Six Feet Under the Stars

"Read it and weep. Royal Flush."

Rian laid down his poker hand with a grin while the rest of us protested loudly. The five of us had been playing card games for the past hour to pass the time and the endless miles. Countryside stretched out to the right and the left. Ahead of us, was only the open road.

"That's four times in a row now." Jack complained, chucking his set of cards onto the table. They flew in all directions coating the table in red and black snow.

Rian shrugged his shoulders, "Can't help it. The gene must be in my blood."

Feeling cramped around the small dining table, I fanned myself with my set of cards, "I really thought I had you this time. I had a Full House."

Rian let out a long whistle while studying my cards, "Close, but no cigar."

Lightly, I elbowed Alex's arm, "What'd you have?"

Alex had been sitting next to me for the games and after recieving a recent phone call he had been rather quiet. It was new for him, and honestly freaked me out a little. A silent Alex was like a guitar without strings; it didn't go together.

"Only shit."

I laughed, "Let me see."

Alex turned his cards towards me, scowling, "No hand at all." None of his cards could create a good hand, no matter the combination. He had been dealt the worst hand possible in poker. "I swear, Rian must have rigged this. He's had it out for me since Philadelphia when I drew a mustache on his face with Sharpie."

"Hey, don't talk bad about my skills." Rian defended, pausing in the middle of counting his earnings. "And anyway, you didn't even have the decency to give me a handlebar mustache. Only a Salvador Dali."

"I thought you'd appreciate the artistic creativity."

Before Rian could respond, Zack cut him short, "Okay, how much did you steal from us this time?"

"Fifty-four dollars."

A collective groan rang out among the losing party. Zack shook his head, scattering his playing hand around the table. Muttering about highway robbery, Jack started putting his wallet into his jeans pocket.

"Anyone up for another round? I'll shuffle the cards."

"No fucking way. That's probably where we got in trouble last time. You've shuffled for the past two rounds." Zack spoke, sounding like a scholar, "If anyone's going to shuffle it'll be me."

"I'm not cheating." Rian looked offended. "It's all up to Lady Luck, and apparently she has a thing for me."

Admist the squabling, I left my spot at the table and stood inside the small make-shift kitchen the bus offered. Searching through the cramped cabinets, I found an empty glass and poured some water in it. Getting the cool drink in my system felt good after the eventful first part of the day I had.

"They're all children." Jack commented, coming to stand next to me. "All of them."

I laughed softly, "We'll just let the kids work it out while the adults talk."

"I like the way you think, Melanie." He told me while taking a swig out of a water bottle. He held it out to me and I tapped my glass against the plastic bottle. "You know, if we ever have kids I think our parenting styles will run hand in hand."

"Getting a little ahead of yourself. You have to at least take me out on a date before I let that happen." I joked with a grin.

"My life experiences tell me otherwise."

Alex walked over to us a moment later, "Zack decided to take on Rian to another game of poker alone. He's a brave soldier."

"Winner takes all?" Jack questioned, looking slightly interested. After Alex nodded in response, he added, "Well shit. I'm not about to miss this. You guys coming?"

I started to walk away with Jack, but Alex's arm held me back. "Can I talk to you for a second?" To Jack, he said, "We'll be there in a minute."

Surprised, I stood there as Jack left. I had no idea what was on Alex's mind and what he wanted to talk to me about. Something in my stomach twisted nervously as I remembered how his gaze always seemed knowing when turned my way.

Fear flashed through me; he must know about Dorian.

"It's Caitlyn."

Selfish relief flooded through my body. Working quickly, I racked my brain finally placing the name. "Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. I think it's time I sent her those flowers." Alex spoke, referencing an earlier conversation of ours.

"Sorry to hear that, Alex. Maybe going seperate ways is all for the best." I said sympathetically. Touching a hand to his arm, I continued, "Have you told her yet?"

"No, not yet. That's the problem. We've been together for almost a year, but I can tell it's about time to call it quits. She's starting get really paranoid about me running off with some fan after a concert. The calls get overwhelming. But I haven't seen her in over two months now, and..."

He stopped talking, at a loss for how to put something into words. I had never seen him not know what to say. Often, I thought he must carry a script around to know all the right lines, at all the right times. But this was different.

"What?" I questioned quietly, holding onto his arm again.

"Melanie..." Slowly, he met my eyes, "She told me she's pregnant."