Breathe With Me (The Breathe Series Book 3)

by Wendy L. Wilson

  “Evan, I’m almost scared to open it.” He glances up, not lifting his chin or moving a muscle as the gift sits in his lap like a bomb waiting to detonate. “I’ll open mine, if you open yours.”

  I nod, but am more interested in his reaction to what’s in the package. I relent, focusing on ripping into my gift. My fingers stumble over a gob of tissue paper scrunched into the small bag. Rolling my eyes at their meticulous attention to detail, I give Jake a quick sarcastic look as my hand finds a hard surface at the bottom of the bag.

  “Don’t look at me…Alyssa wrapped it,” Jake mumbles.

  Chuckling, I look at Judd and Alyssa as Judd holds my present in his hand. I pull mine out and look down, eager to return to enjoying the “WTF” look he has on his face.

  “AJ’s Greatest Hits?”

  “Oh wow!” I exclaim, a little knot in my throat as I take in the fact that they got me an actual gift. Sure it has sarcasm behind it, but they got me an actual gift. Well shit. “These are awesome.” I flip the package of the noise canceling ear phones around and gulp. These had to cost them a shiny penny.

  “Figured those could come in handy, huh?” Jake points to the package proudly.

  I nod slowly, not sure what to say. I know they’re a gag really, but it’s still a damn good gift and hell yeah I can use them.

  “Got that right. Almost goes right along with my gift,” I mumble with a chuckle.

  “I don’t know…I’ve never heard of them.” Abby leans over the back of the couch, eyeing the clear CD case that Judd holds in his hands.

  “Evan, I’m clueless.” Judd squints his eyes skeptically, possibly waiting for a punch line or for me to give away what the hell it is.

  “Oh, it’s great! You’ll love it.” I don’t even crack a smile, flicking my eyes up to Piper who stands quietly beside Abby with a small unwrapped present in her hand that looks like jewelry. The jerk off, that I wish would find another party to attend today, stands a little too close to her as she whispers something to him. My jaw tightens. “Piper,” I say a little louder and probably a bit more eager than I should, wanting to do anything to pull her far away from that douchebag. “You got a CD player?”

  “Oh yeah,” she pushes away from the couch, putting distance between them as she makes her way over to a shelf beside the fireplace. My shoulders relax and my anxiety eases. “Let me see it.” She grabs the CD from Judd, immediately giving me an all-knowing look with a roll of her eyes as she sees the front of the case.

  I wink back; she’s smart. Shouldn’t take a genius to figure out AJ stands for Alyssa and Judd. Inside, I’m rubbing my palms together like a mad scientist about to reveal my master creation to the world.

  “Seriously, should I be scared?” Judd snaps his head over to me as a conglomeration of clicks and snaps from Piper’s direction fill the air.

  Placing my hand over my heart, I throw my best dramatic heart-felt plea out to him, “Now, why would you think that?” Looking right at him, I share a small ‘gotcha’ look with him as a rapid guitar solo pumps out of the speakers.

  Judd flinches a bit, like he is on guard and ready to bolt at any moment. For a second I want to drop to the floor and roll around laughing like an idiot. I wish I could crawl into his head right now and see if he is thinking back to the day he tripped over all that ancient recording shit of Grandpas right outside his bedroom door. I am completely slapping my knee and rolling inside right now.

  “Oh wait…this is the best part,” I hold my finger into the air and Judd is instantly on his feet, a second before it even starts.

  Once Alyssa’s muffled moans and a few loud grunts that were ingeniously merged into a techno mix that blends with the drum and guitar beats of a generic song I found, bleeds through the crackling speakers, all hell breaks loose.

  “Oh my God, is that you Alyssa?” Abby’s eyes couldn’t go any wider.

  “Holy shit…” Judd bolts to the stereo…

  Click, pop and the CD is in his hand, but the noise has just started.

  “What the hell was that?” Alyssa looks around, her face flamed in red.

  Judd looks at me, his mouth wide and eyes damn near protruding from his head.

  “That was you!” Abby exclaims on a laugh.

  “Nice,” Hayden nods his head with a smirk, holding his thumb up.

