Thank you guys for the additional faves and follows! I really appreciate it.
February 2nd, 2021 – Seattle
Josh stared down at his phone, his thumbs poised over the keyboard. "Come on," he muttered to himself. "Why are you so nervous?"
Swallowing some of his fear, he slowly began to add names to a group text.
Beth. Hannah. Chris. Ashley. Matt. Emily. Mike. Jessica. Sam…
And then he began to type.
Josh: Hey, everyone. Hope I still have the right numbers here. I know it's been a while… way too long, actually. I did some crazy ass shit, unforgivable shit, shit I'll never forgive myself for. But I spent time in a mental hospital for over a year after that night six years ago— I promise you I did, it's recorded in multiple places. I was released only when I was on a steady supply of meds, which I am delighted to say have completely regulated my state of mind. I can lead a normal life, as long as I stick to my daily med regimen, and of course go to appointments every now and then.
The reason I decided to text you all again… and trust me, I'm nearly pissing myself right now out of fear for your replies… is because I'd like to invite you all to Seattle, where I live, for a week, or less, depending on how long you can get away from your obligations. Now I know, this all sounds eerily familiar, right? An invitation from Josh for a time of fun! But I swear to God, cross my heart and hope to die, that I will NEVER harm you guys again. My chest hurts just thinking of the unimaginable hell I put you all through. I understand if you can't make this because of work or something, but please, try to come, even if you don't see yourself forgiving me anytime soon. I just want to see your faces again. You guys were my friends, my best friends, my only friends. I became so unhinged over revenge and over a near-death experience that I didn't even experience that I lost sight of what was really important to me: your friendship.
So all I ask is PLEASE, if at all possible, to fly/drive in to Seattle on March 7th. I can pay for any airfare if I need to; I've been saving my paychecks for a while now. I will pay for all lodging. Yes, I do work at Target, but I have been saving paychecks for a LONG time.
I hope I'll see you all in a little over a month. -Josh
Another nervous breath rattled through his lungs. He could feel the shudder of anxiety pass through his body, his frayed nerves making his fingertips tingle as he hit the send button. Now all he could do was wait.
And wait he did. God, how he waited and waited. It was an hour and three minutes later when the first reply came in.
He couldn't help but let his heart fall a little when he saw that it was only one of his sisters.
Beth: Hey, Josh. I guess most of that spiel was for the others, since Han and I saw you last Thanksgiving, but… thanks. I'll be able to make it, but the only issue I have is if I can bring my boyfriend Daniel? I totally get it if it would cost too much with airfare to fly him in too, so I'm fine coming alone
Josh scanned over her words a few more times until the image of the gray speech bubble was engrained in his mind. He started to type that he wasn't sure he could afford an extra person when another message from Beth popped up.
Beth: Actually, nvm. If Daniel is allowed to come, he said he can pay his own way. But again, if you all want it to just be the original group, then it's fine
Minutes later, the replies started coming in. It was like a dam had broken in the cyber world.
Hannah: Count me in too. I'll drive in from Spokane and time it so I arrive around the same time as everyone else
Beth: Awesome, Han. I can't wait to see you again. It's been too long!
Hannah: Well I did see you in Nov, it was just that we ignored each other lol
Beth: Right.
Chris: Wow! Hey, everyone. Josh, I'm pleasantly surprised you didn't delete any of our numbers after all this time. But yeah, I'm definitely up for it, if I can get away from work for a few days. Are you sure you're up for paying for air travel?
Josh: I'm glad to hear my favorite sisters can make it! And yes, as long as everyone else agrees, Daniel is welcome. And hi, Chris. I've missed you a lot. Yes, I'm up for paying for EVERYTHING
Hannah: …we're your only sisters
Beth: Great! I'll tell Dan
Jessica: Holy. Shit. I knew I couldn't be crazy for keeping all your numbers
Mike: Jess and I are soooooo in like oh my god
Jessica: She stole my phone, okay? I'm Mike and Mike is Jess
Mike: You're too confusing, smoochie-kins!
Jessica: When did we turn into teenagers? And please never call me smoochie-kins again
Chris: Cut it out, you lovebirds. I look forward to seeing you both :)
Josh: Agreed ^
Mike: Ok, now Mike is Mike. Dude are you sure you're fine paying for everything?
Ashley: This better not be a prank…
Josh: It's not. My slate has been clean for five years, I would never joke about this. and yes I'm sure
Ashley: Ok, then I'll come
Chris: ASH! Then maybe…
Ashley: We'll get to see each other!
Josh: And suddenly I feel very alone lol
Matt: I'm so in, I'll totally be able to get off work for this! See you then, guys
Josh: Awesome!
