Resolutions did not come overnight. Drew had taken me to my room, and we stayed there watching movies for as long as we could, but my stomach, rumbling louder and louder, finally sent us downstairs. The smell of lasagna and garlic bread had me running to the kitchen while a chuckling Drew followed me. Jake and Patrick were already in the kitchen with plates of food in front of them. Darren nodded towards the table. If he thought anything was wrong, he didn't ask about it. As soon as the lasagna was in front of me, I dug in, glancing at Jake as I inhaled my food. I finally caved and asked, "Do I want to know?"

"I may or may not have told them to grow up and start acting their age." Jake shrugged, and Patrick nodded in agreement. Drew gave me a look that said, 'See, I told you,' but I shook my head. "Are Mike and Josh not hungry?" "They can join us for meals again after they learn some manners. I expect meals to be peaceful," Darren said sternly across the room. I decided to let it go. I will find each of them later. This all started because I told them what was happening with the messages. As soon as that thought took root, I shook my head. No, this had all started after the accident. Relationships took work; I could not get lost in my head over this and risk messing things up. This summer has spoiled us. We were always together and easily found time for each other. Now, things were getting more complicated, and we needed to make it work; maybe starting having date nights with each other would be a good idea. Making it work turned out to be even more challenging than I thought. Josh and Mike now seemed to be avoiding me. Or maybe it was just my imagination. I had forwarded the threatening messages to Mike like he had asked, and he had just nodded before walking away. Yeah, work. I knew they needed time to forgive me for keeping things from them, just like I had needed time when they hovered; I hated the growing distance and even more having to take my own advice. Jake kept me sane, though. When I asked why he wasn't mad at me, too, his answer surprised me.noveldrama

"Because you grew up learning not to trust anyone, it was better to do things yourself so you wouldn't be disappointed when you were eventually let down."

"But I do trust you guys."

"I know you do, and so do they. But we all have something to lose now, which makes us all fiercer than we were before."

"How do you know us all so well?"

"Perks of being me," he grinned. "Not everyone can be perfect."

I threw a pillow at him before leaning over and kissing him.

Later that evening, Patrick and I were lounging in the living room watching TV when my phone rang. I looked at it, surprised because we were all home. When I saw it was Patrick's father, Liam, I gave him a questioning look as I accepted the call. He had called to personally invite me to Shannon's birthday party this weekend. I'd held my hand out, and Patrick had easily tugged me onto his lap so he could hear his father as clearly as I did.

"Not putting pressure on you, I promise, but you both missed the family dinner after your accident. I know Shannon's side of the family has really wanted to meet you after everything Shannon has been telling them about you." Guilt flooded me, and I looked at Patrick with raised eyebrows. Had he been planning on going? There were a lot of people to meet at once. Patrick's mom and dads had been overwhelming, and I had had all my guys with me. Patrick gave me a nod and a reassuring squeeze on my shoulder, and I focused back on Liam.

"I would love to be there for Shannon's birthday. We will see you this weekend."

"Yep, see you then," Liam responded before disconnecting the call.

I stared at the phone for a long time..

"It's going to be fun," Patrick whispered. "And before you let any of those negative voices in, my mom's family will love you."

The closer the weekend got, the more anxious I became. I had brought up the road trip with the other guys. Drew had become quiet, and Josh's face had turned into a scowl; Mike, however, had startled me the most. His expression had gone completely blank before he stood up and stormed out of the room without a word. I had stared after him before looking back at the guys, unsure if I should go after him or stay where I was.

"Stay," Drew murmured, kissing the top of my head. "I will go make sure he doesn't do anything insane like take all the tires off the cars and hide them."

Was that even something he would do? But Drew had left to follow him, leaving me with Patrick, Jake, and Josh. Sighing, I turned to look at them.

"I didn't think saying we were driving would be a big deal. It's only a little under two hours away..." I kind of wanted to stop at a couple of bookstores I had read about, but I didn't think that would go over well if I brought it up right now. "Baby girl," Josh said. "We all knew you would be meeting the rest of Patrick's family, and that has nothing to do with Mike being upset."

"Could you maybe take the train?" Jake asked.

"No," Josh interrupted. "She has to overcome her fear of driving, and we can't let our fears influence her."

"Fuck," Jake swore as he leaned back in the chair. We were sitting outside in the sunshine on the deck. It was cooler today but still nice outside.

"Patrick is going with you and will be there the entire time," Josh assured his twin.

"I sure as hell hope so. I'm horrible with meeting new people, and I'm always convinced they don't like me and are just being polite because they have to be."

"Hey," Patrick suddenly appeared in front of me, covering my hand in his. My family will love you. Besides, I think my dad likes you better than me," he joked.

Josh leaned across the table and took my other hand. "Emmy, if you want to drive up there, I'm not going to tell you no or anything." That was good because the last thing I needed right now was another fight.

"And I'm glad you kept us all in the loop," Jake added.

"But," Josh said. My fingers twitched in his hold, but he just linked our fingers together. "Check in with us? Make Patrick send updates or something? Have the car inspected and make sure everything is in perfect condition." My heart clenched. None of those had been unreasonable requests. I immediately agreed, and a look of relief crossed Josh's face.