The next morning I wake up feeling a lot lighter. I take a quick shower and after getting ready I head to the kitchen where Ezra is sitting by the counter, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth. He closes his eyes and moans as if he just tasted heaven.
Now that's a sight that I'd gladly like to erase from my memory.
"Morning Wills." He says with a mouth full of bacon. "Good morning. Am I interrupting something?" I ask setting my bag down on the counter. My stomach grumbles and I grab a piece of toast just to stop it from sounding like a lion, ready to pounce. One piece won't hurt.
"Can't a man just enjoy his breakfast in peace?" I just roll my eyes at that.
"By the way, I'm hanging out with some friends after school and they'll be dropping me off at home." I say shoving the last bite of toast into my mouth. He nods and walks over to the sink to put his plate away. "I have football tryouts after school so I wouldn't have been able to drop you off anyway." He turns to me. "You made some friends?" I grab by bag and we start walking to his car. He unlocks the door and I slide into the passanger seat.
"Yeah, this girl, Hazel. I met her after some douch bumped into me. Turns out it's actually her brother. She introduced me to some of her friends." He starts pulling out of the long driveway.
"That's great Wills, I'm really happy for you." He gives me a big smile and I can't help but return it. We stop at a red light and he slightly turns to me in his seat. "Wait, did you say Hazel? As in Hazel Ashford?"
"She didn't really give me her last name so I wouldn't know. Why?" I give him a confused look.
"Her brother is Luke Ashford. He's the captain of the football team and kind of a legend at school. I'm surprised you haven't heard about him yet. People are pretty much always talking about him.
Ohh wait, didn't you say he bumped into you? Why didn't you tell me?"He focuses back on the road when the light turns green again.
Luke. So that's his name. "Why didn't I tell you that some asshole knocked all of my books out of my arms, or why didn't I tell you that said asshole was your new man crush?" I narrow my eyes at him.
He smirks at me, "Both"
~
I head to my locker after school to grab a few things before meeting Hazel and the girls. I shove a few books in my bag and when I close the door, I nearly let out a scream. Luckily my brain was on my side for once and opted for a silent reaction.
Leaning against the locker next to mine, shamelessly staring into my soul with his piercing blue eyes, is Luke Ashford.
We both stand there in silence for a minute or two. I'm looking at him with confusion while he's giving me a look I can't really place.
This is getting awkward. It's a kind of I'm looking at him, he's looking at me kind of situation and it's starting to make me uncomfortable. What the hell does he want?
I finally decide to break the awkward silence, "Can I help you with something?" He seems amused by my irritated tone and it just pisses me off more. "Can you stop staring? It's getting weird." He lets out a small chuckle.
"I'm here to apologize for yesterday. I guess my sister considers you a friend of hers now and apparently I was an asshole." His voice is deep and smooth and I take a second to really look at him. He has dark wavy hair that's short along the sides and a bit longer at the top. Is it weird that I kind of want to run my fingers through it? Yes Willow, it's weird. My inner voice scolds me. He has a sharp jaw and a pare of deep blue eyes. He's lean and muscular, but not too much to make him look bulky.
"So you're apologizing because your sister told you to?" I ask after a moment
He looks at me like I'm stupid and answers in a 'duh' tone ,"Yes"
"Okay, go ahead" I cross my arms over my chest. "What are you talking about?" He asks, matching my stance. "I thought we were done here." Is he for real? "Well you haven't exactly apologized."
"I just did." And just like that he pushes himself off of the locker he was leaning against and walks off to join his friends who were waiting for him at the end of the hallway. The same group of guys that Ezra has been hanging out with.
Sighing, I head out the doors to the parking lot where I see Hazel waiting by her car. She spots me and waves me over. "Hey, what took you so long?" She asked when I reached her. "Your brother was trying to apologize for yesterday." Ivy and Cora join us and we get into the car. Hazel slides into the driver's seat with Ivy next to her and Cora and I get into the back. "Trying?" She asks as she pulls out of the parking lot.
"I don't really think he's good at it." I say with a small laugh. "I can talk to him if you want?" She looks at me through the rear vew mirror.
"Nah it's ok. I don't want to dwell on it any longer." And that's the end of the conversation. The girls start talking about anything and everything and I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed this hard. Ivy tells us about the hot basketball player she's been talking to and Cora complains about her siblings.
