The last couple of days have been hard and stressful. Not only have I had to worry about Dylan and Daniel, but I've also been worrying about Abby. We're in that weird place again where we're not getting along, so she has decided on ignoring me. The camping trip is tomorrow and I honestly just want to say the hell with it. Why should I spend it being miserable? Abby doesn't want me there and Daniel will need somebody to stay with him to make sure he doesn't fall apart.
I hand out the orders from Subway to the guys and we all sit down in the chairs around my pool. I haven't heard from Stephen in a while, but the last time we talked, he was busy with taking over for Daniel's dad at the job.
"I'm actually looking forward to this camping trip." Troy says.
I roll my eyes, unwrapping my sandwich. "For what? There aren't going to be any chicks there that you can get with."
"I'll have you know that when I was little, I went to a camp and we learned survival skills." He says in a matter of fact tone.
"Did you learn anything?" Ryan asks, a smirk on his face.
"I learned how to make a fire so suck it." Troy shoots him a bird and I shake my head at them before looking over at Daniel. He has a despondent look on his face and I feel bad for him. He's really going through it.
I nudge him, "Hey, you okay?"
He seems to snap out of his thoughts before looking at me. I see the dark circles and bags under his eyes, making me wish I could fix this for him. He hasn't been himself since he found out his dad was dying and I'm afraid that he might not bounce back from this.
"Um, yeah. I'm good." His voice is dead and so is his facial expression.
"You don't have to be here if you don't want to." I tell him.
"If I go back there, I'll just end up crying or pretending I'm not mad. I need a break from that." He rubs his face, sighing.
I'm about to say something else, but he stands up suddenly going into the house with his food. I decide not to go after him because the last time I did that, I ended up with a bloody nose. My nose is still bruised from him punching me.
"Man, I feel bad for him." Troy has a sympathetic look on his face and I imagine I'm mirroring his expression.
"He just needs time." I sigh, turning my attention away from the door towards the pool.
"You're probably right, but what about that crack head in your house. What are you going to do about him?" Troy asks.
I throw a chip at him, giving him a dour look. "You can't say shit like that about him. He has a name, so use it."
He holds his hands up in a surrendering way. "Don't get mad at me for telling the truth. You're letting someone who's on drugs sleep in your house around your mom, dad, and little sister. He's probably already picked out what he's going to steal when you leave tomorrow."
"He's not going to steal anything. He's not like that. His lawyer said he could probably keep him from going to jail and get him into rehab."
Although I sound like I'm not worried, I still have this small ounce of doubt in me. What if he does exactly what Troy just said. I don't think I could live with myself if my mom, dad, or sister got hurt because of a bad decision I made.
"Whatever, I still think you're a dumb ass." He takes a bite of his pizza and I ignore his comment, taking a sip of my soda.
"It's hard to believe we're all back together again. In the same city." Ryan says out of nowhere, causing Troy and me to look at him.
"You and Jordan are the ones that decided not to keep in touch with Daniel and me." Troy says, and I can tell that he feels some type of way about that.
"If we're being honest, I wasn't talking to you because of the whole bet and that night at the party. Daniel was pissed at me because I basically ended his relationship with Alyssa. Keeping in touch for the first few years was hard and then we made up, but lost touch again."
"We were supposed to spend our first few years out of high school together. We really dropped the ball on that." Troy looks off into the distance, most likely thinking about where things went wrong.
"I should have never let you make that stupid bet. Everything always comes back to that stupid bet." Ryan lets out a frustrated sigh and I almost agree with him. If it weren't for that bet, I wouldn't have Abby, but I definitely wouldn't be going through the shit I'm going through now.
"You can't stop fate, Ryan. We'd still be here somehow. Jordan would have met Abby somehow and still messed up things with her. We still would have went separate ways because that's just life." Troy's still staring off into the distance, his eyes squinted because of the sun.
"Maybe you're right." I grab a lemon pepper off my sandwich before popping it into my mouth.
~~~~
"Dylan, I talked to your lawyer yesterday and you have a trial set for next week. Jordan won't be there, but you'll have us there." My mom says, giving Dylan a motherly smile. He smiles back and I can tell that he really appreciates us.
"I really want t-to thank you all. I know dealing with a drug addict isn't easy, b-but you all have b-been very nice and kind. You've given me a place to stay, food, and clothing. Plus, you've had to d-deal with me detoxing all over t-the place, so thank you." I place a hand on his shoulder, giving him an appreciative smile.
