(Unedited, Not Proofread, 2154 words)
Trigger Warnings: None (really bad grammar and spelling smh)
We had Jonah's eighteenth birthday party at a skating rink. It was more for his little sisters' entertainment, but Jonah didn't mind. He spent most of his time playing arcade games to get tickets so he could buy Carter the Nerf gun on the top shelf.
Because Jonah's birthday is so close to the twins' birthday, we decided to have both on the same day in the same place, so there's a lot of people here. I don't recognize many of the people here, but the ones I do, I keep a close eye on.
Kaylen, Mike, and I are playing cards on a table with three half-eaten slices of pizza and a slushie that was once mine but now belongs almost exclusively to Mike. I lean over every now and then to take a sip, but Mike has been the one who goes to refill it, so he has first claim if he wants to drink some. As far as the card game goes, Kaylen is beating us miserably. So much so that we've decided to team up, and yet we're still losing.
Abby has made friends with Willow, so the two girls are out on the skating rink teaching teach other how to balance. Jessie and Jupiter are behind them, both significantly better at skating and having the time of their lives laughing at the other two every time they fall. The twins are off with their friends in the play structures in the back of the building, we can hear them all screaming and laughing, their voices rising and falling as they explore new levels of the playground.
"I win again," Kaylen laughs, tossing her cards down onto the table.
"How?" I exclaim, throwing my cards down as well and leaning back in the booth seat, my arms across my chest. "You're cheating, you have to be."
"Surely," Mike mumbles, setting his hand down to reveal worthless cards.
"Yeah, yeah," Kaylen chuckles, scooping all the cards over to her so she can shuffle again.
"Hey, I'm gonna go refill the drink again," Mike chimes, taking the top off of the slushie and handing it to me. "Do you want red again?"
"You can get whatever," I reply, trying to look around Kaylen's head to see the machine. "Was it blue that you wanted? You can get that."
"Alright, I'll be back in a second." He climbs out of the booth and heads over to the machine, and the three spirits who had been watching our card game follow him over. I watch them for a second, then my eyes shift to Mike, and then I turn my attention back to Kaylen.
Just to find her smirking at me.
"What?" I ask, and she shakes her head and looks back down at the cards she's shuffling. "Kaylen, what?" I laugh a bit, trying to lean down to catch her gaze.
"You two are getting along well," she mumbles, and I quickly sit up straight.
"Well, yeah. I go see him and Abby all the time," I reply, furrowing my brows. "We've talked about this. You drive me there."
"You know that's not what I mean," she laughs, starting to lay the cards down.
In her defense, I have been spending every Thursday and Friday afternoon at the Schmidt house, but I spend it with Abby helping her do homework and crafts while Mike is still at work. I keep her company; I don't spend my time with him at all. The only time we do spend together is when he's making dinner and Abby wants some alone time, but other than that, I only spend time with her. And I'll stand by that.
"We're just friends, Kaylen. Don't make this into something it isn't," I mumble, annoyed that she'd try to make a scene about something that doesn't constitute any thought. She shrugs and passes me my stack of cards, and the conversation ends there.
About an hour later, Mike gets up again to use the restroom. Instead of staying with Kaylen and our abandoned card game, I slide out of the booth and head over to check on Amber and Todd. When I arrive, they offer me a seat and I politely decline. However, Amber mumbles, "Sit, Josie. We need your opinion on something."
I sit down and Amber nods over to where Jonah and Carter are sitting down in front of an arcade game that is— and has been— spewing tickets out for several seconds now. The two boys are sitting on either side of a mound of tickets, smiling like idiots and laughing hysterically in between short statements and glances up at the machine. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, but Amber seems concerned, and Todd won't look at either of us.
"What's this about?" I ask, starting to worry.
A thousand possibilities flash in my mind. Are they mad about Jonah's newly begun relationship with Carter? Are they mad at Carter for some other reason? Did Jonah say something to them? Did Carter? Were the two fighting? Were Amber and Todd fighting? Do they have different opinions about that's going on? What is going on?
"We're thinking about moving, Josie," Amber says after a few long seconds of silence.
Oh, well yeah, I guess that makes—
"Wait, what?" I snap, completely taken aback by this new information. "Why? You said you'd stay here. You just did work on your house!"
"Josephine, if you're not going to act like an adult in this conversation, then you won't be a part of it," Todd mutters sharply, and I turn to him with curses on my lips that I refuse to let go of.
He's been nice to me. I can't curse him out for making a decision for his own life.
"We did the work to get the house ready to sell," Amber explains, looking down at the bottle of water in front of her. "We don't know how to tell the kids. I mean... Jonah just started this with Carter, Jessie and Willow have so many friends at school, Jupiter's doing great in ballet... the twins are too young to be attached to this place, but the rest of them..."
"So why move?" I ask, looking from Amber to Todd and then back again. I'm sitting next to Amber in a booth, with Todd across from us.
