The Shadows Of Yesterday

The Shadows Of Yesterday {17}

We found Nicky first, sitting at a table and chatting with a few others. He looked up at us and got up.

"Build any dressers?" Arlo asked.

"For the love of-" Nicky gripped the cross hanging from a chain around his neck. "Our Father, who art in Heaven, give me strength not to bitch-slap this asshole."

"I think that's an inappropriate use of prayer," Arlo said.

"The hell would you know about prayer? You never go to church," Nicky said, waving to the students he'd been talking to as he followed us.

We went out to the smaller stage, where Harley and Chief were sitting together with another girl. Harley was talking to her as Chief listened to them. Brooks was helping to hold a ladder for a student hanging some decorations along the wall.

"Oh, hey," Harley said as she noticed us. "All done for the day?"

"Yea," I said. "Nora's dismissed us."

"Thank you," Chief said to me as he got up. "It was fun."

"No need to thank me. If anything, I'm sure Nora will be thanking you guys for all eternity. Or at least until the next play," I said. "Like I said, they're always looking for help. We can come back sometime, if you want."

I made the offer without considering it, frowning at myself as the words registered in my brain. "We".

But Chief seemed excited at the offer, so I just smiled a little instead of taking it back. Brooks came over to join us.

Arlo checked the time and let out a whistle. "We were here a while. Dinner?"

"In town," Brooks said. "We've hardly gone into town lately."

"Well, maybe you haven't," Arlo said, snickering at her scowl. "Alright, yea, let's go get food in town. You good with that, Jeremy?"

"Sure," I said, fidgeting a little and resisting the urge to check my phone. Would Seth be mad?

No, no, it should be okay as long as I came back before it got too late. Nora would cover for me if I asked her to.

Our group left the theater and made our way to the nearest bus stop. They were all talking excitedly about what they'd done, and I stood back and watched them. They all interacted so easily with each other. A close-knit group.

Arlo noticed me standing back and caught my arm, tugging me in with the rest of them and teasing me about my mess up with the paint. There was none of the mean teasing I'd expect from Brynn or Vin; they just laughed good-naturedly and talked about their own little mistakes.

When the bus arrived, Arlo urged me on ahead of him. I picked a seat near the front and he sat next to me.

"You're quiet," he said as the bus jerked into motion.

"Just tired," I said. "Didn't sleep well last night, is all."

"Hey, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. About before."

"Hm?" I glanced at him in confusion.

"Well, when you were upset, I should've waited to hear the whole story. But I didn't, 'cause, ya know, 'cause I'm kinda an idiot like that. And I got mad before you could explain it, and it looked like...it looked like I scared you. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry if I did."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I shut it, ran his words over in my head, then finally nodded. "It's okay. I was just frustrated, so I wasn't thinking clearly. You don't have to apologize for anything."

"Nah, man, even if you weren't thinking clearly, it looked like I upset you with how I reacted. So I'm sorry for that," he said. "But if you wanna let it drop, consider it happy birthday to the ground."