Book Half Unread

"Joe, don't put that there." May sighed as she took down the banner that Joe had been trying to hang all afternoon; he was a slacker. Joe rolled his eyes and helped me set the snack table up. The front door opened and Zena walked in with a white box in her hands.

"I have the cake everyone," said Zena. I heard her kick the door closed as she dropped her car keys on the small table in the hall. I handed Joe an empty bowl and ran over to get the cake from her, taking it to the kitchen where the Barakat parents were with the Gaskarths, Merricks, and Dawsons. We were throwing the party at the Gaskarth residence; the Barakat kids and I were the only ones really doing any work. Peter, Zack's brother, was on the couch with Chase, Rian's brother, playing a video game, which I knew Joe desperately wanted in on instead of helping.

When I finally left the kitchen, I smiled slightly at how we were almost done. All we had to do was put the banner up. Fifteen minutes later, the banner was up and once we got the call that they were almost to the house, we had food sitting on the table. May and Zena went into the kitchen and started chatting with the parents while Joe played Super Mario Smash Brothers against both Chase and Peter. However, I contemplated on whether or not I should stay. I went upstairs, walking along the hallway, staring at the family photos on the wall. I paused and gave a small, warm, and gentle smile to a particular photo on the wall. The photo wasn’t very noticeable though. Gently, I touched it, letting out a soft sigh. It was a portrait of Alex’s brother, Tom. Shaking my head, I quickly ran back to stairs as I heard the front door open and several shouts of ‘welcome back’ rang out through the home loudly.

“I can’t believe you guys threw us a party, sweet,” I heard a distinct voice say. It was Zack. I smiled as I peered down the stair case, keeping out of site. Maybe I could still sneak away.

“Well, it was mostly Aimee who got this all set up,” I saw Joe speak. Damn, I might have to show my face now. “Hey Aimee! Aims, where are you?” At that point I came down the stairs.

"I'm right here, Joe." I stopped three stairs up and gave everyone a smile. "Welcome back, you guys." Quickly I found myself in this huge group hug with the guys. Something came over me: a feeling of belonging. This is what I've been missing. All along I've missed the guys. Who'd have thought it? I guessed they missed me as well as I gave them each individual hugs, every one of them trying to squeeze me flat.

The pizza arrived when everyone settled into the living room, talking about the tour and what's been happening at home. I went to answer the door and paid for the ten boxes of large pizzas. "Hey Aimee, I'll help you," I heard a voice say to me; it was Alex. Smiling, I handed him five boxes and went back to the door and got the other five from the guy. Alex took four of the five boxes from me and set them in the kitchen with the other five. I put my one box in the kitchen as well.

"You know, I thought you were going to take all five again," I said with a small laugh, leaning on the counter.

"Well how else was I going to get you in the kitchen with me alone; asking?" he joked, that handsome crooked smile on his face. He went to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out two glasses then handed one to me. "How've you been?" I felt my face turn a slight red; his voice was gentle. It was the same way he used to speak to me when he wanted to apologize for something.

"I've been okay, better," I replied steadily, my finger tracing the edge of the glass cup. "Busy with college stuff; part time jobs. It gets hectic, but I've got Chrizzy, Josh, Marc, and Jenna there for me."

"I heard about your dad from Jack. All of us really wanted to be there for you." His eyes were filled with so much sympathy. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"I knew it'd happen at some point. When he was allowed to retire he said he wasn't ready yet and that the guys still needed him. I'm glad he didn't die trying to be a hero." I bit my lip gently a small smile on my face. One day over in the desert, there was an attack on their camp. My dad went to go save one of his friends and ended up severely injured.

He nodded his head and it was quiet again for a while. "You knew I wrote a few of the songs about you, right?"

"I hope The Girl's A Straight Up Hustler wasn't one of them," I said with a laugh.

He shook his head quickly. "No, no way. The Party Scene's one of them though. When Jack read it over for the first time he knew instantly it was about you. Most of our songs are about you and how I felt like such a douche bag. Aimee, do you forgive me?"

"Forgive you for that day?" I asked, thinking back to the day I found him and Lisa.

"For that, and for not trying to fix it like I should have and just everything that's happened these two years."

"It has been two hasn't it? It's like we just graduated yesterday and I was seeing you all off on your first tour." I smiled at the glass in my hand fondly for a moment before looking up to him. "If you're honestly sorry, then yes, I forgive you." I was always quick to forgive, even back in high school.

He smiled and reached over, taking my hand in his larger, warmer one. "After this, do you want to go somewhere?"

I nodded quickly. "Sure; where?"

"How about the old park?"

When he said the old park, I automatically knew which one. It was only one we would ever go to hang out with our friends. It was where we went for our first date. It was also where our tree was. Just thinking of the tree made me fall in love again.

"Sounds perfect."