over on Willow Lane, finding something to do was the biggest battle of all, besides silently theorizing about Emily's strange behavior.
Alex and Sam decided to visit their families for a few days, mostly because they didn't have much of a choice. Despite the invitation to stay with Haley and I, they declined—probably because of the awkward atmosphere—which I didn't mind. Awkward or not, a few days in a home with no masculine energy was a prospect that I was okay with.
"Oh!" Haley exclaimed, practically rocketing off of the couch. "Sam just texted that the exterminator is finished! I'm going to go pack my bag!" She said giddily, running off to her room. While it made me smile that they were eager to move back in, I was filled with guilt thinking about their families. I wondered if Emily had anyone to hang out with while Haley was gone, or if being alone was slowly making her more crazy.
"HELLOOOOO!" Sam sang, pushing the front door open while standing in a ridiculous pose. "Sleepover at Sade's tonight! And tomorrow! And the next day! And-"
"Forever." Alex mumbled from behind him, clasping a big hand on Sam's back. "I think I've taken not having to do chores for granted. Granny had a laundry list of a million things for me to do this weekend."
"You should be doing chores at Sade's too, Alex," Haley groaned as she lugged a ginormous duffle bag out of her room. "She's been nice enough to let your bum ass sleep there for the past three months. The least you could do is wash a dish every once in a while."
"Good Lord, woman! What do you have in this thing?" Sam grunted, cutting Haley off as he reached over to carry her duffle.
"All of my belongings, shithead. Where is your bag?"
"Probably a bug's new home," Alex laughed. "He didn't bring it back with him."
Haley shot a glare his way, and pushed past him to leave. "Bye Emily, we love you!" She screamed over her shoulder. Silence.
I stepped into the crisp fall air, and before I could even think, I felt my feet be swept off of the ground. Sam's familiar grasp held me behind my knees, dangling my torso over his shoulder.
"Sam, please, I don't need a bear hug. It's nice to see you, too," I gasped, lightly hitting his back.
"This isn't a bear hug, lady," he laughed. "This is a hostage situation."
"Wha-" the words were forced back into my mouth by the feeling of wind cramming down my throat. Sam was running—Haley and Alex right behind him.
"The hell is going on?" I screeched as we came to an abrupt stop near the entrance to the farm.
"You shall see," Haley smiled, tying a scarf around my eyes.
Sam carried me a little further before placing my feet on the ground. I could feel Haley sweep my hair in front of my shoulders, sending a chill down my spine.
"You ready?" She whispered in my ear.
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to be getting ready for."
"Perfect! That was the goal," she giggled. "Okay, here we go! 3...2...1..."
Moments after the countdown ended, the blindfold came flying off of my eyes. Sunlight blinded my vision, but through the glare, I could see an unfamiliar house.
Quickly turning around, I noticed my coop, as well as all of my crops. What? We are at the farm, but that's not...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SADE!" the three of them screamed, and then it clicked.
They renovated my house.
I stared in awe, my jaw practically touching the tilled soil.
"Ever since you've moved here, you've done nothing but make our lives better," Haley said softly, breaking the silence. "You've been through so much, yet somehow, you're still never your top priority."
"Plus, we are tired of hearing you bitch about the lack of space in your little shack. Now you've got room, so I don't wanna hear it!" Sam interjected from behind us as he approached, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"In all seriousness, though," he continued as I chuckled. "You are the best thing to happen to Pelican Town since Alex. And that's a huge honor."
"We appreciate you, Sade," Alex said, barely above a whisper. I could feel his fingers creep onto my shoulder, stopping next to Sam's hand. "Happy birthday."
I turned around and buried my head in Haley's chest, her arms quickly wrapping around me. It didn't take long for Alex and Sam to follow suit, Alex's thumb rubbing circles on my back. His familiar scent overpowered that of the others—his protective figure towering over us.
"Thank you guys," I sniffled, trying to stop the tears from flowing. "Thank you."