  Jake spits out a laugh as Piper stands behind Judd, shaking her head with her arms folded. I put on my best innocent face, pointing both my hands towards my chest in a ‘who me’ sort of expression.

  “Evan, where the hell did you get this?” A small hidden smile begins to break through on Judd’s face, but I can tell he’s pushing it down for Alyssa’s sake. Oh yeah, act like that isn’t the funniest shit you’ve ever heard, dude.

  I open my mouth wide, a little shocked that he’d ask that question.

  “Never mind, don’t answer that question.” Judd points at me then over to Alyssa as she squeals.

  “Oh my God, was that us having sex?!”

  I can’t hold it back anymore. I bend forward with my cheeks about to split and my eyes squeezed shut, damn near ready to spill tears in utter enjoyment.

  “You’ve got balls, dude,” Jake whispers, making me laugh harder. “I’d protect them with my life right now.”

  I open my eyes and straighten up, seeing Alyssa’s face twist from mortification to pissed off.

  “Let me see it!” Alyssa puts her hand out, but suddenly Judd pulls it to him as if he’s protecting it.

  My stomach hurts, already tense and sore from all the hilarious shit going on. Abby snorts and Jake spits out a loud burst of laughter on Judd’s reaction.

  “Why?!” Judd exclaims as Alyssa darts to his side.

  “Because I’m gonna break it.” She grabs his hand and he twists and turns away, grinning.

  “Well it was a gift…” My mouth drops to the floor as he goes on, now defending my gag gift, “We don’t have to destroy it or anything. That’s kind of drastic, don’t you think?”

  Jake, me and Abby all enjoy the chaos as Piper continues to shake her head with a closed lipped smile, occasionally glancing my way. My entire body vibrates while I strain to hear Judd’s muffled tone as he wrestles around with Alyssa in the middle of the living room.

  “Judd, give it to me so I can break it in half.”

  “Aren’t you at least curious,” he spits out in such an over-the-top panic stricken tone that I double over. He lowers his voice as Alyssa turns her back into his chest and looks like she’s prepared to rip his arm off. “We could listen to it later,” he suggests.

  I wish I was recording this; it would get record views in no time if I posted it.

  “Ohhhh shit,” I say under my breath, the humor of this all damn near shaking me up like a milkshake. I look at Jake, who is in the same shape as me. “Maybe he has more of Tristan in him than we all thought.”

  Jake leans forward, nearly choking.

  “Oh good Lord no!” Abby snaps. “What an asshole.” This only fuels our amusement as Judd and Alyssa continue to fight for ownership of the CD.

  I tune my attention to Piper, who walks around the couch to join Abby. Why didn’t I think to make popcorn?

  “Boy, your mom sure did get more than she bargained for this year for Christmas, didn’t she?” Piper plops down on the couch beside Abby, less than eight feet in front of me, crossing her legs. “So are you going to tell us how Tristan knew about that birthmark, which I don’t think I’ve ever even seen?” she changes the subject swiftly, from the gag gift to putting Abby in the hot-seat. This oughta be good.

  “Oh, I’ve seen it,” Hayden says in a sly tone from the kitchen.

  Abby’s eyes go wide, but Piper’s question has our full attention now. I think half of us are still wondering.

  Alyssa and Judd calm it, becoming their normal sappy ass cuddling selves as they stand in the middle of the room with Alyssa’s back to him. I flick my eyes to Judd’s arms wrapped securely around her as usual and quickl
y notice the CD still within his grasp; I snicker. I guess he won that battle; I’ll definitely be needing these headphones tonight, either that or my damn heater fixed.

  “I’m curious on this one also, Abby,” Alyssa spouts out and this information sort of shocks me.

  I figured for sure her sister would be in on any frisky activities that Abby might have had going on with Judd’s brother.

  “You really didn’t, did you, Abby?” Judd laughs, resting his chin on Alyssa’s head and swaying her like there is some unheard music filtering through the air that only they can hear.

  Should have left the CD on.

  Chris and Hayden walk up to the back of the couch.

