This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

A chilly wind blew in from the cold ocean surface, and surrounded our company, sending involuntary shivers running throughout our bodies. Uttering a few choice words, I gripped my jacket tighter to my body, hoping that that would be enough to keep my body warmth from escaping.

"Vinnie!" Lauren laughed happily as she ran by me and grabbed a hold of my hand, causing me to run along with her. "Come on! Let's chase those seagulls." She insisted.

Having no other choice, I ran along with her to the edge of the water and laughed wildly as we scared the birds away, sending them flying off in all different directions. After a couple of minutes, when there were no more birds left to terrorize, Lauren and I slowly made our way back to our group, who had been watching us the entire time in amusement.

"You girls are strange." My boyfriend teased as we approached. As soon as I got within arms reach of him, he gave me a cute smile and then reached over, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"If we hadn't had done it, one of you boys would have," I grinned.

"Well," Jack paused slightly, glancing from Alex, and then back to me, "yeah, probably." he admitted.

"Goof," I mumbled before I stood up on my tip toes and kissed his cheek.

He blushed softly and then gave me a brief hug before he lowered his arm from my waist, and held tightly to my hand. I stood there, watching him with interest, all the while trying to figure out what was going through his mind just then. I sighed quietly, knowing that if it were Alex's face I was trying to read, I would probably more accurate at figuring him out than I would be trying to find out what Jack was thinking of. I haven't known Jack nearly as long as I've known Alex, but since we've been dating, I was getting better at predicting what he'd do next.

I tore my gaze from him, and glanced around to the rest of our company who were bundled in their coats to keep warm, except for Zack, who seemed to have abandoned all reasoning by shedding his sweatshirt and was playing a fierce game of soccer by himself.

"How can that boy run around in shorts and a t-shirt right about now?" I wondered aloud. "It's fucking freezing."

"I think there's a shortage somewhere in his body, where his sensory doesn't quite make it to his brain." Alex grinned.

I laughed quietly and nodded my head. "That actually sounds believable, which is a surprise seeing as how it came from your mouth." I teased.

Alex responded by sticking his tongue out at me like a child, and then laughed softly before turning serious once more. "Guys, I'm hungry!" He complained. "Let's go get some lunch somewhere."

"There's that pizzeria just up the street." I said. "Let's go eat there."

Everyone else agreed, and within a few minutes time Lauren, Alex, and I were seated at a booth, while Jack, Rian, and Zack were feeding quarters into the foosball table.

"I think it's going to start raining tonight." Lauren said randomly.

Raising an eyebrow, I gave her a questioning look, while Alex did the same.

"It just feels like it's going to rain." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't think we should wait until too late to head back home. I don't want any of us to be driving around in the rain. The first rain of the season is always the worse."

"The movie doesn't get done until late, though, Lauren." Alex frowned. "Are you proposing that we ditch out on the movie?"

"Yes." She insisted. "I just have a bad feeling about tonight." She said quietly.

I bit my lip slightly before I glanced up at Alex. He stared blankly back at me for a few seconds, his arms crossed in front of his chest, not wanting to give in to us. I knew what he thought about Lauren and her 'feelings' she'd get from time to time, but the truth is that a handful of freaking things have happened in the past. A handful of times too many for Alex to just sit there and disagree with Lauren right about now. Finally, he sighed heavily and lowered his arms to the table in front of us.

"Fine," he mumbled. "But I'm leaving it up to you to tell the other guys why we're heading home before the movie."

"Fine." Lauren mocked, and then stood up, leaving just Alex and I alone at the table.

I watched her cross the restaurant and then turned my eyes back to Alex. "You know she's usually right when she says she has a bad feeling about something, Alex." I said quietly.

"I know," he sighed, "its just that I really wanted to see that movie."

"Well, maybe we can all go out next weekend or something and see it." I suggested.

"I can't next weekend, Amy wants me to go to dinner with her and your uncle."

"Hmm ... good luck with that." I muttered, having no interest in discussing my cousin.

Alex made a face, thinking to himself for a brief moment, before he swung himself around the end of the table, taking a seat beside me instead. "Anyways," he said, giving me a half smile, "how are things with you and Barakat?"

I felt a smile of my own start to tug at the corners of my lips. "Good." I said, nodding my head.

"Has he been treating you good?" He asked in a more serious tone.

"Of course, Alex." I replied truthfully. "He's actually quite the gentleman." I admitted.

"Yeah, well, you're pretty much his kryptonite." Alex joked. "I honestly don't think he knows how to say no to you."

