Jamie POV

I watched as Holly went through her normal nighttime routine. After all these years together I got comfort from the fact that this was something that she never changes, that she would probably never change.
“Today went well,” I said pulling the covers down on our bed.
“Yeah” she answered unenthusiastically.
“Her and Tyler got along"
“Yeah but I can’t help but feel like something big is happening” she said while applying a layer of her lavender scented moisturizer to her arms.
“Well if you didn’t think something big was happening when she called I’m really going to have to get you evaluated,” I said with a small laugh hoping to decrease her uneasiness.
“I know,” she said and that’s when I really heard the tiredness in her voice.
“Come here baby,” I said moving toward her and pulling her towards me. As soon as I had my arms wrapped around her small frame I felt it begin to shake under my touch. It wasn’t long before I could feel her warm tears through my t-shirt.
“I’m scared that it’s not something I can help,” she said through her tears.
“You can’t fix someone who doesn’t want to be fixed. I just don’t want this to hurt you okay? No matter what happens you have to promise to talk to me?” I said holding her away from me so I could look into her eyes.
“I promise,” she answered. I tried to keep it from Holly but I was terrified for her. I know how attached to Sara she is but I also remember what it was like last time Sara left.

Sara POV

I stared at the warm mug in front of me for as long as I could before I had to meet her eyes. They hadn’t changed since we were 5 years old and they could see right through me. Things had been quiet this morning without anyone but Holly and I in the house. I knew eventually this conversation would happen. I had been avoiding Holly all morning but now here we were sitting at her kitchen table and I couldn’t run anymore.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” she said, breaking the silence.
“No” I told her honestly, I couldn't go over the events again, not yet anyways.
She let out a sigh and I knew she was turning over what she was going to say next. “I understand why you might not want to talk about what happened but you called me at 3 am and told me you needed someplace to live, someplace to escape. You flew across the country and now you’re here. Sara I love you but right now you’re running from your problems and you can hide here for as long as you want, but eventually they’ll come knocking at this door too and I can’t help you if I don’t know what it is” she finally said.
I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Holly and Jamie let me move in with them and I couldn’t even tell them what I was running from.
“Hol I promise you that as soon as I’m ready to talk about it you’ll be the first to know,” I said reaching across the table to cover her hand with mine. She squeezed mine gently and I knew this conversation was over for now.
“We gotta start cooking, the guy’s practice is almost over and there’s a lot of hungry men about to walk through that door.” She said determined and got up from the table.
---
The front door opened and a rush of big muscular men came trampling through the door.
“Shoes!” Holly yelled which caused a couple of them to backtrack a couple of steps to kick of their shoes. Jamie led the pack of 8 or so men, stopping when he reached Holly to give her a kiss.
“Want to make the introduction babe?” He asked.
“Sara you’ve met Ty and Jordie before” she said while pointing to the two men who were standing to the side. “well this is Antoine, Kari, Rich, Cody and Trevor” she said point to each guy individually. They all waved back and responded with hellos. “Everyone this is Sara” she said pointing to me “now that the awkward is over lets get to eating” she said which earned her some cheers.
Diner passed slower then I wanted. I played with the little pill in my pocket, flipping it between my fingers and counting down the minutes until I would feel it on my tongue. I needed to keep occupied, I needed to keep distracted so when Holly got up to start the dishes I jumped up to take the job from her.
I had just put the last plate into the dishwasher when I caught a glimpse of Holly laughing with the guys at the table. They were like a family here. Back home it had always been Holly and me against the world. We were always looking for our place in the world and I could see now that she had found it. In this crazy testosterone filled world she had found her mothering spot. I watched as Jamie had his hand over the back of her chair, his fingers playing with the tips of her hair. The others listen when she spoke and I had no doubt they would all come to her aid without her having to ask. I longed to find my place, alongside her or in my own world.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Tyler come up beside me.
“What are you thinking about?” he said, breaking my trance.
“Nothing” I answered and put the dishes I was holding in the sink. He let it drop but I could feel that he wasn’t satisfied with my answer.
“You gotta open up to someone eventually” he said before grabbing a fruit platter off the counter and heading back to the table. I couldn’t open up though, not yet.

Notes

Posted this one a little early because I won't be able to post tomorrow and probably Friday. I know it's going a little slow but it's going to start rolling soon!