We're all sitting around at dinner, eating steaks. Dylan really wants to change his life around and his determination is why he's going to be able to become clean again. Lydia really likes him and is always talking his head off. Mom sees him as a second son already and so does dad.
"We want you to know that you always have us, Dylan. We know you'll do well in rehab." Dad says.
"I won't let you down, sir." Dylan smiles a grateful smile to all of us and I actually feel good about something that I've done.
After eating dinner, I decide to turn in early. We're leaving pretty early tomorrow for the trip and I've been designated to drive. I go upstairs to my room and begin to pack all of the things that I will need tomorrow. There's a knock at my door and I turn around to see Lydia coming in with her favorite stuffed animal.
"What's up?" I ask, sitting down on the bed. She comes over to me and I pull her onto my lap.
"Mommy said you're leaving again." She looks down, clearly sad about me leaving.
"Just for a week. I'm coming back." I tell her.
"You're always leaving me. You don't ever want to hang out with me anymore." She doesn't look at me and I start to feel bad because she's right. Since I've been here I haven't really hung out with her.
"Hey, look at me." She slowly looks up at me with her adorable brown eyes.
"When I get back I'm all yours. I'll take you out for ice cream. We can go shopping for new toys and whatever else you want." I start to tickle her and she begins to laugh, a smile finally coming back to her face.
"I love you, Jordan." She wraps her small arms around me and I find myself smiling.
"I love you, too." I hug her tight before picking her up and taking her to her room. She changes into her pajamas before I tuck her into her bed.
I lean down kissing her on the forehead. "Good night, Lydia."
"Good night, Jordy." She smiles at the nickname for me before closing her eyes.
I laugh, turning off the lights and exiting out of her room. I find Dylan about to go into the guest room, but he stops when he sees me coming out of Lydia's room.
"I know I've already said this, but t-thank you." Dylan says.
I give him a small smile and a head nod before going into my own room. I continue packing, hoping that while I'm away things will be okay.
~~~~
"Are you sure you can handle being here with Dylan?" I ask my mom, half way out the door.
"Yes, Jordan. Your dad is here and Dylan doesn't seem like he would hurt us." She says, trying to get me out of the house.
"Okay. I'll be back next Saturday. I love you." I kiss her on the cheek before grabbing my bags and heading to my car.
I'm putting my bags into the car when I feel a pair of arms wrap around my legs. I turn around to see Lydia looking up at me with a smile on her face. I put my last bag into the car before picking her up and hugging her tight.
"Look after mom for me, okay." I kiss her on the cheek before setting her down. She waves goodbye to me before running back over to mom. I get into my car and head to Troy's house to pick him and Ryan up.
~~~~
Abby's pov
"I forgot how much I hate long car rides." I roll my eyes, sighing from being cramped up in this car for two hours.
"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes and since when do you hate long car rides?" Alyssa asks.
"I've always hated them, I guess." I shrug.
"I really don't like how you guys put me in the back. Abby should be the one sitting in the back since we had to practically beg her to come." Jake complains, causing us to laugh.
"I called shotgun first." I turn around, smirking at him.
Alyssa shakes her head, "Just like old times."
"You guys know it's not really camping if we're staying in cabins." I say.
"No way in hell was I going to be sleeping on the ground or outside period." Alyssa cringes, a look of disgust on her face.
I roll my eyes, "You're still a girly girl."
"And you're still a tomboy. Don't think you're fooling anyone because you wear heels and dresses now." She smiles.
I roll my eyes playfully at her and I see the sign telling us we're getting close to the cabins. I'm excited about the trip, but at the same time I'm not. I haven't spoken to Jordan since that night he tried to make a move on me, so I don't know if he's still coming. Alyssa told me Daniel wasn't coming which is understandable. I don't know how long I plan on staying after the camping trip is over, but I know for sure it won't be long. I still have a wedding that's coming up.
We pull onto the parking lot of the place and we see some workers coming over to us. "Wow, classy." Alyssa smiles with excitement clear on her face.
We all get out of the car and the tan guy with dark hair comes over to us. "Can we get your bags and show you to your cabin?"
"Yes, please." Alyssa gives him a flirty smile, and Jake and I roll our eyes at her.