  Squatting down behind it, Chris folds his arms across the edge of the portion of the cushion that Piper is sitting against, he joins in on the conversation, “Yeah, isn’t he a super big man-whore? I mean, that’s what I’ve heard anyways.”

  Abby’s eyes widen on the continued line of questions, shoving her shoulders back into the couch with a spurt of sass that she usually displays when someone fires her up; the usual attitude that Tristan ignites in her.

  “Whooooooaaaa,” her voice comes out as a quiet-shocked sort of chuckle laced with a little venom and retaliation as she stares ahead at Alyssa. “Thank you, Chris. Yes, he is a total slut, so of course, I did not get busy with him.”

  My entire body shakes in enjoyment as I watch Abby point her finger from Chris to Alyssa, cocking her head and opening her mouth, ready to give them all the one finger salute. “And Alyssa, I wouldn’t talk now that we have all heard exactly what you sound like in bed, and we all know that happens quite a bit.”

  I raise my hand. “I know…I know exactly how often it is.” My face falls flat as Abby turns her death glare on me. Oh shit.

  “And Piper…” Abby keeps her eyes locked on me.

  Jake slaps his hand into my gut from my side. “Should have kept your mouth shut, dude,” he mumbles loud enough for only me to hear.

  “Ohhh,” I snicker, grabbing the mantle with one hand.

  Abby’s eyes don’t leave mine and if I wasn’t so entertained, I may be sweating.

  “…just whose cabin did you stay at last night?”

  As soon as her words are out with a slight bit of humor behind them, I can’t help the slight grin that forms across my face as I stare back at her. Piper swings her gaze to me, looking as if someone just accused her of murder and she’s going to face the death penalty. Chris clears his throat and joins in with the entire room that has eyes on me.

  “Oh, I know this one,” Jake’s voice slices through the silence like a whoopy cushion letting out an inappropriate sound right at the precise moment that a conversation has turned serious.

  I should return his slap to the gut and tell him to run. Abby is on a roll and taking absolutely no prisoners, but I keep quiet, rather enjoying her laying it on everyone.

  Abby folds her arms and cocks one brow, doing a half-ass better job of remaining somber than I could. All I really want to do is bust out into a thunder of laughter that will have my sides in stitches and my stomach about to rupture.

  “You want some too,” she hisses, turning it on Jake now.

  Should have kept your mouth shut, Jake. Damn, I love Abby; that girl can hang with the best of us smartasses.

  Jake straightens up fast and this time I hear Judd spit out a cackle-snort laugh.

  “Nope.” His hands dart up to the sides of his face, palms out in surrender. “Hey, I just came for the pie.”

  Abby’s focus shifts back to me. “So…” she says in a steady tone that is doused in sugar, yet laced in a playful threat. “If we want to discuss details of my private life, we can surely discuss everyone else’s activities last night.”

  Piper shifts in her seat, looking at me and I instantly realize as much as this is fun for me, it may be making her uncomfortable considering I’m fairly certain I’m the only one here that knows the details of her past.

  “Well, well, this could be fun,” Hayden pipes out with a huge grin.

  I flip around, glancing at the bundle of papers that my fingers have busied themselves of flicking over the edge again and again. As soon as I see a photo album, my curiosity piques and I slap it open, hoping to steer the conversation in a new direction and distract the attention off of Piper. I could give a damn if they all think we bumped uglies from dusk to dawn, but I do not, what so ever, want her to feel uneasy.

  I clear my throat, basically hoping Abby takes it as me waving the white flag of retreat. “Hey, is this you?” I point down at the first picture I find.

  It’s a picture of her when she was little and I have no doubt it is her; there is no missing those deep dark brown eyes that look like they have been framed in the blackest lashes I’ve ever seen.

  A shuffle rises behind me and within seconds Piper is by my side. I knew she would catch my cue of avoiding the hot-seat.

  “Hmmhmmm, that’s what I thought,” Abby hums behind us from the couch.

  She sneaks me a glance from the corner of her eyes, throwing me a thankful smile on Abby’s words. “Yeah, that’s when I was one I think.” Piper’s finger joins mine, grazing against my skin in a barely-there touch that instantly warms my body.

