Mr. Paul and the boys let me shower and change while they all sat in my kitchen. Each had a cup of tea in their hands, nicely prepared by Mr. Paul himself. One was waiting for me, too, right next to Brian. Rubbing a towel through my still-damp hair, I approached them. And Brian pushed the mug in my direction.
"Feel better?" he asked me with a smile.
I nodded. "Yes." Lifting the mug in my hands, I looked into his golden eyes. "Do you?
"I do." Brian sipped from his cup of tea and offered me space on his lap to sit. I accepted, giggling as I drank from my cup, too.
"Now, can you tell me why you weren't able to answer your phone?" Jun asked me as he put his cup down. "Kyle and Brian here said it was a rough night and all, but—"
I shrugged. "I kind of... don't have a phone anymore," I said with a cringe. "It's dead."
"So, you need a new phone?" Jun batted his eyes before he laughed. "Why didn't you say something?"
With my cup to my lips, I gave him the same look back, batting my eyes, too. "How, if I don't have a phone?"
Jun's mouth opened. Then shut. He officially lost his argument before it could even begin.
"Well, I'm glad everyone here is happy and safe." Mr. Paul rinsed out the mug he'd used in my kitchen sink. "Once everyone is ready, I've got cupcakes downstairs. Feel free to stop by and grab one if you want to."
"We will," Brian said. "Thank you, Mr. Paul."
"Yes." I placed my mug down in front of me. "Thank you very much. For everything."
The look Mr. Paul gave me, that soft smile, warmed my heart. It was nice to have every bit of good in my life in one room. It started with Jun and his ability to save me from the darkest moment in my life. Mr. Paul was the next bit of light. The man who gave me a chance when I had little to my name and no job to ensure I'd be a good tenant. Turning my head, I looked into Brian's eyes, smiling at the man who saw more in me, all of me, and helped me just be happy.
"Here, I'll get the door for you." Kyle jumped up from his seat to help Mr. Paul leave my apartment. The two men smiled at each other. And I couldn't help but smile, too. Because of Kyle, I was able to find Brian and get a piece I almost lost; almost let go because I was scared.
But the whole reason for moving to the city, escaping my home, was to let go of all of my fears. And last night, the morning, was the biggest baggage I could ever drop into the sea.
As Mr. Paul said his goodbyes once more, Jun sighed and glanced over at Brian and me. There was a smile on my brother's face. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this," he said to Brian, shaking his head. "I should've just come to your party, I just, it's just—"
"Don't worry about it, man," Brian said, putting his mug down on the counter. "It's just nice to meet you."
"Same." Jun laughed.
"And same!" Kyle returned to the counter, his hands folded in front of us as he grinned. "Now that we've all said our hellos and what-not, can we for real eat?"
All eyes drifted towards him, confused.
Kyle laughed. "Look, your boy is hungry. I wasn't kidding. And I think I'm going to need more than a cupcake."
Shaking my head, I glanced at Brian and saw the twinkle in his eyes. "We can eat," I said.
And in my head, I told myself, all I really need is a cupcake and that smile.
|||
Jun wanted to come with us, but leaving home was a quick trip he hadn't planned on taking. He only needed to ensure I was okay. Telling him goodbye was hard, again because I finally had him at my side, but I promised to text him.
Once I got a phone again.
With the rest of us in Kyle's car, he pulled up to the diner Brian and I never had the chance to eat at. It was small, cute, homey, straight out of the movies. The rain sort of added to the feed of it; peaceful. I couldn't help but smile as I looked out the window.
"You eat meat?" Kyle asked me as he shut off the car.
I watched the diner's wooden door open, just as a man with a small boy came outside. The boy squealed as the rain hit his face and the man tried to protect him. Watching them both, I only half heard Kyle, so he asked again, "Kay—" I looked at him with just my eyes as he spoke. "—do you eat meat?"
"Uh, yeah," I muttered, looking at Brian before looking back at Kyle again, "why wouldn't I?"
"Oh, because Shawn's girl doesn't. Thought we'd have to do two side orders today."
Shawn's girl? Shawn? "Side orders?" I still held Brian's hand as I leaned forward and watched Kyle pull the key out of the ignition. "You're ordering food for Shawn's girlfriend? To go?"
"Oh, no." Suddenly, Brian was leaning back against the backseat, hiding his face with his other hand. When I looked at him, I caught him peeking at me between two fingers. His wide palm couldn't hide his growing smirk.
"What?" I blinked at him. "What is it? What did I miss?"
Brian cringed. "Kay, it's—"
Kyle turned so fast in his seat, that the back headrest screamed under the pressure of his arms as he leaned against it. Though he smiled big, I felt another page turn in Brian's book of secrets. I was going to learn something, wasn't I?
Relax, Kay.
"So," Kyle pointed out the window with his thumb, "this diner takes us way back."
"Us?" I let my eyes dance between the two of them, shifting so I could look at them equally.
Brian nodded.
"We'd come here as teens. Sundays were the best days because Joe—the diner's owner—had this special on milkshakes before noon. Best sugar rush you could ever have."
"Are we... here for milkshakes?" I asked them.
"Oh, no," Kyle laughed as Brian cringed. "Or, I mean, we could, but that's not it."