We all begin to walk towards the cabin and I look around at the place. It looks more like a resort than anything else. I didn't see Jordan's car in the parking lot, so I'm assuming he decided not to come after all. I don't know how to feel about that right now.
"We have a lot of things you guys can do here. You can rent jet skis, go fishing or swimming, go for a hike, and plenty more. You also have a pit in the back of your cabin just in case you want to make some S'mores or roast some marshmallows." The dark hair guy tells us.
"Well, here you are." We're in front of our cabin and it looks much better than I imagined. This must have cost Alyssa and Jake a lot of money. The guys with our bags take our stuff into the cabin.
"Neighbours!" We hear someone yell and we all turn our heads to see Troy with his hands up, Ryan waving at us, and Jordan leaning up against the door frame.
"Great." I mutter before heading into the cabin.
The inside looks even better than the outside. The kitchen is huge and so is the living room. I believe the rooms are upstairs if I remember correctly. I grab my bags, heading upstairs to get the first pick. I look in all of the rooms, only to find they all look the same. I end up choosing the one closest to the stairs before getting settled in.
Alyssa comes through the door with a guide in her hand. "Okay, so I was thinking we should definitely rent the jet skis for the day and go out onto the lake."
I lean back on my hands, letting my head fall back. "I really just want to take a nap right now."
"Translation, you just want to stay in here and hide from Jordan. Stop being a big baby." She pinches me on the arm and I slap her hand away.
"Ouch! That hurt!" I yell, rubbing my arm.
"And there's more where that came from. Get in a swim suit and meet me downstairs." She demands before leaving out of my room.
Well, she's definitely still the same Alyssa I've known all of my life. I get changed into a swim suit before putting on a pair of shorts, a tank top, and my flip flops. I tie my hair up into a bun before heading downstairs.
"It's about time." Jake teases.
He wraps an arm around my shoulders and we make our way out of the cabin towards the dock. Alyssa has the map in her hands, leading us to the place. I can't really be excited anymore because Jordan's here. The chances of me running into him are greater now. I mean, he's staying in the cabin right next to ours.
"Hey, cheer up. Just because he's here doesn't mean they're going to be doing the same thing we're doing. They're probably in their cabins right now raiding the fridge." He jokes, getting me to crack a small smile.
"I hope you're right." I sigh.
We get to the dock and we see a lot of people down here, but no Jordan. Maybe Jake is right. We talk to the guy about renting jet skis and he tells us the safety regulations and how to work the jet skis. The sun begins to beat down on my skin and I curse myself for not bringing my sunscreen.
"Hey, Jake, I'm going to go back and get some sunscreen." I tell him and he nods his head.
I turn around only to run into a chest. I look up to see a smiling Jordan, holding sunscreen. "You can borrow my sunscreen."
"No, thank you." I try to go around him, but he steps in front of me.
"What do you want?" I ask, frustrated.
"Can we not do this? You're just going to end up not enjoying the trip because you're too focused on being mad at me. Look, you don't have to talk to me, but avoiding me is taking it a little too far." He hands me the sunscreen, walking pass me.
I turn around to see him getting on a jet ski. Alyssa and Troy are talking to each other, and Ryan and Jake are picking out the jet ski they want. I roll my eyes because he's right. If I stay mad at him, it'll just ruin the trip for me and everyone else.
I open the sunscreen up, applying it to my skin. I'm not able to reach my back, so I get Alyssa to apply it to my back before going over to the jet ski. I look at the piece of machinery and I suddenly become scared to drive one.
"Hey, you okay?" Jake asks.
"Can I jump on with you. I don't feel comfortable driving one by myself." I tell him truthfully.
"Yeah, come on." He gets on first before helping me on. I wrap my arms around his torso and he takes off to where we already see Ryan and Jordan.
Thank God I tied my hair up or it'd be slapping me in the face right now. Jake begins to slow down, stopping in front of Ryan and Jordan.
"Got scared?" Ryan teases.
I shoot him a bird, ignoring him. I look over to Jordan to see him openly staring at me. Rude much. I turn my attention away from him right as we take off. I lose my balance and end up falling off into the water.
I resurface, pissed off. "Jake!" I yell.
Jordan pulls over to me, laughing, reaching his hand out for me. I glare at him before taking it and he helps me onto his jet ski.
"He did that on purpose." I say through gritted teeth.
"Lighten up, Mr. Grinch." Jordan winks before grabbing my hands and wrapping them around his torso. He takes off into the direction where Jake just went.
