You Are Ours

Chapter 8

N I C H O L A S

TONIGHT WAS Noah and Tori's engagement party. To say it was well overdue was the understatement of the century, but Jackson sure knew how to keep his new Step-Dad on his toes.

"Wow, Step-Dad," I think and chuckle to myself.

Noah had the ring our Grandmother gave him last Christmas burning a hole in his pocket for at least five months before he found the perfect time to pop the question. Though, the last month was waiting for Jackson to make a decision if he accepted Noah's proposal to his Mom or not, but we all knew he was leaving him hanging as long as possible to make him suffer. I would've done the same to be fair.
   He had wanted to marry Tori last November, but was waiting for the right time to do it. When our Grandmother gave him her ring over Christmas break he knew he would have to think of doing it soon. Noah was crazy about Tori, from the moment they met you could tell they liked each other. That embarrassing dinner six years ago, when they first met was the first of many other embarrassing moments together. I was happy Noah finally found his one true love, but that couldn't be said for myself. The girl I wanted, the girl I loved was off limits.

She was always off limits.

"It feels weird."

"What does?" I say, snapping out of my trance to look at Nat. He walks into the kitchen rolling up his blue shirt sleeves to his elbows, grabbing the keys to the car.

"Noah getting married, it feels weird - does it feel weird?"

I chuckle at him, pulling on my black suit jacket. "Nah man. They've dated for long enough, I say it's about damn time."

"Wish Ryan was here to celebrate with us tonight. It's not right her missing her own sisters engagement party," he says staring off into the distance.

"I guess she still doesn't want to come home yet."

We hadn't seen Ryan in two years. Two very long years. Sure we had spoken to her, over the phone weekly, messages almost everyday, but we did really miss seeing her in person. We never knew the reason why she never came home after she left for New York, but me and Nat guessed it was all the bad memories she has from high school. It couldn't of been anything else.
   We came close to seeing her last year, planned to make a trip to New York to see her over the summer when we had some quiet time at work, but her Mom told us they were all travelling back home to England over summer vacation so we never got a chance to see her. We were hopeful she'd come back home this summer, unfortunately, when Nathan casually asked Noah if he heard anything last month - whether she was staying there or coming home, he said 'no' and it meant another summer without her again. We did miss her, A LOT, but she was a college student, an adult discovering the world while we were stuck in California, building houses, apartments, coffee shops, nightclubs.

"You driving or am I?" Nat asks me, dangling the keys in my face. I hadn't noticed I zoned out again, but I missed Ryan and Nathan was right - it was weird celebrating their engagement without her.

"I'll drive, we need to get Samantha anyway," I tell him. He rolls his eyes, pushing a curse word into the silent kitchen - aimed at me because of my choice of date, but she was going to be a distraction. "What?" I shrug.

"Samantha? Didn't we like..." he waves his arm at me, like he is trying to think of something nice to say, but even I know it's impossible when it comes to Samantha, "dump her?" He finally sighs.

"Yeah... twice."

"And she's coming because....?"

"Because I don't want Aunt Hilda trying to set me up again with her friends friend, daughters, cousin or what ever," I moan.