For a while the messages slowed and then dwindled to nothing. Josh was just about as happy as he'd ever been.
But there was still something missing.
February 2nd, 2021 – New York
The second Emily was home, Matt pounced onto her, holding her tight in his arms.
"What is this about?" Emily said, her eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't answer, still clinging to her until she made a choking sound.
"You're gonna have to take a week away from work, Em," Matt announced, gliding halfway across the small apartment on his socked feet until he arrived back at the kitchen counter.
"And why's that?" she asked nonchalantly, taking a seat at one of the bar stools and disdainfully eyeing the mess on the stove.
He grinned. "Because we're goin' to Seattle!" Turning back to the stove, he flipped over a burnt, haphazardly-shaped hamburger.
Emily laughed. "You're joking." Slowly pulling her phone out of her purse, she turned it on.
"Yeah, you'll see what I'm talking about in a sec," Matt said, still maintaining his smile as he leaned across her arms for his half-drunk beer bottle.
Emily slowly began scrolling through all of the texts, her jaw dropped. "What are all these numbers?" she demanded.
Before Matt could explain, she quickly sent out a text.
Emily: ?
"Hold your horses," Matt said, stumbling over to her and snatching her phone from her.
"Matthew!" Emily warned, but he'd already sent something by the time he gave it back.
Emily: I'm in! Yayyyyy!
Matt watched as Emily scrolled through again, her forehead wrinkled as she carefully read through the lines. "Why did you lie— what— oh my God…" she muttered when she was finished.
"The old group," Matt said.
Emily's frown deepened until she was scowling. "I'm not ready to face them again quite yet. Why do you think I deleted their numbers a couple years ago? I… I gave up."
Killing the flame on the stove, Matt walked over behind her and rubbed her shoulders. "But now Josh has faith in us again! And everyone seems up for it except Sam, but she just hasn't replied yet. You'll be able to come, right?"
"Well, of course you will, since you sit on your butt all day. It'll be a change of pace for you," Emily snapped.
A while ago this would've offended and hurt Matt, but now it was as if a protective barrier had formed around his heart. Shrugging it off, he pulled her in closer. Her dark hair tickled his cheek. It smelled like coconut, and he grinned again in spite of himself. "Right?" he prodded.
"Yeah, I've been kissing my boss's ass for a few months now with barely a day off. It's gotta be illegal if he doesn't let me go for a week," she gave in, and he felt her tensed muscles relax a little.
"Good—"
"But, I mean, I'll still probably have to step away for a conference call or something at some point when we're there, but otherwise, I'll be free," Emily finished. Turning her head a little, she pecked him on the cheek before standing.
Like an obedient puppy, Matt followed her over to the stove. "I tried to make dinner," he told her as she stared apprehensively at the unidentified food object in the skillet. "Key word being tried." He stepped forward and poked at it with the spatula. It sizzled, bubbles forming then popping around the uneven edges.
"Okay, well, first off, from my knowledge, hamburgers shouldn't look like hockey pucks," Emily stated, gingerly picking it up and tossing it in the trash.
"Hey!" Matt protested half-heartedly.
She snorted at him, smirking. "Hey, if you want to eat it, be my guest."
He closed his mouth, lowering his poised hand and setting down the greasy skillet.
"So I suppose you don't know any more about cooking than I do," Emily concluded, grabbing her bag and heading toward the door. "This is why we get takeout." She kicked her high heels to the side, trading them for a pair of comfier flats. "Thai?"
"I was thinking Chinese," Matt protested, crossing his arms and arching his brow at her from across the room.
He knew Emily wouldn't budge easily. "Thai," she said again.
"Chinese," he grumbled.
"Thai."
"Chi— ah, fuck it… Thai."
"Thank you, sweetheart," Emily said sweetly, closing the door behind her.
February 5th, 2021 – Spokane
Hannah was driving in her ancient Honda, on her way home from work. The tiny blue car, in the eyes of anyone besides Hannah, was clearly on its last legs. The engine made a wheezing sound instead of a purr when it was started up. The key hung limply out of the ignition like a cord plugged into a broken outlet. The paint was chipped and worn at certain places, like the hood and the driver's door handle. The windshield wipers squeaked loudly in pain during rainstorms.
But despite all this, Hannah loved her little Civic, and she wouldn't trade it for the newest Audi. She was always stubborn these days, ever since she grew a more protective skin after that prank on the mountain seven years ago. She couldn't be the gullible twin anymore. And she was fairly sure she'd established that she was far from that by now.
She wanted to be the stronger twin. It made sense, didn't it? After all, she was a whole three minutes older than Beth.
