Six Feet Under the Stars

Reilly drove to Alex’s flat somewhere in the outskirts of Lutherville-Timonium from another day sitting, waiting desperately for her father to wake up. She had been alone today, Jacqueline spending time with her boyfriend and baby daddy; Jasmine in places she could care less about.

His flat was nicer than her half-sister’s, set in a small, red brick tower block. The parking lot contained several cars, one of which she recognised as Hannah’s and she slid into the space next to it, black Mustang hip to hip with a red Chevy. She slid out of her car, soft shoes meeting damp ground, and headed towards the entrance to the building.

Reilly hit the buzzer and waited, almost with the same trepidation, as she had when she’d first arrived in Baltimore. She rubbed her hand through her hair, ruffling it much in the same way she had done her first day, and turned to scan the car park once more. She saw another car she recognised but the rest remained unfamiliar. She saw no sign of his.

“We’re not buying,” came Alex’s smooth and charismatic voice through the intercom. Reilly fought back her giggles.

“I ain’t selling, asshole.”

“Damn, if I’d know it was you, I would have been buying.” There was a resounding smack through the intercom and the door buzzed open. Shaking her head, feeling lighter than she had done since she’d first arrived, Reilly slipped into the apartment complex and made her way towards the stairs. It was a rule of Reilly’s not to take elevators unless she desperately had to. There was only so many times a girl could get stuck in a life before she grew bored of it.

“Why did it take you two years to visit?” Alex gasped as he swung open the door to his apartment and dragged the girl inside, clamped against his chest. Reilly choked on the air and struggled until Rian made Alex relinquish his hold.

“Asshole, share.”

Reilly smiled, remembering times before her life was such a cliché and hugged Rian and Zack respectively. There were two people missing from the group and one new addition. She smiled at him.

“This is Matthew Flyzik,” Hannah introduced. Reilly smiled again. “He used to be their tour manager.”

“So you’re the infamous Reilly Jacobs.”

“I have a title?” she asked as he shook her hand. He shrugged a little, grinning a cute smile.

“Rachael’s on her way,” Zack added as silence seemed to slip over them. They all had questions, she knew, and she couldn’t answer all of them, which they knew. They wanted to ask about her father, but didn’t want to upset her. She wanted to ask about him, but would be damned if she ever did. They, instead, fell into seats around the apartment. Alex and Hannah looked cuter than ever, their loved up smiles almost making Reilly vomit.

“We’ve ordered pizza,” Hannah chimed in to prevent the silence from overwhelming them. “You still love onions and anchovies, right?”

“With extra pickles?”

“Is that seriously your pizza?” Matt looked sick.

“God, no,” Reilly laughed. “Chicken and mushroom?”

“You bet,” Hannah grinned, amused at the exchange between Reilly and Matt. Though they would be a good couple, Hannah still hoped beyond hope that things could have worked two years ago. She blamed, a little indirectly, him for breaking it off with Reilly when he did. Maybe she wouldn’t have left when she had if he hadn’t.

Maybe she wouldn’t have lost her best friend.

“You’re a little different,” Rian said, nudging Reilly with his foot. “Have you had a hair cut?”

Reilly laughed. “It’s been two years, Ri, I’ve had more than one.”

He grinned.

It took until Rachael arrived and squealed in delight at the sight of her friend--apparently, Zack hadn’t informed his girlfriend that Reilly was back in town--for the group to return to the normalcy they’d had two years previous. Reilly felt lighter, though the weight of worry was still on her shoulders, and she couldn’t remember a time over the past two years when she’d felt this happy.

The group dug into their food, chatting happily around mouthfuls of pizza and trading the boxes around like it was a jumble sale. Alcoholic beverages were dug out from the bottom of Alex’s cabinet and Reilly passed on the Jägermeister--which used to be her favourite drink--in preference of the Jack Daniels. Rian blinked.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” she said. There was a sadness in her smile. “It’s just not right now, I guess.”

He nodded, his amusement dying as he remembered, too, that conversation didn’t always used to be this awkward. The group had only ever had to walk on eggshells once around Reilly, and it was within the last weeks she was living in Maryland. She gulped down her drink and allowed Rachael to pour her another one.

“So, what do you do now?” Ray asked, snuggling next to Zack happily. Unlike Hannah and Alex who had struggled to start a relationship, Rachael and Zack had fallen easily into one. Like Hannah and Alex, however, they were passionate. Reilly was still scarred by just how passionate.

“College, mostly. I’m studying to be an English teacher.”

Hannah grinned, “You always wanted to be.”

Reilly nodded. “In my free time I work in a record store. I push your shit to anyone who walks through the door.”

Alex saluted her with his cup and the rest followed. “Damn, Rei, I knew we kept you around for something.”

“You should have toured with us, man,” Rian added. “You could sell water to a fish.”

Reilly opened her mouth to respond but let her jaw hung open instead as the door to Alex’s apartment opened and the familiar face that made her stomach heave, stepped in. “I know you’re having a romantic--hey!--Reilly?”

In two seconds, Reilly had chucked back the remainder of the drink in her cup and slammed the door in the face of Jack Barakat and the bimbo trailing off his arm.