Coast of Maine

"How did we get here?
Well I used to know you so well
how did we get here?
Well I think I know “

I placed an almost real smile on my face as I exited from my car with Jenny on my hip and Jay on Emily’s. I looked over and noticed Kim coming out of Alex car; she shot a bright smile in my direction. We made our way up the path and towards the restaurant ‘La Pearl’. A few hours prior Alex had called asking if the twins and I would come out to a celebratory dinner with him and his fiancé. I couldn’t have agreed quickly enough, Alex was my bestfriend and is pleasured me to see him so Happy.

Alex called ahead for reservation, because in seconds of him talking to the hostess we were being lead to a table. I guess he had asked for some sort of private booth because we were placed towards the back of the restaurant out of the view of other people. I was more than satisfied with this, when I went out to eat in a public place I felt like everyone else was watching me eat. Plus being friends with up and coming actors I was sometimes photographed when I was out with them. It extremely annoying, it wasn’t like I was even a celebrity myself.

The hostess seated up at a table while another brought over two high chairs for Jenny and Jayden. Once I had them situation I took a seat in the chair next to Emily, across from the happy couple. I was barley seated a minute, before a waiter came over in our direction and asked what kind of drinks we wanted. Being that we were out to celebrate everyone ordered a type of alcoholic drink, except me. I have barley had liquor since the twins were born and I intended to keep it that way for as long as I can.

"So, are you having a boy or a girl?" I asked, trying to strike up conversation, but genuinely curious.

"A beautiful baby boy!" She beamed; I couldn’t help but smile at her.

I couldn’t help but think back of the memories of me being pregnant. A small chuckle left my lips as I thought of the times I acted like a raging bull. Being pregnant it sent my emotions into over drive and I craved everything under the sun. Alex was in for one hell of a rude awakening. Picking up my glass, I raised it in an attempt of a toast to the expecting couple. The others quickly followed.

"To Kim and Alex who are being blessed with a healthily baby boy, Cheers!" I said, while the other echoed behind saying cheer.

After the very small toast the same waiter came back over and asked us what we wanted to eat. Kim, Emily and I ended up with some sort of pasta-salad combination, while Alex being the fatty he is ordered steak and potatoes. I swear he eats like he was actually part wolf. If I didn't know better I'd expected him to crawl up to the roof and howl at the moon. I chuckled to myself lightly at the thought, but quickly passed it off as coughing when they gave me odd looks.

"Kels how is work going so far?" Emily asked taking a bit out of her pasta.

"Slow." I sighed. "Whoever said owning a big music store was always fun was dead wrong."

Yes, you heard me right. I had opened a small music store a couple of months after I moved to California. At first the income wasn't that big, but it made do. A half a year had passed when my store, Jay-Jen Music Box, had become a hit more and more people came inside and bought more and more thing. It got to a point that I about doubled the size of the store. I actually ended up teaming up.

My music store was one of the things in my life that made me happy besides my babies. When I had my down days I always reflected back on my store, it reminded me that I could actually make it. I didn’t need John help, contrary to Alex and Emily belief I was well off for being only in my early 20’s and had enough to support my children on my own. I felt myself drift off into my own world; I shook my head slightly and turned my attention to my friends.

"How about you Em, booked any new roles?" I asked taking a ship of my lemonade.

"Actually, yes!" She beamed. "I got a leading role in this great new horror film called Calling Code Red directed by Benny Boyden. The script is supposed to come in the mail this week and we start shooting in a week or two time in Pittsburgh."

"That's awesome," Kim smiled, Alex and me nodded in agreement."I absolutely love his work, he’s brilliant. You’re going to do great; do you know anything about your roll so far?"

She nodded. "Yea, I play a girl named Lucy, and she saw sent goes on a three day cruise with her bestfriend, and there’s a murder on the ship or something so they shut it down in the middle off the Pacific Ocean and everyone starts dying off or something, it seems pretty cool."

"Sounds like it, I’m totally seeing it when it comes out" I grinned, already excited for a potential great horror film.

Alex rolled his eyes, not a big fan of horror movies. Emily huffed before elbowing him lightly in the stomach causing him to flick her in the forehead. Kim and I laughed at their antics; they acted just like little kids. Our laughter caused Jay and Jenny to follow behind, giggling sweet baby giggles. I was about to comment on their cuteness when a loud laughter erupted from the corner.

My body tensed. My mind went blank. The laughter, that soft laugh I would never be able to forget. That laugh was branded in my mind with many other things. Why where they here out all the restaurants, they just had to be here? This was not happening. My hand and body started to shake. I suddenly found it a bit hard to breathe. My head started to pound and my heart felt as if it clenched. I could hear Emily and Alex screaming my name as black dots clouded my vision, but it seemed like it was in a distance. Jayden and Jenny crying seemed far-off.

The last thing I saw was frantic Desiree in my line of vision and a confused John before I slipped into a tunnel of dark.

*

*

*

I could hear harsh whispering surrounding me. It sounded almost like arguing? The voices were too low for me to hear what they were saying though. I was about to open my eyes when a sharp pain racked my brain. I hissed in minor pain. The whispering around me had stopped talking. I know this was a bad sign, making me fear opening my eyes.

