this is me trying

chapter twenty five: talk with the sisters

tatum

I scramble out of my house in a hurry with what feels like a thousand things in my hand. After a long and fun night at Nessie's house last night, I seem to have overslept my alarm this morning. Not by a whole lot, thankfully.

I lock my front door before I run through the rain to my car. I start up the car before making my way to work. When I finally park in the parking lot, I see that I am not as late as I thought I would be. So I take the spare minutes before work to look at my phone for the first time all morning.

"Good morning, T. My mom and Leah have been raving about you since we left the bonfire a few days ago. I think they were glad you were able to come to the bonfire and hear the legends. Sorry again that I wasn't able to spend the night last night. Really wish that I had been able to wake up with you in my arms. Have a great day at work. Call me when you get off. X" Seth's text reads.

I grin before shooting a text back to him, telling him how glad I came to the bonfire. My mind has been racing with the story that Billy Black told at the bonfire. I can't help, but think of the Third Wife. I also added how I too wished that I had been in his arms. I leave out my question of why Seth had to leave in the middle of the night. Is it really my business? I mean…

After replying to Seth, I go to the next text, which is surprisingly a group message text from my sisters. "Tatum, Taylor and I were wondering if we could meet up sometime this week to hopefully resolve some issues between us." Tessa's text reads.

I quickly take a screenshot of the text and send it to Seth with the caption: "Sounds like a trap".

I shut off my phone before grabbing my umbrella and heading inside the building. I can't help but think about my sister's text on my way to my desk. I quickly shoot her a text back asking if they can meet today before putting my phone away. Might as well get it over with.

I proceed to ignore my phone like the plague for the rest of the day. I don't even bother picking it up when I eat lunch at my desk. I count down the minutes until 5 o'clock, wishing that somehow the minutes could go by a little bit slower.

But 5 o'clock comes and it is time for me to look at my phone. The text that I see from my sisters is not what I was wanting to see. They have agreed to meet up for coffee in Port Angeles at six. I don't even have time to prepare for this.

I sluggishly walk out to my car and dial Seth's number on the way. "Hey, baby." He answers almost immediately. "How was work?"

I open up my car door and slip into the seat. "It was fine. But my day is only about to get worse." I groan.

"Are you meeting with your sisters tonight?" Seth asks, softly. He already knows the answer based on my previous statement. "I'm sorry, T. Do you want me to come with you?" He asks.

"No. I just need to handle this." I grumble, annoyed. "Enough about me. How has your day been?"

"It's been alright. The shop has been pretty steady with business today." Seth answers. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you to see your sisters? I really don't mind."

The idea of Seth being there with me made the idea of meeting my sisters a lot less painful. But I know that Seth's presence will only piss my sisters off further. "I think it might be best if you sit this one out." I respond. "Trust me, I wish you could come."

I could almost hear the wheels turning in Seth's head through the phone. But whatever Seth is thinking about, he doesn't speak on it. "Will you promise to call after you get out?" Seth asks. He is clearly worried. And I guess he has a reason to be. The last time I saw my sisters I showed up at his door in tears.

"I promise." I assure him. "I am on my way there now. I will text you when I make it to the coffee shop safely. And I will call you on my drive home."

Seth still sounds very hesitant. "Okay. Please drive safely." He says before we both say our goodbyes.

I continue on the road to Port Angeles. When I am about twenty minutes out from PA, my phone begins ringing. I immediately pick it up, thinking that it is Seth and that he forgot to tell me something. "Hello?" I answer.

I hear absolute radio silence on the other end. I glance down at the phone screen to see the number is an unknown number.

I frown. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I call out again.

This time I am met with sounds of heavy breathing. Creepy loud breathing that sends chills up my spine. I quickly shut the call off, incredibly creeped out.

I allow myself to freak out momentarily. Maybe I should call Seth and tell him what happened. But what was Seth going to do about it? What could anyone do about it? It wasn't like the person who called did anything wrong. But as I get closer and closer to Port Angeles, I shake off the weird feeling I have. The call was just a mistake or maybe even a silly prank call. I can't read into it.

By the time I pull into the parking lot of the coffee shop, I completely forget about the weird encounter on the phone. Instead, I focus on the situation in front of me, which is much scarier. My sisters.

I give myself a few moments to collect myself. I glance into the rearview mirror and fix my hair. "I can do this." I mutter to myself. "I can do this." I repeat.

I quickly grab my purse from the passenger seat and open the door. If I didn't leave now, I would never work up the courage to leave. I walk up to the small coffee shop with a fake sense of confidence. Maybe if I pretended to be confident, it would actually appear that I am confident.