"Then?" I waited and waited, sitting further back that my shoulders were pressed against the window. I could feel the rain hit the glass, feel its moisture on my skin. It wasn't until Brian looked up with those golden eyes that I knew it was more than milkshakes.
"We'd come here to hang out, relax, but—" Brian looked down at our hands, watching the way his fingers fit between mine. "—we'd also come here when one of us was in distress, upset, or just in need of some pick me up. It became a tradition; never leave a friend behind."
"And sadly, we've ignored that for a long time." Kyle's wide grin weakened. "Brian here has been behind for a while and we sort of just went on our own."
Brian's chest went in as he sucked in a slow breath, trying to laugh away his sigh. That glow in his eyes dimmed as thunder rumbled around the car.
Oh. "Who is 'we?'" I asked quietly.
"We." Kyle opened his door and ours before I could even protest. Rain slapped against my shirt and Brian's. Like the night before, we were nearly soaked. By the time he managed to open the diner door, hair stuck to my face, my shirt to my belly. I wanted to laugh because everyone else did, but I couldn't. I stopped the second I looked up and inside the diner they used to hang out in.
The small space had six booths and two tables, all pressed way too close to the counter with an old man shouting orders to three cooks in the back. The place was nearly filled for a Sunday, and I guessed that 'milkshake special' hadn't changed, because at least four people had a strawberry shake in front of them, decorated with a long straw and sprinkles.
Still, it was more than the friendly warmth that stopped me in my tracks. It was more than the couple trying to shush their crying baby.
They stopped me. A beautiful family.
My eyes zoomed in on the farthest booth, tucked away by the back door that read 'emergency exit,' in big red letters. In the center seat sat Rianne, dressed in a red, casual dress and jean jacket. In front of her, grinning ear to ear was Shawn,
Before I could say a word, Brian found my hand again, slowly pulling me against him. "We: Rianne, Shawn, Kyle, Kay, Eileen, and myself. We'd come here, inseparable best friends."
I swallowed my spit. I knew Rianne had known him for a long time, but Shawn, too? And Eileen, Kay's sister?
"This was where we came when we needed to feel better. When we needed to smile."
Was that why Brian wanted to come here that night, his bad night? He needed to feel better, needed to smile. And he wanted to do that with me?
Kyle moved past us, giving Shawn the highest of fives ever, and Rianne a really tight hug. That's when I realized my feet hadn't moved to approach them because I wanted to, but because I unconsciously followed Brian's step as my mind wrapped around the idea of them all being childhood friends. I hadn't the slightest idea.
Shawn grinned at me as I suddenly stood beside him. Clicking his teeth, he looked at the girl beside him. "Kay," he said. "Long time no see."
"Hi," I squeaked. I couldn't help but try to picture all of them young, running up the street to the diner as a group.
Catching my awkwardness, Shawn lifted his brows and looked at everyone around me. "Um..." He folded his hands in front of him. "I take it she's figured everything out?"
"I, um..."
Brian pressed his lips to my head, and like that, I was calm. My mind stopped racing, my heart slowed down. The million questions that sat on my tongue fell back into my being, drifting away with the words of my inner, tiny Kay, who whispered, "Just let it go."
"We fell out of touch because I didn't want to look anyone in the eye," Brian said quietly, his lips still near my head. "When Rianne and Shawn found out I started the Coffee Shop but had no employees, they came to the rescue."
Rianne, with her perfect hair and reds, gave us the warmest smile ever. "That's what friends do."
"And that's why you—" Shawn pressed a finger against my damp shirt. "—saved the day working night shifts. I got a night job, so I could only do days."
"And I—" Rianne pointed at herself with her thumb. "—have a sister to take care of. Late shifts don't work for me."
Right, the big sister thing.
"Okay." I smiled as I looked at the group. Kyle dropped beside Rianne, his arms wrapping around her shoulders. It sat there for a minute before she gave him a side glance, raised her lip, and shook him off with a quick shimmy. I tried to hold in my laugh as he lifted his hands, silently saying what did I do wrong?
"Okay, so..." I gripped Brian's hand as I looked up at him. "If this is your group, aren't you missing someone?"
"What do you mean?" Brian lifted one brow. "Kay's..."
"No." I shook my head. "Not Kay, someone else, right? Eileen?"
"Oh, Leeny? She's Shawn's afternoon date." Rianne giggled as she playfully pushed Kyle away from her. "She'll be here any minute now."
Shawn's date? Leeny?
Looking down at Shawn, I caught the grin on his face. Was she the girl he'd been rushing to meet when he left the shop? When he'd be anxiously looking at the clock on the nights' Brian was running late? Shawn was dating Brian's sister-in-law?
I wanted to ask all of my questions, but the diner's door chimed, the ring meeting my ears. Turning around towards the entrance, I saw a woman with wild, curly hair walk in. She tried her hardest to close her umbrella, but the plastic thing wouldn't budge and just dripped water around her shoes. I watched her, for many reasons:
1) she was so beautiful, breathtaking, and wow.
2) she struggled way too hard with her umbrella.
3) I recognized her...
"Speak of the devil," I heard Kyle murmur behind me.
Speak of the devil, indeed. That curly-haired woman was the very same woman who held Brian way too tight at his party; the very same woman who gave me her apologetic eyes.
She was Eileen, right? And Eileen was Katerina's sister.
I had to meet her.