"He told me no the other night." I mumbled.

"Oh?" Alex laughed softly. "What was it you asked him to do?"

I blushed and shook my head, not wanting to tell Alex what it was. "Never mind." I said. "All you need to know is that he said no, so that right there proves that he has the ability to tell me no."

"Vinnie! Tell me!" Alex grinned. "You know that I have to know now."

"Well," I paused, glancing across the room to make sure Jack was still by the foosball table, and nowhere near enough to hear what I was about to tell Alex, "I recently acquired a pair of handcuffs from my cousin who is a highway patrol officer and ... " I trailed off, hoping that Alex would take the hint, which apparently he did because he had erupted into a fit of giggles.

He sat there, a hand clasped over his mouth while he giggled wildly like a little kid, causing me to laugh at him.

"He wouldn't let you handcuff him to the bed?" Alex grinned when he finally regained his composure.

"He wouldn't let me use them on him, and he wouldn't use them on me." I said.

"If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to use them." Alex teased.

"Alex!" I gasped, hitting his arm playfully.

"Hey now," he said, holding his hands up in defense, "I'm just saying." He grinned.

"Well, don’t." I blushed.

He laughed softly and then nudged my arm slightly with his. "My mom is still bugging me about inviting all y'all over for dinner." He said, changing the subject. "She wants you guys to come over so that she can cook her infamous fettuccini."

"That sounds good. We should do it soon because now I'm really hungry for it."

"I'll let her know." He replied with a soft smile. He opened his mouth to say something else, but at that very moment the waiter came over with our order of pizzas, setting them in front of us. Alex quietly thanked him and then glanced at me before he stood up. "I'd better let them know the foods here." He said quietly before he went off to get the rest of our company.

On the way back, Alex stopped by and grabbed a shaker filled with ground peppers, knowing that I didn't like to eat pizza without it, and then set it in front of me when he sat back down in his original spot across the table from me. I eyed him lightly, but was quick to turn his attention to Rian, telling him about the dinner his mom was planning to cook for us.

Feeling the press of soft lips against my temple, I turned my gaze from Alex and looked up at Jack instead.

"Eat," he insisted as he placed a plate filled with two slices of pepperoni pizza in front of me, "before it gets cold."

Silently, I did as I was told, making sure to sprinkle some pepper onto my pizza before I started to eat. Beside me, Lauren was silent, picking at her own slice of pizza. I frowned to myself, knowing that she still had a bad feeling about tonight, but decided not to ask her about it. Judging by the look on the guys' faces, she had gotten her way about going home early, but there was still something bothering her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Somewhere downstairs, the house phone rang obnoxiously loud, its annoying tone cutting through the silence of the pitch black rooms. I groaned and pulled my covers up and over my head, trying to get back to sleep but the phone continued to ring, slicing through my blankets. After a while it finally stopped, only to start up once again maybe ten seconds later.

Soon, I heard footsteps in the hallway, as well as my dad's grumbling voice as he raced as fast as his tired legs would allow him to the living room downstairs. The phone stopped ringing a little while later, and I recognized the sound of my dad's voice as he talked, but I wasn't able to distinguish what he said.

About a minute later I heard him making his way back to their bedroom, and I somehow found the ability to drift back off toward sleep only to jump in surprise as my bedroom door opened and the light turned on. I rolled over onto my back and looked up at my mom, seeing her standing in my doorway.

"Mom?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"Hurry up and get dressed, Victoria." She said, already turning around, presumably to wake up my brothers as well, "we're going to the hospital."

"But, what's wrong?" I called after her, but she was already telling the same thing to someone else.

Frowning to myself, I got up and closed my bedroom door before I did as I was told. After I was fully dressed in warm winter clothes (Lauren had been right about the rain), I met everyone else down in the living room and my mom nodded her head to herself before she turned around and led us outside to my dad's SUV. My dad climbing in behind the wheel, and my mom taking the passengers seat, the rest of us sleepily climbed into the backseat.

As my dad backed out of the driveway, I lay my head on Jaime's shoulder and closed my eyes, wishing that I was back in my warm bed, dreaming about my boyfriend once again.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes again and looked around the interior of the SUV.

"Mom?" I asked, trying my hardest to keep the fear out of my voice. "Mom, where's Cade at? Is he still asleep at the house?"

"Victoria," my dad sighed softly but didn't say anything else. Maybe he simply didn't know how to explain what was going on, or maybe because he was simply too tired to talk to me. I hoped that it was the latter.