“We know you’re up Kelsey” An all too familiar voice says.

I mentally cursed myself for groaning out in pain like a dumb person. Slowly and unwillingly, I might add, I opened my eyes. An audile gasp escaped my lips when my eyes were fully open. Standing in front of me was people I would have never thought I’d see, unless it was on a magazine cover or a television screen. Yes, you might have guessed who was in front of me. There standing in front of me, some holding looks of anger, surprise, and most of all hurt was the boys of the Maine.

It took all the strength in me that I still had not to flinch. Their gazes were so intense that I couldn’t help, but look away. I know at that moment that I was knee deep in shit, and if I didn’t claw my way out things were only going to get worse. At off them was simply staring at me, not daring to utter a word at all. If was as if they knew they were torturing me by not speaking at all they knew how much I hated long periods of silence. Long periods of silence, is just pure torture and the atmosphere wasn’t helping at all. Do you know how tense a room has to be when you have your old best friends starring down at you with so much emotion that it makes you want to crawl in a dark hole? I thought so.

Looking up at them, I didn’t have it in me to not flinch at their gazes once again. I know, they were going to stay silent until I said something. If it was up to them they would wait there all night until I actually uttered a word to them. Taking a deep breath, I muster all the courage in me, so I won’t walk out like a dog with its tail between its legs.

“Hi.” My voice cracked, causing me to wince slightly.

What I didn’t know that one simple greeting was the worst thing I could say in this situation. Once the word escaped my mouth I wanted to face palm myself, but I restrained from doing do. I looked across their faces, but when I came across Kennedy I wished I really did crawl in a dark whole. He looked like he just found out his girlfriend cheated, and she was now pregnant with another man’s baby. That expression was never a good thing to see on a guys face.

“HI” Kennedy shouted, a vein throbbing by his temple. “A SIMPLE HI AFTER GOD KNOWS HOW LONGS SINCE WE’VE SEEN YOU ALL YOU CAN SAY IS HI? AND THEN WHEN I CALL YOU, YOU HANG UP, WHILE A VOICE IS SCREAMING MOMMY AT YOU IN THE BACKGROUND. WHAT THE HELL KELSEY?”

“Kennedy dude calm down.” Garrett muttered, not even bothering to look at me.

“NO!” He bellowed. “I will not calm the fuck down! She was supposed to be my bestfriend; the same bestfriend that left and disappeared off the good forsaken earth, without so much off a goodbye. The bestfriend who didn’t inform me she was having a child, much less fucking twins. Guess we weren’t as close as I thought, huh Kelsey?”

I felt tears stinging my eye as they threatened to spill after he finished screaming. The last sentence of his line really hit my heart. For him to think I betrayed him because we weren’t as close as he thought we were hurt much more then you could imagine. Blinking my eyes rapidly, I tried to get rid of the tears that filtered them. The last thing I needed was them to see how much Kennedy words hurt me, and to start bashing on him for it

“I guess I deserved that.” I said quietly, I looked down staring at my clasped hands.

“You guess? You deserve way-” He was cut off by Pat.

“KENNEDY! Shut the fuck up already and let the girl explain herself?” Pat said frustrated.

Kennedy shut his mouth not even seconds after what Pat said. I looked over at Pat to give him a small smile of gratitude, but his eyes still had a hard glint to it and a frown still filtered his mouth. I turned back to look at Kennedy, he looked straight into my eye and folded his arms across his chest and raised his left eyebrow. I could tell he was waiting for me to start explaining before he lost his patience again.

“I didn’t want to leave you guys,” I started quietly. “I know that this might sound weird, but I felt as if I need to go. You guys were getting big and I was just a small town girl who happened to be friends with the band. And you Kennedy, never have I forgotten about you. Yes, I left without saying I was pregnant, but it was the best. It was the best for my children. You guys would be on the road all the time and I would be at home all alone raising two kids, constantly worrying if you guys were alright like I use to do!

“Stop yelling at me, if you really were looking for me and pestering my mother for my number why the hell did it take you two years to finally get in contact with me. I thought we were closer than that, I guess I was wrong.” I mocked him; at this point I was feeling a little angry.

Yes, he had a right to be angry, but so did I. He didn’t care, and is he did he damn well didn’t show it. He barley called me before I had even taken my leave for California. He was too busy to be on the road with his band, to care about little ol’ me. When I look at their faces they all had identical looks of shock. Looking at Kennedy’s I saw a brief flash of pain in his eyes, but it quickly went away and was replaced with a blank stare.

“Answer me one question, who’s the father?” His voice was emotionless, just like his eyes.

I felt my face drain of any color, and my hand shake a little. This was the one question I dreaded. I know at this point In time I couldn’t lie. I couldn’t play it off as a one-night stand, even though it kind of was, because they knew I wasn’t that “kind of girl” who slept around. I sucked in a deep breath and placed my head In my hands. I didn’t even look up at them as I muttered the name out.

“John O'Callaghan, your lead singer.”