"You guys want to race?" Jordan yells as we approach them.
"I'm down. Let's go to that pole over there." Jake points.
"I should probably get off if you want to win." I say to Jordan.
"Nonsense. I got skills, Midget." There he goes with that cocky attitude again. I can't help, but shake my head and smile at the thought that he thinks he's going to win.
We all get lined up, ready to start the race. "On your mark, get set, go!" Ryan yells.
We shoot forward and I grip onto Jordan tight so that I don't fall off. To my surprise, I look over to see we're keeping up with Jake and Ryan. Jake looks over at me and I shoot him bird, wanting revenge for what he did earlier. We begin to pull ahead in front of Jake, but Ryan is impossible to catch. Ryan passes the pole first, then us, then Jake.
"No fair. I want a rematch." Jake says, looking at us.
"No rematches. We won fair and square." Jordan says.
"Actually, I won." Ryan adds.
"Hey, guys, look over there." Jake points and we all turn our heads to see what he's pointing at.
Alyssa and Troy are swimming in the water, laughing and talking with each other. I want to say it looks innocent, but it looks anything but innocent. There's barely any space between them and Alyssa is giving him the flirty eyes. Jordan and Ryan give each other a look that I can't quite read, but I know that it must be bad.
"What the hell is up with them being all friendly to each other?" Jake looks weirded out and slightly disgusted at the sight of them flirting with each other.
"We're probably just reading too much into it." I try to reason with them. I mean, this is Alyssa and Troy. They might act alike sometimes, but they basically hate each other. Plus, Alyssa dated Daniel. She couldn't do that to Daniel.
"You're probably right. Troy's a player and I'm sure Alyssa wants someone she can actually settle down with." Ryan says it in a joking manner, but even he doesn't sound so convinced by what he just said.
"You guys hungry, because I am?" Jake changes the subject.
"Yeah, let's head back." Jordan says, heading towards the dock.
When we get back to the dock, Alyssa and Troy are still laughing with each other. Jordan and I stare at each other, unsure of what's really going on. I go over to them, trying to act normal.
"We're about to go grab a bite to eat. You guys want to come?" I ask.
"Sure. We should have dinner at our cabin. The guys can cook for the girls." Troy suggests.
"It's only two girls." I deadpan.
"Well, you guys won't be the only ones eating. We'll just be doing the cooking. How does that sound?" Troy turns to Alyssa and I raise a questioning eyebrow.
She looks over to me before looking back at Troy. "That's okay with me. What about you, Abby?" Everyone turns to me and I suddenly feel obligated to say yes.
"Um, yeah. Sounds great." I nervously rub up and down my arms.
"Great, let's head back to our cabin then." Troy waves for us to follow him and I watch as everyone passes by me.
Jordan stops and turns around before coming back over to me. "What's wrong?"
"Do you think that they have something going on?" I ask.
He shrugs his shoulders, "Troy is probably just flirting with her like he does with every girl. Alyssa wouldn't fall for his games. You know that."
I give him a doubtful look because even I'm unsure. "Okay..." I drag out, still unsure.
"Hey, come on. Don't be the party pooper." He slings his arm around my shoulder and we begin to head back towards their cabin.
As we walk back to the cabin, I spot something crawling on the ground. I look closely to see that it's a huge black spider. I let out a yelp before jumping onto Jordan, catching him off guard.
"Midget, what the hell?" He asks.
"There's a spider. Right there." I point towards the spider, clinging onto him like my life depends on it.
He squints his eyes, before spotting the spider and looking at me. "Really, Midget? You're like a hundred times its size."
He sets me down before going over to the spider and stepping on it. He walks back over to me, an amused smile on his face.
"Problem solved." He smirks.
"Tell anyone and I will kill you." I threaten him before continuing towards their cabin.
When we get to the guy's cabins, Troy and Ryan have already started cooking. Jake is trying to figure out how to turn the stereo on while Alyssa is trying to steal the remote from him.
"What are you guys even cooking?" Jordan asks.
"Steaks, pasta salad, and a chocolate cake for desert." Troy flips a steak over, beginning to season the other side.
"We could just eat at the dining hall here." I add.
"We also could just cook our own food. This is supposed to be a camping trip, Abby." Troy says, rolling his eyes at me.
I narrow my eyes at him, "A camping trip? We're staying in cabins. The closest thing to camping that you've done today was swimming in the lake."