"Where is he?!" I demanded. "Why are we going to the hospital?"

"Sweetheart, your brother was in a car wreck." My mom whispered.

I heard my brothers gasp on either side of me and I sat forward, leaning between the front two seats so that I could look at my dad.

"You talked to the hospital. Is he going to be okay?" I asked.

"Sweetie, I don't know." He whispered. "All I know is that he's in the operating room."

"But - "

"Victoria, sit back, please." My mom whispered. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"But - "

I was forced to stop myself short once again when I felt hands on my shoulders, pulling me back. I wanted to fight off Jaime's arms, I wanted to yell, and scream, and kick, but I didn't. I was too scared to do anything at the moment, knowing that somewhere in this town our brother was lying on the operating table.

It took us an eternity to get to the hospital, and when we got out I found myself being supported by Jaime, seeing as how I had suddenly lost the ability to stand upright on my own. With one arm wrapped tightly around Jaime's middle, and my other hand holding tightly to Casey's, we followed our mom and dad into the emergency room.

For how slow it seemed to take us to arrive at the hospital, after we stepped foot inside it seemed like it time went fifty times faster. I hardly remember sitting down on one of the cold, hard chairs, I don't remember the nurse coming in to give us updates on Cade, and I don't remember his surgeon coming out to tell us what happened. For the half an hour that we were sitting there, it seemed like my life was a movie being fast forwarded and didn't quite return back to normal speed until after the big climax.

I've only seen my dad cry once before, when he found out that my aunt - his sister - had had a miscarriage. But now that he found out his first born son had been lost on this cold, rainy night, the sorrow on his face was worse than watching tears fall down his cheeks. Around me, my mom, and Casey and Jaime were crying, but I was still in shock. I stared around, taking in the sights of my family, and felt my heart break inside of me, but the pain had yet to register in my mind. I was realized I was shaking so I balled my hands into fists so that my nails dug into my palms in an attempt to gain control of myself.

"I need to get out of here." I whispered. "Someone, get me out of here."

"Victoria," my mom started, and then stopped as I stood up.

"Get me out of here!" I demanded.

"Victoria - "

"Come on," my dad muttered, standing up as well and taking a hold of my hand. Grasping tightly to his hand, I let him lead me outside before I released it and shoved my hands into my pockets, shielding them from the rain. My dad didn't say another word to me until we got into the SUV and he had started it up. "Where do you want me to take you?" He questioned with a sort of distance in his voice.

"Jack's." As I replied, my voice threatened to fail on me. "Take me to Jack's."

"Sweetie, he's probably asle - "

"I said take me to Jack's!" I screamed.

Without another word, my dad put the transmission into gear and within a few minutes he slowed to a stop in front of Jack's house. Seeing that the living room light was on, I got out without so much as a goodbye to my dad and made my way to the front door. Halfway up the sidewalk, though, I felt my emotions starting to crash down and the tears started to fall, getting mixed with the cold rain drops falling on my face. I ran the rest of the way and pounded on the door, not caring if I woke anybody up.

A few seconds later, the door opened and I was greeted by Alex's confused face. His expression soon turned to worry when he saw the state I was in, and he quickly took me in his arms, pulling me inside.

"Vinnie, what's wrong?" He asked, shutting the door to keep out the cold air. "What happened?"

"Cade was killed in a car wreck." I cried as I clung onto him.

"Oh shit, Vinnie." He whispered, clutching me tighter.

"Alex? Who was at the - Vinnie?" Jack asked. "Sweetheart, what are you doing here? What's - "

"Cade was killed in a car wreck." Alex whispered while he rubbed my back for comfort.

"Oh my God," Jack mumbled, "Vinnie - "

"Don't call me that!" I snapped. "That was originally Cade's name for me. You can't call me that!"

"There was a time where he wasn't even allowed to call you that, Vinnie," Alex said gently, "but it stuck somehow, and it's not going to leave just because he's not here anymore."

"I want him back, Alex," I cried.

"I know, I know." He cooed. "But he can't come back. I know it's not fair, but it's all a part of life, sweetheart."

Not knowing what else to say, I simply clung onto Alex as best I could before he gently pried me away and let Jack take me into his arms instead.

"I'm going to go and have a few words with your dad, Vinnie." Alex said quietly before he opened the front door and disappeared outside.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry." Jack whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Closing my eyes, I tightened my arms around him and prayed that nothing would ever happen to him, or to Alex, or to the rest of my family. They all mean too much to me, to be ripped out of my life like Cade was. I don't think I'd survive a second go around.