After two days of trying to sort myself out, I decided it was finally time to get back up again. I had to open up the cafe again and move on. Erin and I would work out, I knew we would. All I had to do was be patient and hope that he'd come to me soon so we could go back to the way we were. I worried that if I took things into my own hands, he'd just push me away. Erin was stubborn. If he didn't want to listen to me, he wouldn't listen to me. So, I was stuck waiting. It sucked, but what else could I do?

The jingle of the bell over the door brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up from my position at the counter to see a familiar smiling face. Joshua walked over, offering a wave on his way over. "Good morning, Wren," he greeted casually.

"Good morning. Do you want the usual table?"

Joshua nodded his head, leaning his arms on the counter to lean against it. He'd been coming in for a few days now. We'd built up a routine: he would always ask for a table close to a window, right next to the counter. He said it offered the best view. Then, he'd ask for a blueberry scone and a coffee.

"How has your morning been?" He asked me, trying to start a short conversation.

He'd been trying to do that since he told me he was staying in the pack for a bit. He was still a really weird guy, but fun to be around. It was nice to have someone around during work. Joshua usually stayed for a few hours. I always wondered why. He was supposed to be with his mate, working things out, not at a cafe chatting it up. When I'd asked him about it, he just smiled and said that he liked to start his morning off like this. Once he started he couldn't stop, whatever that meant.

"It's been okay. And yours?"

"Good. Mark keeps calling me to see how I'm doing," Joshua said with a small laugh.

I shook my head. "He's just worried. You shouldn't be here too long, not when you have responsibilities back home," I reminded him.

He glanced down for a moment before replying with a simple, "Yeah, I know."

"Well, how's it going with your mate anyway?" I asked him, trying to steer the conversation.

"It's going okay, I guess. We're still talking things out." He took a moment to run his hand through his hair. "I just wonder how long this will take."

"Well, you guys just recently met, right? I'm sure you guys just go at a slower pace than other couples. It'll be fine, so long as you're actually working stuff out."

He nodded. "Well, I'm gonna' go sit down," he said, jerking his thumb over at his usual spot.

I nodded my head, watching him go before turning back to the front. Farah came by a minute later to take his order. As I busied myself with work, I looked up when the bell rang. "Oh, hey, Marie."

Marie, Ryder's mate, smiled at me, walking over. "Hey."

"Were you looking to sit down?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I actually wanted to talk to you. Do you have a moment?"

"Sure."

She smiled, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "So, Ryder and I were planning on taking a small trip to the town nearby, right by Whitewater, did you want to maybe come along? Ryder said he wanted to get the whole group together and have some fun. Aaron already agreed to come."

I could tell by her face at the end that she'd wanted some time with her mate, just the two of them, but she also wanted Ryder to have fun; the guy could be a bit dense at times and we both understood that. Still, a trip sounded nice, and I almost agreed to it, when I realized one small detail. "Wait, is Erin...?"

"Oh. Ryder said he'd ask him today, but I don't know." She bit her lip for a moment, obviously wanting to say something. After a moment of hesitance, she finally spoke up again, "Maybe this will be a good time for you both to talk stuff out. I don't know exactly what happened, but maybe a trip away from the pack could do you two some good."

"I don't know, Marie. He was pretty serious about this break. I want to talk about it but I don't even know if he wants to see me right now," I admitted, glancing down.

She sighed, before leaning forward. "Okay, I'm not supposed to be telling you this since Erin told us not to say anything to you, but I think you of all people need to know. Erin's... not doing so okay right now. He totally misses you. Heck, he keeps asking about you whenever we run into him. I think that if you push him enough, he'll stop being a blockhead and talk."

Erin wasn't doing good? Then why in the world did he propose that we take a break? It was times like these that I wish I could look into his head, or at least understand his emotions better, but I didn't have that kind of bond with him yet. But, if Erin wasn't as okay as I thought he was, then maybe we can talk. It's already been almost a week since we last saw each other. Maybe he was just as desperate as I was.

With a small smile, I said to Marie, "Okay, yeah, I'll come along. When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. We're going to set up a campsite, so pack for a little roughing it."

"Alright, I'll meet you guys in front of the packhouse then."