Haley kissed the top of my head before grabbing my shoulders and shoving me an arm's length away from her. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She screeched. "Let's go in!"
The words had barely escaped her lips before I was practically sprinting inside. The kitchen was almost as big as the shack had been before, with cabinets upon cabinets of storage and a fridge that actually produced ice on its own. My bedroom was now separated from the remainder of the house by a door, a luxury that I had almost forgotten could exist. A ginormous window sat perfectly behind my bed, providing a plethora of natural light and a magnificent view of the farm itself.
"This is...amazing," I said breathlessly as reality began to set in.
"One thing, though," Sam said, and I braced myself for the worst. "The only bathroom is connected to your room, so...You can't shut us out completely."
I laughed, elbowing his chest. "You act like I would be able to shut you guys out if the bathroom wasn't there."
"Touché," he grinned.
"One question, though," I said.
"What's up?" Sam responded.
"You made up the bug infestation thing, right?"
——————————————————
The remainder of the day had been spent perfecting the house's layout and making dinner in our new kitchen. The lack of furniture created a makeshift dance floor in the center of the living room, which Haley insisted on utilizing while the guys cleaned up our post dinner disaster.
"Alright, I have to go," Alex huffed after him and Sam were done, plopping down on the couch.
"What?" Haley questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I have one last thing I need to do for Granny," Alex groaned. "I promised her I'd fix the TV remote before I, in her words, 'disappeared off of the face of the Earth again.'"
"Oh, you'd better hurry," Sam interjected from the sink as he dried the final few dishes. "If George is usually intolerable, I can't imagine how grumpy he is without that damn TV."
"Tell me about it," Alex mumbled as he grabbed his jacket. "Happy birthday, Sade," he said, stealing one more glance at me before closing the front door behind him.
I sighed as Sam and Haley began to chat about how refreshing it was to be back. Any moments I had to myself were consumed with thoughts of Alex, and thoughts about Alex's thoughts of me. Every brief moment of eye contact felt electric; every exchanged word felt intentional. I knew he was a flirt—this was something that I'd been warned of countless times. Yet, somehow, it felt different. Was it a bad idea to believe I was the exception? Absolutely. But was I going to do it anyway? Probably.
Before long, Haley and Sam were dozing off on the couch, the noise of the TV and Haley's soft snores distracting from the eerie silence of the house. Walking into my room, I couldn't help but feel disconnected from them. While it was nice to have my own space, I had grown used to never having a moment to myself—there was an odd sense of comfortability in being constantly pestered.
After pulling back the covers and settling into my slightly larger, but still relatively uncomfortable bed, I could feel the day catching up with me. My eyes began to flutter closed, my mind consumed with "what ifs."
Jolting me awake from my half asleep state was the sound of a knock on the window. Though quiet, it echoed through the emptiness of the cabin, immediately panicking me. My heart raced as I pulled back the curtain and peeked through the blinds, terrified by what, or who may be there.
Alex.
There he stood, outside of the farm, his hand rising to knock again.
"Alex?" I asked, unlatching the window pane and pulling it open. "What is going on? I left the front door unlocked for you."
"I know," he said coolly, his eyes scouring every inch of me. "I wanted to talk to you."
Before I could raise any other questions, he spoke again. "Alone."
"Okay..." I said, swinging my legs over through the opening, now sitting on the window sill. "What's up?"
A strange silence lingered in the air as hesitation wrote itself all over Alex's features. Beneath my calm demeanor was a heart rate that was rapidly spiraling—my brain impatiently awaiting his next words.
"Are you over Josh?" He blurted out, a crimson glow creeping onto his cheeks.
"Am I...what?" I stuttered.
"Josh. Are you over that dick?"
I let his words soak in, each one kickstarting a new train of thought. Can you ever truly be over someone that you spent so long with? What does 'getting over someone' really feel like? Surely it's not filling the void of their absence with thoughts of someone else. Do I not care, or am I just distracted? And why does Alex need to know, anyway? If he actually cared, he would have checked in sooner, not while standing outside of my window in the middle of the night.
