A knock on the door makes it way through my apartment. I sit up too quickly and feel dizzy. I grab my head for a moment, trying to steady myself. I look at the time, 10:00 AM. Oops. I guess I finally fell asleep.
Another knock, this time even louder.
I get out of bed and grab a sweatshirt, throwing it over my head as I make my way to the front door. I look through the small peephole and it's Nick.
I open the door and he looks me up and down with a smirk, clearly amused that I'm in my pajamas still.
"Did I wake you?" He asks.
"Maybe..." I say.
He laughs before crossing his arms across his chest, "Well I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me today."
"To where?" I ask.
"Have lunch with my mom. She's been asking about you."
"Sure. Let me get dressed." I say before inviting him in. He heads into the living room as I head into the bedroom to change.
When I'm finished, we get into his car and he drives us to his parents house. I look in my parents driveway but they aren't home, so I guess I won't pay them a visit today.
We walk into his parents house and his mother is standing at the stove, mixing something in a frying pan. She lights up when she sees us enter.
"Hi you two!" She says, waking over and giving us each a hug.
"How are you?" I ask, eyeing the stir fry on the stove.
Her cooking is the best. I've never had something of hers that didn't taste good.
"Hanging in there." She says. She goes back to the stove while nick grabs the three of us glasses and a pitcher of lemonade.
I help Nick set the table and then we all sit down to eat. We walk about Mr. Jonas and about their plans to settle down when he gets home. They don't want anything to happen to him that will stress him out too much.
When we are finished eating, we hear the front door open and close.
"Oh that's probably Joseph." Mrs. Jonas says. I look at Nick and his pupils are huge.
Joe appears in the kitchen, his attention going straight to me before looking at his mother and brother.
"Hey guys." He says.
"Hi dear." Mrs. Jonas says.
"What's up?" Nick asks him.
"Just here to fix moms fence for her." He says. He gives his mom a kiss on the cheek and then he gives me a half smile.
I nod at him and he leaves the room, leaving a lingering silence in the air.
"Maybe you can both help him?" Mrs. Jonas asks.
Nick presses his lips together and doesn't say anything. I smile at her and stand up, "we can see if he wants our help."
I grab Nick's arm and help pull him out of his chair. I let go as soon as he's walking beside me.
"He isn't going to want our help." He mumbles. My jaw clenches.
"You said nothing was going to be different between us." I say through my teeth as we enter the back yard.
"Everything's fine." He says.
Joe sees us approaching and sets down the broken piece of fence.
"What's up?" He asks.
"Mom thinks we should help you." Nick says.
Joe looks amused as he gives the fence a once over. "I think I can handle it."
"She senses something's going on, so she wants us to all hang out. She's used that trick since we were kids." I say.
I can see Joe tense up when I speak and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I miss how we used to be.
"Right." Nick says.
"Well I think I'll be okay." Joe says.
"We will hang out here for a bit and pretend we're helping." Nick says, taking a seat on the picnic table beside Joe.
"Whatever." Joe says casually before going back to what he was doing.
I stand awkwardly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. This is not how I expected to spend my day today.
Joe struggles with holding on to the fencepost and hammering it in. I walk over and grab onto the post to help steady it. He glances at me but only for a moment.
"Thanks." He says lowly.
"Mhmm." I reply.
He hammers it in and I let go, taking a step back. I feel Nicks eyes on us but I don't turn to look at him.
"How have you been?" I ask Joe.
"Fine." He says, and I can tell he doesn't want to talk to me.
"Ok." I say and walk away. I bit my lip and take a seat next to Nick.
"You Okay?" Nick asks as he scoots closer to me so Joe won't hear.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me." I say.
"That's not true." Nick replies.
"Yes it is." I fire back.
"Are you guys really mumbling about me over there?" Joe asks. I look over and he's raising his eye brow at us.
Nick laughs, but I can feel my face get hot.
"I got this if you two want to leave. You have fooled mom long enough I'm sure." Joe says.
"Why don't you come over to Kevin's house tonight and hang out with all of us." Nick says.
Joe hesitates for a minute but nods, "sure, sounds like a plan."
My heart starts to race at the thought of the three of us hanging out for a long period of time, nerves taking over. This should be interesting.