  Laughter and conversation go on around us as Jake moves away and as the ‘who did what last night’ convo lulls into holiday talk and New Year party planning. I don’t join in; I’m happy right where I am. I stay put and watch as she points to picture after picture, marveled by the sound of her voice as she speaks softly. The smile she gets as she tells me stories about pictures we come to, has me in awe that I am even here beside her after all this time. This is right where I want to be.

  “OH GEEZ, NO I REMEMBER that day,” Evan laughs beside me, his legs flat on the floor, extended out as he lazily lies back onto the palms of his hands. He points down at a picture of him and I in one of the many albums that I dug out after the Christmas get-together dies down. “You whined and whined when I threw you in.”

  His laughter fills the silence of the room as quiet chatter of whoever is left in the living room, filters in. This is something we never really got to do when we were kids, due to my fear of being in this cabin.

  “I remember that day, too.”

  Looking through albums was never a favorite pastime of mine. I was always fearful of coming across the wrong picture. Although, this album does contain a big portion from that first summer out here, the summer Trent was with us. I scramble past those pages.

  Sitting on the floor with my legs folded and the photo album on my lap, I nudge into him playfully. “This was the best part of that day…”

  Looking back down to the picture we are on, my lips inch up on the memory of such a dark moment in my life being followed up by finding the courage to smile again. I run my finger over the photograph of Evan holding me in a bear hug as he hauled me out to the water. The thunder of humor is written all over his face as I squeeze down on his arm, attempting to stop the inevitable of getting drenched. My breath hitches in my throat as I look at the expression on my face and realize something so insignificant for many, yet huge for me…he was touching me; only he could. That thought warms my soul as I account the events leading up to my plunge in the lake.

  Loud thumping vibrates through my ears as a million more sensations come to me. My head pounds and my body aches but not at all in the places I thought that it would. I stiffen up instantly, the memories of all that happened just last night hitting me. My palms and knees burn while my stomach rumbles as if I haven’t eaten in weeks. Moving under a bundle of blankets, the muscles in my legs stretch as I point my toes and extend my body to work out any crampy feelings.

  Thud, thud, thud, hits my ears again and I flip my head, suddenly confused on where I am and what all happened after I raced away from my parent’s cabin. I look over and see Evan curled up on the bench at the kitchen table. His head rests on a pillow that is propped against the camper’s side window while his
legs are drawn up to his side, bent at the knee and looking very uncomfortable.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  “Evan!”

  The door handle rattles as his grandpa’s voice booms from the other side, sounding very on edge and ready to rip the door from the hinges.

  I quickly throw the blankets to the end of the bed and race over to his side, pushing on his arm. Dang, he can sleep through a storm I bet.

  “Evan, your grandpa is at the door.”

  His eyes open wide, alarm written into every inch of his face as he throws his legs to the ground and scoots out, swinging his head from one side to the next as if he’s looking for a place to hide.

  “He’s at the door.” Maybe he’s disoriented from waking up so suddenly.

  He runs his hand through his hair, which is all over the place, sticking up on one side and matted down on the other.

  “Evan?” I look at him, unsure of what he could be thinking. “Your grandpa…”

  He cuts me off, glancing over at the door. “I know,” he bites in a whisper.

  I flinch back at his aggravation.

  “Sorry…sorry.” He stops, biting the inside of his lip. “It’s just that…”

  “Evan, boy, you better open this door. Piper is missing and her parents are worried sick.”

  His eyes widen as all the blood drains from my face. Nobody knows what happened last night except Trent. Oh my God, what if he told my parents; what if they know?

  Evan points over his shoulder. “Ahh, yeah, that’s what I was going to say,” he whispers, “They are going to flip when they find out you slept here.”

  I shake my head, not even caring. I’d rather be here than anywhere or with anyone else right now.

  “Evan, wake your ass up,” his grandpa says in an authoritative tone that I’ve never heard from him before.

  “Shoot!”

  I watch as Evan struggles, looking around and frantic as if he’s going to hide me in a cabinet. This isn’t going to be good either way, but at least if I let them know I’m safe, or that I haven’t run away, then possibly Evan won’t get in too much trouble. I guess I have to face the music eventually anyways.