But as soon as I walk into the shop and see my sisters sitting at a table in the corner, my fake confidence disappears. I hesitantly make my way over to the table. I feel like I am approaching the lion's den.

Taylor is the first to look up at me. Her eyes don't give anything away. Tessa quickly follows Taylor's gaze. "You're here." Tessa comments. Her voice is stiff and uninviting. She coldly motions to the empty chair beside her. "Sit." She orders.

I swallow and slide the empty chair out to take a seat like Tessa all but forced me to do. Once I am seated, I nervously rub my hands up and down my thighs. "Thank you for inviting me." I say, filling the awkward silence that lingers over us.

"We thought it would be best to discuss our differences face to face." Tessa says, formly. "For mom and dad's sake." She adds.

I nod my head. "I would like that." A barista brings over several cups of coffee for us.

As we fix our coffee to our liking, Tessa speaks up again. "I don't know if we will ever be best friends, but I think it is important that we can at least get along." Taylor nods her head in agreement.

"I agree." I chime in, taking a sip of my hot coffee.

"We don't understand why you left before Cade's funeral." Taylor adds to the conversation. "We've heard bits and pieces from mom and dad, but we want to hear it from you. To understand better."

I glance down, nervously. I didn't like having to talk about this. "Well…" I trail off not knowing where to start. "I was overwhelmed. And after Cade's sudden passing… I just realized how short life was. Deep down I somehow knew that Cade would want me to live my life to the fullest. So I did something impulsive and bought a ticket to Paris."

Taylor and Tessa stare at me blankly. So I continue. "I know, looking back, it wasn't the best decision. I caused a great deal of worry for mom and dad. And I didn't always put myself in the best situations. But I don't think I would take it back." I confess. "I needed to live my life."

"Why did you have to miss Cade's funeral?" Tessa questions. "You couldn't have waited to live your life until after Cade's funeral?"

I knew that Tessa would press the issue. "I didn't think that I could emotionally handle the funeral." I admit, my head dropping in shame.

"What about the rest of us?" Tessa snaps at me. "This was difficult for all of us. But we all showed up. We were all there for each other. Except for you, Tatum." She scolds me.

"I'm sorry, Tessa, Taylor." I say softly. It is an apology that I truly mean. "I clearly grieve differently. I tend to run from things. It's something that I need to work on." When silence fills the table again, I choose to speak up. "And about mom and dad babying me… I hadn't realized that. And I do not want to be babied, I assure you. But if you are upset, I think that is something you should talk to mom and dad about. That is not something I can control."

Tessa and Taylor nod their heads in unison. "I am sorry for yelling at the last family dinner." Tessa apologizes. "Years of pent up frustration was just released without really hearing your side of things. I yelled at you for things that were in your control." Taylor's head bobbles in agreement. "And I'm sorry for making fun of your relationship with Seth."

I swallow before giving my sisters a weak smile. "Thank you. I accept your apologies."

"I think next time we should just talk things out instead of jumping to conclusions." Taylor says. "We aren't very close, but that doesn't mean that we can't talk about things."

"I know we aren't close." I fill in. "But I just want you guys to know that I am always here for you."

Taylor gives me a shy smile.

"It was nice to chat and hear your side of things." Tessa concludes after finishing off her coffee. "I am hoping that this makes things less awkward at the next family dinner and puts mom and dad at ease."

We all pay for our coffees separately and leave with an awkward but civil goodbyes/promises to see each other soon. I head out to my car feeling lighter than I had before meeting with my sisters. When I get in my car, I dial Seth's number and he picks up almost immediately.

"How did everything go?" Seth answers before even greeting me with a 'hello'.

I smile, realizing how much Seth truly cares for me. "It went well actually." I say as I put the car into drive. "We just talked things through peacefully. I explained my side of things. I think we all realized that we aren't going to have the best of relationships, but we can at least have a civil relationship." I fill him in.

Seth hums on the other side of the phone. "Well it sounds like it was productive. I am glad it went well and your relationship with them is somewhat on the mends."

"I'm glad too." I say with a smile. "Do you want to come over for dinner? I can make something yummy." I ask hopefully. I want to see him. I miss him even though it has been merely hours. I could also use some Seth cuddles tonight after a day like today.

The weird phone call flashes back into my mind. I think for a split second to say something to Seth about the heavy breathing on the phone call. But I decide against it. I just needed to let that phone call go. I need to chalk it up as a butt dial that someone did.

"Yeah, dinner will work. Only if you make some of your lasagna." Seth chuckles.

I grin hearing him laugh. "So I will see you in a little bit then?"

"Absolutely."

Hi everyone! Here's another chapter for you! It is a little shorter, but I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what your thoughts, what you liked/what you didn't. And don't forget to leave a review and favorite this story! Have a great day guys! X M