"We just want a fresh start," Amber admits. "That old house holds too many memories. I want to wipe them all away and the only way to do that is to get the hell out it."
"Moving won't make the memories go away," I mutter, trying to be respectful even as images of my father flash in my mind.
"If it'll at least help, then it's worth it," Amber argues, and I look away from the two of them. "We just need your help, Josie."
I try to find a way to continue arguing, but I come up emptyhanded. If their family is going to move, then they're going to move. There's nothing I can do about it. Nothing I can do to make them stay.
So I might as well make it easier for them.
"What can I do?" I ask, looking back at the table but not at Amber and Todd.
A moment of silence passes, and I prepare myself for the worst.
"Jonah's staying here," Amber says suddenly, and my surprised gaze flicks up to her before I can stop it. "Or, we're giving him the option. Todd and I agreed to rent him an apartment until he gets his feet under him financially. We'll stay until after he graduates so he won't have to worry about school when he moves. If he agrees, we'll find an apartment he can work with and we'll rent it for him. But, we'd like for you to keep him company. Make sure he stays out of trouble."
"I... I can do that," I reply, nodding slowly. "I'll... he'll be in good hands— not just mine, Kaylen's too. And Mike's. We'll all be there for him."
"Thank you, Josie," Amber says, quickly wrapping me in a hug before I can escape from it. I don't return the hug simply because I hate hugs, but I do pat her arm and try to comfort her when I realize she's tearing up.
After a few minutes of discussion, Mike unexpectedly steps up beside me and quietly asks, "Can I borrow you for a moment?"
I nod and allow myself to be dragged from one private conversation to the next. Mike takes me over to where I assume he had just been, near the pay phones in the quietest corner of the building.
"What's up?" I ask, watching him step away from me even after we've stopped walking. His eyes refuse to look at me and he seems to be in a bit of a panic. His heart is beating rapidly, and his hands shake until he sets one on his head and the other on his hip. "Mike."
"Remember Vanessa?" he questions, and my breath catches in my throat.
"Yes," I squeak out, and he nods, turning away for a second and crossing his arms over his chest. I watch as he tries to find the words. Several incoherent sentences start to slip out before he catches them and tries to fix what he's saying. Eventually I have to prompt him. "Mike, just tell me."
A sudden calm washes over the two of us. His chest stops rising and falling so quickly and his eyes finally settle on my face. I tilt my head and wave my hand for him to continue.
"She's getting worse, and the doctors can't figure out why," he mumbles.
"How do you know that?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest like he currently is.
"I called to check on her because I got worried. I haven't been to see her in a few weeks, and the doctors told me she's been on a steady decline," he explains.
"Oh, shit," I mumble. "I assume she's still in the coma?"
"Yes, and they've been trying to wake her up but they can't. It's only getting worse. Something's wrong," he states firmly, and I can tell by the emotions that he feels in this moment that he's never believed in something this strongly before. "Josie, something's wrong."
"What's wrong?" I prompt, needing more information.
"I don't know," he admits, and I see where this conversation is going.
"Mike, why are you telling me this?" I ask. "And before you say it—" I hold my hands up innocently— "I know we're friends. I know I let you trauma dump on me sometimes and I know I do the same, but this is different and you and I both know it." I put my hands down and repeat the simple question, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I don't know who else to ask for help," he mumbles, his honesty shining through.
"Okay," I say gently, nodding my head and turning my eyes away from him. "Okay."
"Josie, please. I know you said no more investigations but—"
"I'll do it," I say quickly, cutting him off. "But we're going this Friday when you get off of work, we're not taking Abby, and—" I step forward and grab the collar of his shirt so he knows this is important to be— "nobody is to tell Kaylen about this. Understand?"
"Got it," he says, nodding a bit. "I'll tell Abby we're going birthday shopping for her."
"And I'll tell Kaylen I'm spending the night," I add. We both nod and I let go of his shirt, stepping back and taking a deep breath in.
"One more job?" Mike asks weakly, an exhausted and apologetic smile poking through on his chapped lips. His eyes hold the memories of his last two spiritual excursions, his scars— faded but present— loathe them. He doesn't want to have to do this anymore than I do, but he's run out of options.
Except for the option of hiring a medium, I guess.
That's everyone's last option, apparently.
"One more job," I whisper back.
(A/N: Wait. Guys. Nobody move. Did I just... finish something I said I'd finish multiple weeks ago? Yes, yes, I did. Like previous chapters, it's not the best. But it got the gist of what I was going for and now that it's all said and done, I can get to editing and get to getting the next book ready to go. I'll probably give myself a few weeks to recollect myself and get some other works published and out into the world, but there WILL be a sequel. I promise. And you can burn me at the stake if I break that promise.)
Please leave a like if you enjoyed and again, feel free to correct my spelling/grammar in the comments :)