Bailey
The whole ride to my house, I was in my head. He was still him. I had to practically force myself to keep myself from staring.
I was as awkward as usual, I mean, it's expected though. What do you even say to the one person you've ever loved after eight years of not speaking? I'm over him, I was over him within two years, but it was still weird.
The first time in our lives where we're basically strangers.
I know for damn sure I'm not the same person I was, I'm far from that girl. Jordan's death completely wrecked me, and I went through hell for the few years to follow. Obviously I wouldn't be the same after all of that and I'm positive he isn't either.
At this point I'm just trying to focus on Ace and Brett. This is their summer.
It was just under two months until they got married. They wanted to get married the end of July and spend the last month of summer for their Honeymoon. They won't be back until the first week of September.
Majority of the family is staying until the beginning of August. I still have to finish planning Ace and Brett's bachelor party. They wanted to have a combined one and nominated me honorary party planner. Honestly I'm pretty proud of myself for getting almost everything organized in time.
To start the day, we're going zip lining and through a ropes course in one of the forests nearby, the guys always loved to do that stuff.
After that, I made reservations at a drag bar in San Antonio, cause I mean, who doesn't love drag queens? They are possibly the best people I've met in my life. All the guys are for it, the only two who don't know are Ace and Brett.
After the drag bar, Kane gave me a key to finish the night off here.
"So did you see him?" My niece, Max, questions just as I enter the kitchen
"MAX!" I grin as I wrap her up in a hug "Oh my god you looks so much older holy shit" I grin at her. She was now slightly taller than me, with the same bright blue eyes as her mother and bright blonde hair. She had that unmistakeable Kalanski smirk though.
"AUNT BAILS!" She imitates my yell and laughs.
"I heard yelling!" Bursting through the back door, both Seb and Sam appear
"Bailey !" Sam yells before barreling towards me and just about tackling. Me in a bear hug, similar to Tyler and Wes's. Seb soon joins him and I can't breathe
"Guys...can't...breathe..."
"Oh sorry" They both release me with huge smiles on their faces. They were giants too, bigger than both of their fathers
"Move over assholes I need my hug," I see the dark haired girl who looks exactly like her sister push the boys out of the way before pulling me into a hug
"Hey Kels," I grin, squeezing her
"Holy shit we missed you," she says, releasing me "Like a lot, Lex is so excited to see you,"
"I can't wait to see her either, I miss the bitch," I look at the two boys and notice one of the three stooges is missing "Wheres the third one?"
"Dereks out with his little girlfriend," Max rolls her eyes
"Aww he has a girlfriend?" I smile
"She's a bitch" Sam huffs, mirroring Max's expression
"We don't like her" Seb nods
"Okay then, I guess we don't like her," I laugh at their expressions. If one of us hates someone, All of us do. "Speaking of girlfriends, hows Julia, Seb?"
"She's good, this month has been rough for her, she'll most likely be here tonight though" he says hesitantly "Everything's just kinda hitting her harder this year,"
"Yeah" I frown and nod, he was her best friend too. Plus her, Bex and Max will be starting their senior year, that must be making it all worse.
"She'll be okay," he nods "I think it's just the fact that we graduated and she's starting senior year without him that's hard for her right now,"
"Yeah," I nod "She'll be okay bud," He really cared for her, and I can tell he was worried. He had the same worried face his mom did.
"Okay back to what I was talking about," Max claps, thankfully changing the subject. "Did you see him?"
"Who?" I question raising a brow. I think I knew who she was talking about but at the same time I wasn't positively sure.
"Well, his name starts with C and ends in -Aleb" Kelsey rolls her eyes at me "Who else?"
God she's exactly like her sister holy shit.
"Uh yeah why?" I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly, there was nothing to be said really. I was awkward, I barely talked to him and he's engaged but I'm assuming that's still a secret.
"And? Anything?" Max pushed, she was young when everything happened. They all were, and I just couldn't tell them the truth. They just though we broke up, mutually. Neither Caleb, nor I, had told them the truth.
I left.
"Nothing, that's it," I shrugged "I know, you want something, but I'm sorry guys, that's not us anymore"
"If I'm being honest you're prettier than his girlfriend," Sam says simply
"Sam don't say that," I scold my non-biological nephew, "She's extremely sweet, and outgoing. She's good for him, and that's that, okay guys? We're all different people now,"
"Fine" All three of them sigh before Seb speaks up, "So when can I come to California?"