I don't even notice when we've arrived at the movie theater until Hazel kills the engine and the girls get out of the car. We head inside and all pay for our tickets and snacks. I have no clue what we're watching, just that's it's some new rom-com that everyone has been dying to see.
We take our seats and chat for a bit until the movie starts.
~
"I can't believe Jake would just crash their date like that! I mean what the hell? She didn't want you pall." The car ride home has been filled with comments and arguments from Cora and Ivy about the movie. Cora is very upset about Jake crashing Mila and Anthony's date. Ivy, however, thinks that it was some amazing gesture and that Mila should've chosen Jake over Anthony.
Hazel and I just silently listen to their bickering. It's quite entertaining.
They drop me off at home and I wave as Hazel pulls out of the driveway. I spot my mom's car in the driveway. She's home early?
"Mom?" I call out as I step into the house and head toward the kitchen. "Hey sweetie! How was your day?" She's drying her hands with a cloth as I walk in and I can see she's been cooking. She's also changed out of her work clothes into a casual summer dress. Whatever she's cooking smells amazing. "It was good. I had fun with the girls, I really like them."
"I'm glad youve made some friends honey. Your father and I were worried you'd crawl back into your shell when we moved here." She has a bright smile on her face, but it turns almost a little sad as she says her next words. "I'm worried about your brother though. He acts all happy and he tries to make me believe that he's okay, but I know he's struggling. Hopefully these new friends of his will do him some good. I hear he had tryouts today?"
"Yeah, most of the guys he hangs out with are on the football team. I'm gonna head up, I have homework to finish."
"Go ahead sweetie. I'll call you when dinner is ready. Your father should be home in an hour or two."
I enter my room and head over to my desk. Just when I sit down, my door flies open to reveal Ezra standing in my doorway, with a plastic bag in his hand the biggest smile on his face.
"What's got you so happy?" I can't help but return the smile. "I made the team Wills!" He exclames, wrapping me in his arms and lifting me off the ground. I laugh as he spins me around "Of course you made it! You're an amazing player, they would have been stupid if they didn't pick you" He gently puts me down and I nod towards the bag in his hand, "What you got there?"
He places the bag on my desk and pulls out two cartons of ice cream. "I wanted to celebrate so I got you that brownie ice cream you like so much." My heart melts at that. My brother will forever be my best friend.
"I'll meet you downstairs in a bit, you need a shower. I could smell your stench from the doorway" I gently push him out of my room.
"Rude." He scoffs. "I'll meet you by the pool in fifteen. Get the spoons." And with that he closes the door to his room and I hear the shower running shortly after. I head to the kitchen and I hear my parents laughing. My dad must have just gotten home. I smile as I take in the scene in front of me. My dad has his arms wrapped around my mother, while she squirms and giggles as he tickles her. He places kisses all over her face.
I clear my throat and they finally notice my presence. "Hi honey." My dad comes over to me and gives me a quick peck on my temple. " I'm gonna go chance real quick." He gestures to the blazer and tie he's been wearing.
I grab the spoons and the ice cream and head out to the gazebo next to the pool. I sit down on one of the lounge chairs and Ezra comes strolling out. He takes the seat next to mine. "So, how have you been?" He asks as he grabs his ice cream and a spoon. He pops open the lid and shoves the mint chocolate chip ice ream into his mouth. "Ive been good" I open my own ice cream and pop a spoon of it into my mouth.
He gives me a soft smile and I know he doesn't believe me. "How have you really been?" There it is. I've never been able to hide anything from him. He has a way of dragging every bit of information out of me.
"I've been...okay, I guess. I feel better just not...great." I look down at the ice cream in my lap. It's gotten hotter lately. The ice cream is starting to melt.
"You can talk to me you know?" I glance up at him as he speaks. "It's been hard for the both of us. You don't have to deal with the chaos going on in your head alone."
"I know." I sigh, " I hope you follow your own advice though. I'm here if need to talk to someone. " He nods and we both go back to eating our ice cream in silence.
He's right. I keep everything inside of me thinking, hoping that if I don't talk about or acknowledge my problems that they'll just go away. I've been lying to myself. My demons aren't going to go away on their own. I need to face them.