Just Like That

45. "a family retreat"

Breanna Michelle Santana

     "Pick up, Grayson," I whispered into the phone, not wanting anyone to hear me. Once I locked the screen, I slid it into my backpack and mumbled,"shit," under my breath.

My parents and Joey were packed and ready to go, but I had cold feet. The trip could be bad for more than one reason, I figured.
First we had to take into account that Holland doesn't like me which naturally means I don't like her, either.
Then, there's Gray's "new girl". He has good taste - obviously - but I could already tell, before even seeing her, that he downgraded. I won't like her.
Not to mention, my SEPARATED PARENTS are going. TOGETHER.
Oh, right, and Joey. Joey's going, too.

One weekend, Brea, I mentally prepped myself. Three days, two nights. You can do it.

THUD! Joey dropped the last cooler in the Jeep Wrangler like a bomb and smiled at me, wearing a pair of RayBans.

"You ready?" He came over and grabbed my waist, kissing my temple. I scrunched my face and leaned back to create some space between us.

"Aw, Chandler, look at that. You used to hold me the same way." My mother cooed in awe of Joey and myself as she neared the vehicle with her things.
My dad made a face behind her back before murmuring something I couldn't make out.

"Dad," I urged him to behave, but we were on the same page.

It was still unfathomable that Grayson would even allow Joey to tag along on a family retreat. I understood one of his girls would be there and that didn't matter to me; if I had someone then so could he. Besides, I trusted Grayson enough to know that he wouldn't dare fuck her while I was around—
Gulp.
Never mind, who am I kidding? This is going to be a complete shit show, I thought.

======

The drive up was nothing less than beautiful. I enjoyed every single second of the ear-popping venture around the mountain.

"Rookies," my mom laughed at Joey and I for complaining about the sensation in our ears.

She and my father looked at each other and continued to cackle after my dad asked,"You don't get this view in Miami, huh, Bea?" He referred to me by a nickname.

Putting my head back inside the top-down Jeep, I asked my parents,"Y'all have been up here before?"

"You don't remember? You used to love it up here, we'd come a few days every summer before you went to school."

"Of course she doesn't remember, Chandler." My mom nagged.

"Well, do you remember all of our trips up here?" My dad nudged my mom, raising his brows at her.

"How could I forget, this is where Brea was made."

I stopped and re-evaluated life for a moment before gagging. "Literally disgusting, mom," I spat, trying to shake the image out of my head.
Joey just laughed along and put the palm of his hand on my knee cap. I put my head on his shoulder and exhaled deeply, mentally preparing myself for the weekend ahead

======

"H-ho!" German, Grayson's father, yelled, becoming a traffic guard. He directed my father where to park and waited with his hands on his hips for us to get out and join him.

The smell of pinecones filled my nose and I jumped out and landed in the debris that covered the woodland floor.
Like I said, it was beautiful, breathtaking even, and more so as I stopped at the cliff. I took a breath and peered out into the distance that captured the great lake and everything else the Oregon scenery had to offer.

"Boo!" A voice startled me, whoever it belonged to, their hands were on both sides of my arms, almost pushing me down.

Scared to death, I jumped back - away from the edge - and turned to see who could've been my murderer.

"Don't," my teeth gritted,"do that! Asshole."

It was Grayson who earned a slap to his arm but he just laughed it off, claiming,"They say someone who scares easy is sneaky."

"Not sneaky, just anxious," I told him once I calmed down.

"Why's that?" He asked as we started pacing towards the cabin where everyone else was settling in.

"This whole weekend screams disaster. Just say the word and I can tell Joey to leave, or I'll leave but-"

"You worry too much. Besides, Joey's a lot of things but it's not him you should be worried about," Grayson let me know, his hand subtly on the small of my back.

I nodded and asked,"So, where is movie theatre girl?" And just like that, she appeared, standing in our faces with a gleaming grin like she was so excited to be here.

"—Hi, I'm Leila. You must be Brea?" She stretched her hand out. As if I'd shake it, I thought in disgust. Okay, I'm hating. Just shake her hand, Breanna.

There. It was shook. Happy?

Why can't I just be a rude bitch?

She was nice. There was no need to be nasty, I soon figured, so I decided to keep it cute and cordial for the time being. That is, until she gets disrespectful, but she seems smart.

Leila was a cute girl; brown, long, straight hair, a diamond face, deep dimples when she smiled, long natural lashes, a warm-neutral skin color, and a thin frame.

Hey, I did say he had good taste. I mean, Grayson did pick me, after all.
Too cocky? Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be humbled at some point this trip...

Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized that by Leila knowing me meant Grayson must've mentioned me. Perhaps as a warning?

"Yep, that's me. Hi, Leila."

"You're really pretty."

I smiled at Grayson then at Leila and pulled her in for a side hug, chirping,"Aw, thank you."
It was always nice to receive that compliment, especially from another girl - and a pretty one, too, at that.
Point for Leila but I still have my reserves, I mentally noted.

Leila gave off this faint giggle and tucked some hair behind one of her big, cute ears.

"Well, I'm gonna go unpack. Coming, Gray?" She left her hand out for him to take but he didn't yet.

"In a sec," he told her and she walked away after waving at me. I waved too until she turned her back on us and neared the modernized cabin.

"I told her about you, hope that doesn't weird you out too much."

"Gray," I shook my head,"this whole thing started weirding me out five months ago. We have four more weeks left, let's just finish this bet, okay?"

He swallowed. While the expression on his face came off to seem like he was discouraged and maybe a little hurt by what I said, he didn't object to it.

"One more month, sure. Wanna lay down any rules one last time, boss?" It was clear in his tone that he now had an attitude.

I stopped in my tracks and swung my neck back. Answering his question, I said,"No rules. Let's just have a good vacation, okay? Drama free."

"Yes ma'am." He quipped back almost sarcastically but I was too over the conversation to snap back so I walked away to be with Joey and my own family.