The Lead Guitarist //Reggie Peters

Chapter 10: Mac-n-Cheese

Ash's POV*

"Hey, Dad. What'cha working on?" Julie asked Ray as the two of us walked into the living room, seeing him at the desk with his laptop.

"Well, now that the house is on the market, we need to add some photos to the website. Help me pick some good ones." he said to us, motioning for us to come over. "Got this batch right here." he continued, scrolling through some pictures as Julie and I walked over to him.

"These are really nice." I commented as he scrolled from pictures of the living room to the kitchen to the dining room.

"Yea?" he asked.

"Yea." Julie and I both said at the same time.

"Thanks." Ray responded as he went to the pictures he took in the studio. "These didn't turn out, though. The ones from the studio." Ray then said as he showed us the pictures; the first one looked fine, but the second one looked darker with three glowing orbs in front of the piano. "It's like...little lights and dots all over the place. Kinda looks like, orbs, right?" Ray then explained to us as Julie and I looked at each other, both of us probably thinking the same thing.

"Orbs?" Carlos then questioned, sitting up from his spot on the couch. "I've seen some freaky stuff about those on YouTube. People say they're ghosts." Carlos told us as Julie and I both looked at him, definitely thinking the same thing now; Ray probably took a picture of Luke, Reggie, and Alex. "Do you think that's Mom and she made some friends? Maybe Mom and Ash's parents?" Carlos then asked Ray as he chuckled. 

"That's a nice thought, but there are no such things as ghosts." Ray told Carlos as I looked at Carlos again.

"I think you've spent too much time on the internet, Carlos." I said to him as I leaned up on the back of the couch.

"Yea, you can just trash those." Julie then said to Ray as he nodded, deleting the photos.

"So trash, trash, trash." Ray muttered, trashing all the photos he took from the studio.

"Um, Dad?" Julie then said.

"Yea?" he responded, looking at her.

"I was thinking, if we're just moving cause of me, and you and Carlos and Ash wanna stay, I'm fine with that." Julie then told her dad.

"I vote we stay!" Carlos and I exclaimed at the same time as Carlos raised his hand.

"No! Now she's doing it with me!" Carlos then exclaimed as Julie and I both let out a laugh. "I also don't wanna have to clean under my bed." Carlos added, putting his hand back down.

"Noted." Ray told Carlos before looking at Julie. "What made you have second thoughts?" Ray then asked her.

"I don't know. I guess a combination of things. Ash being one of those things. I know that Tia says that moving is moving on, but I don't think that's the answer." she then shortly explained to him as he chuckled lightly.

"I totally agree with you on that." Ray said to her as he stood up. "I mean, I think...I think moving on has to come from the inside." he continued as Julie and I both nodded. "And one of us took a huge step this morning." he added as he looked at Julie again.

"All our memories of Mom are here, and we should be too." Julie then said as she put her hands on mine and Carlos' shoulders.

"Can we stay?" I then asked Ray as Julie and Carlos also looked at him.

"All votes are in." Ray then said to us, smiling. "Yes! Yes. Yes! Thank you!" he then exclaimed, laughing as the four of us hugged. "Mm! Big tight group hug." Ray then said as we all laughed again. "Somebody help me find my phone. I need to call the real estate agent." he said as the group hug ended.