"Anytime you want bud," I laugh "You are all welcome to come whenever, of course with your parents agreement. I don't want my brothers killing me," I grin
"Aunt Belle!" I hear a little voice call
"Hey buddy!" I smile as I squat down to his height, with open arms. My nephew runs into my arms laughing. "Woah you've gotten so big!" I laugh
It's been a year or so since I've seen him, he's five, and looks exactly like my brother. After I left, Ryan and Lacey broke up, and a few months later he met someone else. Miranda was, well, honestly I can't say anything bad about her. She was great, basically perfect, and six months after they met, they decided to get married in Vegas. I honestly expect nothing less from him, he'd always said he wanted to be married in Vegas, and she loved the idea. A month or so after that, Miranda got pregnant. Everything happened so unbelievably fast and after about a year and the birth of their son, shit happened. Both of them agreed to a divorce. Miranda went traveling and Ryan has Ben.
"Look! Dad got me firefighter shoes! And this cool new backpack!" The boy bounces on his feet, pointing at both things. I notice the backpack has a little harness on it along with an attached rope thing. So it was one of those backpacks. I mean if this kids anything like Ryan, and I am ninety percent positive he is, then that things a great idea. When Ryan was little he'd walk anywhere, he would just wander up to random people.
"Thats awesome bud!" I grin "Where's your dad?"
"Oh he went to the store to grab him some more juice boxes for him," Seb comments, "left us to watch him for a bit,"
"Ah okay," I laugh "Well I got a dinner party to go to, all you kids are staying here right?"
"Yeah we're banned from the adult dinner, but y'all are boring as fuck anyway so it's fine," Seb smirks are me. Oh if only he knew the shit I did when I was his age. I wouldn't want to give him any ideas though.
"If only you knew kid" I gently push his head, walking around him to the stairs, "I gotta change and go but I'll see you guys after"
After hopping up to my old room, I grab a simple black dress from one of my two suitcases, that I should probably unpack considering that I'm staying for another two months.
It was a simple dress, I wouldn't dare wear one of the ones I would wear back home to a dinner with my family. Solid black with three quarter sleeve as it went down just below mid-thigh. It was fitted but not riskque, and kept everything hidden and in place.
I left my hair down, messy waves as normal and only applied a little concealer under my eyes with some mascara. I got good at looking somewhat put together through all the banquets and surgical dinners, however I consider myself very far from it.
Mom said I had to look nice tonight, it was supposed to be a formal dinner. I didn't even know my family did formal until now.
"Wow you look hot as hell," Bri's familiar voice sounds as I turn to see both her and Em enter my room.
"Since when did my family do formal?" I question, more directed towards Em
"Believe me, I was questioning it too." They we're both wearing black dresses similar to mine, only theirs flared out at the end.
"God being back here makes me feel like I'm in high school again," Em sighs as all three of us plop on my bed, I felt the same. I grin thinking of all the things we did.
"What stupid shit did you guys do?" Bri questions
"A lot" Em and I say simultaneously "She jumped off a roof," Em adds after making me laugh. Somehow that is always ALWAYS brought up.
"She encouraged me,"
"She was drunk and tried to do a flip, ended up getting her third concussion from it," Em smirks at me
"Second concussion," I correct, "And, She hooked up with my brother for four and a half months until I found out...from my younger brother, of all people," Bri snaps her head from me back to Em.
"She punched a guy and broke her wrist doing so" Em comments again, earning me ANOTHER bewildered look from Bri
"He was a dick and he was threatening to hit Caleb," I say quietly "and me"
"You looked like you saw a ghost when I saw you earlier" Em says simply. At this point all three of us were laying on my bed, staring at my ceiling.
"I felt like one" I croak, the mood around us turning serious and dull. "He looks the exact same,"
"Believe me when I say he's still Caleb" Em grunts "Well beneath all his depressed seriousness he is,"
"I still don't have the full story behind you guys," Bri says
"It's long" Em answers for me "Like a fairytale love story, the story of Bailey-Belle Kalanski and Caleb fuckin Kazer"
We were quiet for a minute. I was just thinking about everything when Bri, out of nowhere shoots up with wide eyes.
"CALEB FUCKING KAZER"