Marie smiled. "Awesome. See you later, Wren."

After that, she left, and I turned to check on the back for a moment when I heard someone come up to the side of the counter. I glanced over and saw Joshua standing there. "Oh, hey. Is something up?"

"I heard about the trip. Camping, right?"

I would've found this creepy and a little rude that he overheard the conversation, but he was within earshot and at that point, I'd gotten used to his weird little quirks. "Yeah, camping near your pack. Why?"

"Is there any way I could maybe come with you? Not for the entire trip if you don't want me to intrude, but it would be great to drop by and see how everything is at Whitewater."

"Oh, uh, I don't see why you can't drive up with us, but what about your mate situation?"

"That won't be a problem," he quickly answered, offering a smile at the end.

.

.

.

The next morning, I drove to the packhouse, dressed in some jeans, a shirt, and a jacket, a bag in the passenger seat packed with stuff I'd need for the trip. My stomach felt a bit twisted as I thought about seeing Erin again after so long. I hoped we didn't make everyone else awkward. When I drove up, I got out, leaning against the car as I waited for the others to come out. The first to come out was Ryder and Marie, both carrying bags. "Wren!" Ryder, called, coming over to greet me.

"Good morning," I answered back with a smile. "So, how are we going to drive up?"

"Marie, Erin, and I are going to ride in Marie's car. You, Joshua, and Aaron can ride together if you guys would like," Ryder answered.

So Joshua told them about him tagging along. I mean, it would've been weird if he didn't say anything, but still. I shrugged, feeling a bit of relief that I wouldn't have to sit in a car with Erin. "I can take Joshua and Aaron in my car since it's right here."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryder agreed, walking off to help Marie.

Next, Joshua came out with a bag of his own, Aaron following closely behind him. Joshua walked over to me, a smile on his face. "Good morning, Wren," he greeted, dropping his bag at his feet.

"Good morning. Want the usual table?" I joked lightly, to which he laughed.

"Of course. Where's my order then?"

I laughed along, offering him a mock-apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but we ran out of blueberry scones. You'll have to come by in a bit."

"Well, that's a bummer. No matter, I'll take the table anyway."

I shook my head at our antics, glancing behind him for a moment. I immediately went still when I saw Erin walk out of the packhouse with his bag, looking as handsome as ever. There was a bit of a stubble that had begun to grow in on his face and as he walked closer to the group, I could make out the slight bags under his eyes. I gulped, feeling horrible. Did our break really do that to him? I itched to go over and hug him, and Joshua seemed to notice my sudden change in demeanor. He glanced behind him and his mouth opened in an 'oh' shape as looked back at me. "Hey, it's going to be okay," he said softly.

I smiled, grateful for his encouragement. "Yeah, thanks. Um, you should get your bag into my trunk. I'm going to take you and Aaron with me in my car."

He grinned, nodding his head as he walked off to the side to do just that. I caught sight of Aaron coming over, and I waved to him. He offered me a nod and a wave back before he went over to where Joshua was. "Oh, let me help you with that," I heard Joshua say, and I looked back to see him offering to take Aaron's bag.

"Thanks, but I can put it away myself," he answered back, reaching past Joshua to dump his bag.

I frowned for a moment as I saw them, but quickly shook my head. Aaron tended to be a bit grumpy like that in the morning... or basically any other time. I turned my head back and my heart stopped for a split second when I saw Erin staring right at me. I quickly averted my eyes, turning to get back into my car. Now that I saw him, I was scared to talk to him. What if he still wasn't ready? What if we remained awkward like this? There were so many worries passing through my head and I tried to shake them out, gripping the steering wheel to ground myself in reality. The sound of the door opening made me turn to watch as Joshua got into the passenger seat. I heard Aaron get in the back as I started the car.

"Ready?" I asked them, to which they both nodded.

I waited for Marie to drive ahead so I could follow her, in the meanwhile putting on some music to have a little background noise. I wasn't sure if we would all start talking soon, or if they wanted to sleep a bit more - which I had a feeling Aaron might want to do - so I kept the music quiet. The drive would be a few hours and hopefully, by the time we got to the campsite, I'd be ready to talk to Erin.

~~~

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