CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Darling, I'm home!" Ronald called out to the house as he entered the front door, a small laugh following straight after.

Reagan was sat on her living room, putting the flowers she's picked earlier that day into sections and Daniel was sat beside her, watching in fascination. Reagan would usually stand up from her spot and greet her father with a hug on his way in but her hands were full and he was bound to pass by the living room anyways so she thought she'd greet him then.

Daniel must've thought that she didn't hear Ronald's grand entrance because he nudged her shoulder, saying, "I think your dad was referring to you."

She paused and laughed, "No he wasn't, he was referring to our dog."

Only seconds later, River came bouncing out off Ronald's room and jumped up to greet his owner, pawing at Ronald's pants to grab his attention. It wasn't even as if he needed to, Ronald was already staring down at the dog fondly as it made its way to him.

Reagan watched with a soft smile as her father petted River, a mixed breed of a Basset Hound and a Collie who had soft brown fur and three legs.

She fell in love with him the day she found him limping by the river two years ago. He looked like he was trying to give himself a bath in the water but he was small and handicapped and Reagan knew that despite her mother's allergies, she was going to keep River and make him a part of their family.

River was older now. He was slower and grumpier and less energetic but through the years, he didn't love Ronald any less than the moment they met and additionally, he didn't lose his charm. Everyone who saw River fell in love with him in an instant.

Daniel wasn't immune to it. The second he saw River wagging his short tail, he straightened up in his seat and watched as the dog groveled for Ronald's attention. Daniel adoringly looked at River, then at Reagan to inform her of his adoration for River, than back at the dog for good measure.

"Hiya, short stick," Ronald greeted, pressing a kiss to Reagan's forehead. He must've noticed Daniel's wide eyes watching every single one of River's breaths because he laughed and nudged the dog towards where they sat in front of the flowers, "Join in on 'em. boy."

But River didn't stay. He immediately followed Ronald, hot on his heels, as he walked to the other room and Reagan couldn't help her laughter at the sight of Daniel visibly deflating.

"Don't take it personally," She tried to comfort him, "He doesn't like anyone other than dad."

Daniel still looked sad as he picked up a flower and picked off some leaves at the lower parts of the stem like Reagan asked him to.

"Not even you?"

"No," She snorted, "Not even me. Second to dad but quite a far distance to catch up to."

"How come?" Daniel chuckled.

"I dunno," She shrugged, playing with the petals of a particularly beautiful purple Iris, "I think it's because dad's always home. Most people only come here to leave."

She didn't have to look at Daniel to know that he stopped playing with the flower to look at her with concern. And she hated it. She hated having to ruin whatever lining of fun she's had with the group. She knew she just ruined whatever friendship she had a chance with Jack, she didn't want Daniel thinking she was a drama queen as well.

"Reagan—" He started to say but she cut her off.

"It's fine, it's just—It starts to hurt after a couple of times. He's probably just saving himself the trouble by not getting too attached to anyone, you know?"

She knew she was unable to stop her voice from faltering and she hated herself for it. She hated herself more because she was aware that at the back of her mind, she was thinking about Jack.

It was ridiculous because she's known him for a little bit over a day and a half and she wasn't willing to let herself be pathetic enough to be as hung up on him as she already was.

Daniel must've recognized this because without anyone mentioning Jack's name, Reagan knew they were referring to the same person when Daniel placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, saying, "He's a good person, Ray. And I say this as his best friend in the entire world, you need to guard yourself. Because I love him with all my heart but I need you to understand that you might just be too good for him."

She tried to smile. She tried to smile because of the nickname Daniel just gave her and she tried to smile to assure him that she understood and that she wasn't as affected by Jack as Daniel assumed.

But she couldn't. She let out a long sigh and let herself lean onto Daniel's shoulder.

"Haven't known you all that long, Daniel," She mumbled, "But you sound like the best friend everyone wishes they had."