Troy sighs, "Jordan, will you get your stuck up, party pooper girlfriend. I can't work under her constant nagging."
"Constant nagging?" I ask, appalled. I take a step towards him, but Jordan grabs me, pulling me out of the kitchen.
"Why don't you just sit in the living room and cool down?" He asks.
"Yeah, because if I don't, I'm going to kill him." I go into the living room, sitting down on the couch, frustrated.
Jake comes and sits beside me, slinging his arm around me, pulling me into his side. "What's wrong, Abby Wabby?"
I glare at him for just calling me Abby Wabby, and he removes his arm, putting space between us. I sigh, throwing my head back.
"I don't even know why I came. I should have just stayed in New York where I would be helping Shawn plan for our wedding." I say.
"Would you stop complaining and making the trip about you. I asked you to come because I missed my best friend, but you've been so self-absorbed lately. Can you just at least pretend you want to be here with me?" He looks away from me, angry with me. He's right, though. I've been so selfish that I've forgotten what this trip was all about. Catching up with my two best friends.
I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. "I'm sorry. Is all forgiven, Jake." He cracks a small smile, but doesn't look at me. I knew doing that would get him to lighten up.
"I wove you Jakey Wakey." I wrap my arms around him, hugging him tight. He begins to laugh which makes me smile because he's happy again.
"You two are still weird as hell." Alyssa smiles, coming up to us.
"Don't hate because we're closer than you two are." Jake fires back and I stand up before I get dragged into that argument.
"You wish, Jake. Just because you guys met first doesn't mean anything. Everyone knows girls stick together." She argues with him.
Jake holds up a hand, "Talk to the hand sister."
Alyssa turns to me. "Abby."
I throw my hands up in a surrendering way. "I'm not in it."
She rolls her eyes at me before plopping down on the couch. "Losers."
"Jake, come here and stop arguing with the girls." Ryan calls from the kitchen.
Jake sighs before rolling his eyes. He's lazy as hell. He doesn't want to participate in the cooking, but he will definitely participate in the eating. My phone begins to ring and I take it out to see that it's Shawn. I look up to see Jordan staring at me, probably wondering if I'm going to answer the call. I know he knows who it is.
I begin to walk away, so that I can talk in private. I answer the call once I get into the bathroom downstairs.
"Hey, Shawn." I answer.
"Hey, love. How's the camping trip going?" He asks.
"Great. We're having so much fun." I somewhat lie.
"That's wonderful. I was thinking about what song we should dance to for the first dance. I was thinking we should so a smooth piano melody. Something light, elegant, but you'll be able to feel the love through the keys of the piano."
"Um, I thought we agreed on something with lyrics. Something the crowd could sing to." I say, not really liking the idea of dancing to a piano for the first dance at my wedding.
"I know, but that's so cliché. Plus, I know how we both love classical music." I press mute on the phone before letting out a yell. I take a deep breath before pressing unmute and putting the phone back up to my ear.
"Sounds lovely, dear." I agree, not wanting to argue about something has simple as this.
"Also, instead of mixing our families together, I was thinking we could put your family on the left and mine on the right." He adds in.
"Whatever you want, babe." I sigh.
"I knew you'd agree. I'll talk to you later. Bye, love you." He hangs up before I get the chance to say it back again.
I exit out of the bathroom and Jake is standing there against the wall. "Are you okay? I just heard you scream and one of us had to come check on you. I lost in paper, rock, scissors against Alyssa."
I let out a small laugh before running my hand through my hair. "I don't want to make the trip about me."
"I'm sorry if I came off as not caring earlier. I just want you to enjoy this trip." He says.
"I know, it's just... I don't know. Maybe I'm not ready for marriage." I lean up against the wall, facing Jake.
"Well, do you love Shawn?" He asks.
"Yes, but-"
He cuts me off, "No, buts. You either love him or you don't. It's your job to figure that out."
He pats me on the shoulder before leaving me in the hallway. I really need to do some thinking. Ever since I've been back here I've been questioning things. I sigh before making my way up front with everyone else.
______________________________________
So so so so sorry for the lack of updating lately. I've been meaning to, but I'm involved in so many things lately that I barely have time to sleep or eat. I'll try to update again some time soon in the next couple of days.
Don't forgot to vote and comment what you think. Also thank you guys for being patient and for the wonderful comments that you leave on the chapters. I love you guys so much!!!