Rage boiled through my veins as I pondered the answer. The root of the feeling was a mystery—I couldn't tell whether it was Josh's actions, or Alex waking me up to remind me of them.
"Are you over Haley yet?" I snarled in response, my mouth moving faster than my brain.
Immediate regret overtook the anger, guilt surging through my body. Jealousy of what happened before me, behind me, around me infused itself into my already bitter demeanor, my words carelessly escaping me. Shock slowly spread across Alex's features, enveloping him in a brief silence.
"Are you kidding?" He asked, his voice low. "I have never felt anything towards Haley."
I took in his words, wondering whether or not it would be insane to believe him. After all, Haley did confirm that nothing has ever happened between them, but she didn't confirm that she didn't want something to happen between them.
Him and I were locked in a staredown, each of us dancing around the other's statements in hopes of proving our own points. "Yeah, okay," I whispered. "I see how you two act around each other."
"Sadie," he growled. "She doesn't even exist to me when you're around."
Memories of the past flooded my brain. You remember how we had to alter Haley's dress last year? Would you mind helping me do that again? I don't know if I really like him, or if I just like the idea of him. Oh, God, Sade. I hope you don't have anything to hide.
The voices of Emily, Haley, and Sam swirled through my thoughts like a massacre, each of them pulling me in different directions. I had no reason to believe that I was Alex's sole interest—a notion that became more apparent the longer I was trapped in reminiscence.
"And what about when I'm not? What happens when I'm not there to see?"
"Okay, Sade," he spat, annoyance coating his words. "How many times has Haley slept in your bed? She's obsessed with you, too, and it's not like you two are fucking behind closed doors."
The feeling of anger, which had since subsided, began to again cloud my thoughts. Regardless of his attraction, or lack thereof, to Haley, his behavior towards me was arguably more cryptic. Stolen glances and empty flirtatiousness consumed our interactions, each of us presumably wanting more, but never acting upon it.
"You've got a big mouth for someone who's been living in my house, but still doesn't have the guts to make a move on me." I fired back.
He stepped closer, his brows furrowing and eyes narrowed into slits. He was merely inches from me now, a familiar scent wafting off of his figure.
"Say that again," he hissed, leaning in so close that I could feel his breath on my ear.
He didn't let me get that far.
The collision of our lips was sudden, knocking me off balance and almost sending me backwards through the window. Strong fingers grasped my back, keeping me upwards, then pulling me closer. His movements were urgent, as if we were running out of time, and the feeling they created was equally as intense.
Just as abruptly as it had begun, it ceased. A small smirk creeped onto his lips, bringing his dimples to life; his eyes frantically examined my features. "Is that what you wanted?" he asked smugly, his hand trailing up my back to rest on my face.
"Yes," I croaked out, my voice barely audible.
For a moment, we just looked at one another, entranced by the other's presence and the lingering feeling of our instantaneous connection. Mere moments ago, my lips were a stranger to his; the seemingly perpetual physical gap between us had been closed.
"God, you make it hard to breathe," he whispered, his thumb now tracing circles on my cheek.
I stayed silent, knowing anything that I said right now wouldn't be enough. Fireworks exploded inside of me, their sparks igniting every single inch of my body. Strangled breaths escaped me as I tried to find the words, completely helpless under the weight of his touch.
"We shouldn't do this," I sighed, every thought in my brain fighting against the statement. "Haley would be so upset, and what if—"
I was cut off by the feeling of Alex's thumb and index finger quickly moving to grip my jaw, jerking my chin upwards to meet his gaze.
"Haley won't find out," he whispered into my ear, the feeling of his breath sending a chill down my spine.
"And if she did, I wouldn't give a fuck. Don't you get it, Sade?" His grip tightened around my face, his stare burning holes into me. "I want you."
"Now."