That was when her car's dashboard began to ring. She could feel the vibration in her hands as the loud sound started to overtake the puny roller-skate of a car. "Ugh," she groaned, and reached forward to hit the accept button on the flickering screen.
The only time Hannah had ever dropped a bundle of money on this car was when she decided to finally have a Bluetooth system installed a few years ago. It took a few tries for the man to get all of the wires connected just right for a screen in a fifteen-year-old car. But the sixth time was the charm, and after an additional hundred bucks so the guy wouldn't give up, the thing finally seemed to work.
Hannah didn't glance at the caller ID, keeping her eyes firmly on the road as the skies opened up. "Dammit!" she cursed, turning on her wipers. The deafening squelching sound commenced as rain battered the sides of the car.
"Well, then, hello to you too!"
Hannah barely heard the voice, but she still recognized it in an instant. "Sam!"
"That's me! Is it raining there?"
Hannah laughed, sliding her glasses up her nose a bit. "Yeah, how could you tell."
"There's no mistaking the squeaking of your wipers. Jesus, it sounds like someone stepping on a hamster over and over," Sam teased, and Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Wow, you're definitely not the person I'd expect to hear that from. And besides, give the ol' Civic a break," Hannah protested. "She's working hard." After a moment of hesitation, the rain lightened a little and Hannah could turn down the strength of the wipers. "Thank God," she muttered. "Alright, so. Let's get down to business. Why the hell haven't you replied to Josh's invite yet?"
She could hear the crackle over the line as her best friend sighed. Out of everyone in the group, Hannah had been most inclined to hang around Sam. She was the level-headed peacemaker, the easiest one to confide in. But for once, the tables had turned; this time, Sam was the troubled one.
"That's what I was calling about," Sam finally said, and Hannah could picture her messing with her hair like she always did when anxious.
"Look, Sam, it's been three days since he sent it out," Hannah stated, slowing down for a red light. "Some of the others have already been asking why you haven't replied yet. Ash even called me."
"I know, I know. Trust me, don't you think I've been added to about fifty other different group chats asking if I'm dead?" Sam said. Hannah always marveled how in any situation, the blonde still somehow managed to keep her voice level and calm, as if she were discussing the day's weather.
The light turned into a bleeding green dot on the car's rain-flecked windshield, and the rusty Honda puttered onward. "Well, then is something the matter?" Hannah paused, swallowing. "Wait… did you get a call?"
"A call?"
"From… from the Seattle Police Department."
Silence. "Oh… yeah, yeah. I did," Sam replied. "Squeezed all the info he could out of me about those hellish nights."
Hannah reached up and rubbed one of her temples. "Look, I— I still will never be able to thank you enough for saving my life, and Beth's life, seven years ago. If you hadn't gone out after us…" she trailed off, unable to think of how much more south that night could have went.
Sam laughed grimly, but it did nothing to shake away the gloom that had settled over them. "Hey, don't mention it. Really— please don't. I know we've all tried to forget about those nights on that cursed mountain. So I'm guessing you got a call too?"
"Yes, and so has everyone else. Haven't you been reading the main group chat?" Hannah said sharply. She immediately winced after her words came out, not having intended for her tone to sound so harsh.
Sam spoke at a snail's pace. "I… yeah, I… have been," she admitted. "I've been… lurking in the background, I guess. But I just don't know what to say, Han. I feel like I'm back in high school, with all these group chats and awkwardness!"
Hannah nodded even if her friend couldn't see it. "Tell me about it." Flipping on her turn signal, she turned down the narrow road that was her apartment building's street. "Look, I know why you're so scared to reply—"
"It's not what you think—"
"Yes, it is, Sam," Hannah interrupted, backing into a space that barely fit her car. "You know it as well as I do. Just tell my brother that you'll be there. You'll be able to go, right?" Right before she turned off the rumbling motor, she transferred the call from the dashboard to her phone.
"Yeah, I think I might quit one of my jobs anyway," Sam muttered. Now that the car's shuddering engine was off, Hannah could really hear how worn Sam's voice sounded. There was almost a rasp, like she had a sore throat. "I've spread myself too thin for these jobs. Staying late at one thing, then right away going to the other thing for a late shift. I haven't had a full eight hours' sleep since who knows when."
Hannah's eyes doubled in size as she climbed the stairs to her third-floor apartment. "Christ, Sam! You'll collapse from exhaustion soon and never wake up. Please promise me that you'll do what is right, okay?"
Sam snorted. "Wow, thanks for the advice, hon."
"Hey, you know I suck at advice. But really, promise me, okay?" Hannah insisted, opening the door.
"Yeah, I promise."