Another side of Heartland

Chapter 51

-Mallory-

We all piled in the ATV Caleb driving, me next to Caleb and Marcus next to me with Sarah and Jackson in the backseat. We drove around through the trails and laughed and talked until we came up to an old treehouse. Marcus and Caleb both sucked in a deep breath and Sarah yelled "OH my GOD I had no idea this was still out here!!" Caleb glanced over at me and then Marcus. Looking down I noticed his hands were clenched and turning white. I reached over and took Marcus's hands in mine and nodded at him. He took a deep breath and a slight smile crossed his face. I looked at Caleb and he nodded his head towards the treehouse and I motioned for Marcus to get out and let me out. "Sarah you and Jackson come with me, Mrs. Mills farm stand use to just be a little ways through the woods. We'll see if it's still there and grab some snacks" they looked confused why they were leaving Marcus and I behind but didn't say much to Caleb. Once they drove out of sight I turned to Marcus. 'Are you okay?' He nodded breathing a little heavier. "We use to.. this is where we would meet and hangout so nobody knew" I nodded in understanding and wrapped my arm around his side "you told Caleb?" I chuckled and looked over at Marcus 'Caleb is an eves dropper' Marcus rolled his eyes and looked up at the treehouse. I walked over to the ladder and started to climb up "be careful, Caleb would kill me if I let you get hurt" I laughed and looked down at Marcus once I stood on the treehouse porch 'you obviously don't know much about me and the things I get in trouble for doing' Marcus shook his head and laughed crawling up the ladder behind me. 'This is an awfully substantial treehouse' Marcus laughed and pulled the door open. "Fully sealed, built by professionals. Mrs. O'dell use to have a fit when we would all disappear into the woods for hours so she made Mr. O'dell find someone to build this for us" I wondered around and looked at the bulletin board hanging on the wall. There were pictures of all four of them and Josh "as we got older we just used the treehouse for different things but we use to come out here all the time, I haven't been back here since Cassie..." Marcus trailed off and I understood. 'Obviously someone still looks in on the place for it to be in this good of shape' Marcus nodded and looked at me "probably Mr. O'dell" I nodded and looked over at Marcus. I pointed to a picture on the board "you were together in this picture. Everyone is smiling at the camera but you... your looking at Cassie" Marcus chuckled and nodded. 'Yes we had just gotten together.' "How old were you?" '16 Caleb and Josh and I are the same age, Cassie and Sarah were 19" I smiled and bumped my side against his. 'I'm always here if you need to talk' Marcus nodded "thank you" I smiled as I heard the ATV pulling up outside. Marcus walked out on the porch and dropped a basket with a rope tied to it. 'This is quite inventive' Caleb laughed and hurried up the ladder to help Marcus pull the basket up and patted him on the back nodding at him first. Once they started pulling the basket up Sarah and Jackson climbed up the ladder and I walked inside to make some room. We all filed in and sat around the tree house digging through the food they brought back. Caleb handed me a lemonade, a big ham sandwich and two peanut butter brownies. "Mrs. Mills makes the best food, most of its homemade in her little farm stand" Caleb explained while he handed my food over.
'Whew girl! I'd love to be able to eat like that and have your figure!' Sarah exclaimed and I chuckled awkwardly. Marcus gave Sarah a harsh look and Caleb went silent. Sarah seemed to realize she said something wrong but I knew she didn't know so I just loudly unwrapped my sandwich and started a new conversation. "So Sarah when are you guys thinking for the wedding?" Caleb's Hand landed on my leg giving it a squeeze. 'Uhh were not really sure, we've only been engaged a few months. We aren't in a hurry' Sarah said quietly and I felt bad. I glanced at Caleb and he shrugged. I took a deep breath and finished the last bite of my sandwich. "I'm sorry Sarah, they didn't mean to be so harsh to you, they were just looking out for me. To be completely honest with you I've struggled really bad the last year and a half to two years with eating disorders. This is actually the healthiest I've been in a really long time." I looked down at my lap, Caleb squeezing my leg and kissing the side of my head.

Sarah gasped and was close to tears 'I'm so sorry, I really only meant it as a compliment. I didn't..' I reached over and touched her hand "I know you didn't. That's why I told you silly, I know I just met you guys but you feel like family." Sarah reached across the food piled between us and gave me a hug.
Caleb smiled and squeezed my leg again smiling at me.
Marcus cleared his throat and looked over at me. "I uh, I was in love with Cassie. We didn't tell anyone, we were going to wait until I graduated high school because of our age difference. I've kept it to myself all this time and I still probably wouldn't tell anyone if it wasn't for Mallory." Marcus turned to me and gave me a hug "thank you for helping me, you seemed to know just what to say and do to make me feel better" I nodded and hugged him tightly before he let me go and I sank back against Caleb.
Sarah was crying silently, tears dripping down her cheeks as she reached across to hug her brother "you should have told us, we could have helped you and been there for you" Marcus hugged her back 'we all had to cope in our own way Sarah" Sarah sat back and studied Marcus. "You were so sad and down and we had no idea, we were so wrapped up in our own grief we never even thought to look deeper" Marcus shrugged 'I think in some way maybe it's all working out like it should, coming back here, having these moments together. Maybe it's what we all needed.'
We all nodded and slowly slipped back into having fun Caleb looked over at Marcus and then at me "let me guess, she was up the ladder earlier before you even knew what was happening" I rolled my eyes and Marcus laughed. 'Yes! I told her you would kill me if she got hurt but she just told me she does death dare stuff all the time' Caleb laughed watching me open my brownie "there have been many near death experiences with Mallory" we all laughed and then started cleaning up our mess, deciding it was time to head back to the house to get ready for the party.