Page 6 of Our Moon
Alex quits messing around with his ball and turns to me, hanging over the side of my tube. “You were a fixture in all our lives, Al. Then one day you weren’t. We were even with you that night, before you drove off with Mom and Dad. It was hard. On all of us. You were a part of the band, in a way, but it was more than that. We were all a family.” He looksdown for a moment, and when he looks back up it looks like he has tears in his eyes. It makes my heart hurt. “When Mom and Dad died, it gutted Joey and Chase, too. They were the only positive adult influence those two had. And with you being in limbo,” Alex continues, “it was rough. They were both dealt a shit hand when it comes to family. Our family was all they had. And it broke with you guys gone. We all broke.”
It makes me so sad to hear how much they had all suffered, and part of it was because of me. Even though it wasn’t my fault, and there’s nothing I ever could have done to change it, apart from wake up, I still felt responsible. Like if my body was stronger, I wouldn’t have been in a stupid coma and I wouldn’t be without my memory now. I want to hug Alex, Trevor, Chase and Joey. Tell them everything will be okay, but what do I know? I didn’t even know my name a few weeks ago.
Before I can say anything deep or emotional, Alex does what Alex does. He grins deviously and flips my tube. “Damn it, Alex!” I shriek once I surface, spitting water out of my mouth and slapping my hands against the surface of the water. “I could have drowned!”
Alex is a couple feet away from me, laughing so hard he’s struggling to tread water. “You’re an All-State swim champ, you won’t drown.”
“Swimmers can drown!” I retaliate.
“Do you think I’d let you drown? You have no argument.”
I growl and lunge at him, trying to dunk him under the water which only makes him laugh harder. I’m no match to his burly physique, and I have to admit, my weak attempts are pretty funny. Eventually, I’m laughing, too, as I hang on his back with my arms around his neck.
“I can so choke you right now,” I warn him teasingly, which brings on more hysterics from both of us.
Having forgotten we’ve an audience, I look over to the grill where Trevor and Chase are standing, watching us. Both of them are smiling and shaking their heads at our antics. “Some things never change,” I think I hear Chase say.
“You guys having a party and didn’t invite me?” a new voice calls out just before a giant splash erupts beside me, splashing water in my eyes and up my nose. Apparently Alex was smart enough to turn his head or hold his breath, because he’s completely unaffected as I cough and spit water out over his shoulder.
“Y’all know how he is. Damn dog with a bone, I tell you. Sorry, sweetie,” a petite blonde with a pixie cut smiles at me as she calls out from the back door. She’s absolutely adorable with a major southern twang going on, but all I can think of is how happy I am there’s another fun-size person like me amongst all these giants.
“Al, that’s Evie, and this doofus,” Alex explains as said doofus surfaces beside me, “is Joey.” The final band member and his wife. I recognize him now that I see him, but I haven’t seen any pictures of her yet.
“Damn! Look at you girl!” His smile brightens his entire bearded face, brown eyes sparkling, and I can’t help but smile back, it’s infectious. “Come here,” he says as he grabs hold of my arms and somehow pulls me over Alex’s shoulder and into his chest for a big bear hug. I tense for a moment, but relax almost immediately. I feel safe, comforted, in Joey’s arms. Kind of like how I feel with Alex and Trevor. Wonder how I’d feel in Chase’s arms…
“Joey!” Evie shrieks, thankfully breaking my thought process before it went somewhere it probably shouldn’t go. “I’m sorry y’all. I tried to keep him away, but I just couldn’t. He was just too excited to see for himself that Ally was home.” With her hands on her hips, she’s shaking her head, and doing a very good impersonation of a disappointed parent.
“It’s all good, Evie,” Trevor assures her. “Kind of figured we couldn’t keep him away too long. But maybe he could give her some breathing room!” He said the last bit a little louder; I suppose in an attempt to get Joey to pay attention.
Joey pulls back with his hands on my shoulders, looks into my eyes, and shakes his head. “Damn, it’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too?” I say, though it comes out as a question. He laughs like that’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard and pulls me in again.
“Dude, back off,” Alex scolds with a frown. “I haven’t even hugged her yet and she’smysister.” I swear if his feet could touch the bottom of the pool, he’d probably stomp them.
“Quit being a baby,” Joey responds. He lets me go, but keeps looking at me. After what Alex said when I caught Chase looking at me, I’m not weirded out by Joey’s stare. I understand that he’s just happy to see me amongst the living.
“Joey, give the girl some space,” Evie tells him.
Joey backs up a little, and I see that he’s fully clothed. It makes me laugh. “You have all your clothes on!”
“Not the first time, probably won’t be the last,” Chase says, I look at him quickly and find he’s looking right at me. I feel myself get warm again.
“Probably not,” Joey admits. “Al,” he pulls me into his side, earning a glare from Alex. “I want you to meet my wife. Evie, this is Al.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, finally,” she says to me with a friendly smile. “Sorry about this one. He just couldn’t wait another minute.”
“It’s okay. The guys have been telling me all about you two; I’m glad I got to meet you.” Iamglad I got to meet another girl. It seems the old Ally surrounded herself with testosterone, and that was all well and good, but I think I need some she-time, too.
“I wish we could stay longer,” Evie says regretfully, “but I’ve got to take this moron back home to change so we can make it to our appointment on time. Come on, ya big goof.”
“You finding out what you’re having today?” Trevor asks.
“No, not until closer to twenty weeks, this is just a standard checkup,” Evie answers.
I drop my gaze to her stomach. Sure enough there’s a tiny bump I’d completely missed before. “Congratulations,” I tell her.
“Thanks, sweetie. We’ll stop by again soon,” she smiles, then turns back on her disappointed parent face. “Joseph! Out! Now!” We all laugh. I like this girl. The guys were right; she’s a firecracker.