"Damn straight," He chuckled and patted her on the back twice, afterwards settling his arms around her shoulders. "I'll be your friend if you'll have me."

"You fool," She shoved him lightly, "You don't have to ask."

They didn't say anything else after that. They continued to group the flowers into sections in comfortable silence, Daniel only speaking when he declared which flowers he wanted to keep once they were pressed—he went to the length of pressing them with a separate book and she didn't comment on it, just laughed at him.

They didn't stand up until Greg knocked on the living room wall.

"Dinner time, kiddos," He called out and just as they were about to stand up, he tacked on, "Any of you seen Jack anywhere?"

"I haven't, actually," Daniel answered with furrowed brows, "Isn't he with Zach?"

"No, Zach's already in the kitchen. Been there all night actually."

"Are all of them already there?" Daniel inquired and Reagan could hear his concern, bright and clear.

"Yeah, it's only Jack who—" Greg started to say but was interrupted by the sound of the front, screen door banging open and Jack's heavy footsteps entering the room only a few seconds after.

"Don't worry about it," He mumbled lowly, hardly audible if Reagan wasn't paying attention, but it just so happened Jack was the only thing she was paying attention to.

He pushed his way to the kitchen, dodging Greg, and the three of them left in the living room shared the same look of confusion and worry.

When Reagan entered the kitchen, Daniel trailing behind him, her eyes somehow instantly fell on Jack. But his eyes were firmly trained onto the kitchen table, Jonah and Corbyn either side of where he sat.

Heart heavy, she took her seat between Ronald and Daniel, said grace, and ate dinner quietly.

Jack didn't look at her once and she hated herself for how badly she let her chest hurt.

+

It was almost 2:00 in the morning and Reagan couldn't sleep. Her breathing was labored, her body was restless, and her head was slightly pounding but she refused to believe it was because she was thinking of Jack.

On the few moments of weakness though, when she admitted it to herself, she felt her breath catch up in her throat so she continued denying.

By the time the night was fully dark and she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep, she pushed herself off her bed and decided to at least take a breath of fresh air.

So it was nearly 2:00 am when Reagan filled up a bottle of water and climbed up their water tank to sit on their roof. Parts of it was mossy and gross but Reagan liked it here better than in her stuffy room.

The ventilation was better and though dark, the view was captivating. But the pounding in her head didn't stop, it was still thrumming quietly as she tried to control her breaths.

That was until she heard a distinct noise—too deliberate to be a sound coming from one of the many insects surround their house, and before she even saw the source of it, she already had an idea what she was hearing. That was the only time she could admit to herself that her heart was racing.

She peered over the rain gutter of her roof and saw Jack standing there, hoodie on and arms crossed, whistling.

"Wallace?" He called out when he saw her silhouette and she hoped with all her might that he wouldn't see how just the sound of his voice could spark a frenzy in her chest.

"Avery?"

"Well, goddamn," He laughed out loud, "Is this a thing of yours? Getting yourself in the most dangerous places in Oregon just for the kick of it?"

Reagan knew he was referring to how they first found her, sitting on the cliffside with her feet dangling off the edge. But she was thinking of how she sat in front of the waterfalls, Jack to her right, accompanied by his guitar and his dry humor and his stupidly dopey smile.

Then she looks at Jack now—he was sleepy, rumpled, and illuminated by the soft, artificial glow of the lamplight outside their house, and he was breathtaking.

"Maybe I do," She whispered, mostly to herself, her realization hanging heavy in her chest. She knew she'd hate herself more than she already did for what she was about to say next, but it wasn't like she could've stopped herself when she nodded at him. "Come up here, you idiot."

i know when i reread this entire thing i'm gonna be yelling at myself bc i don't know if they're moving too fast or they're moving too slow and

i cry

ALSO I KNOW I YELL ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE AND APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU BUT I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER STOP. WRITING THIS HAS BROUGHT ME SO MUCH JOY AND A BIG PART OF THAT IS HOW SUPPORTIVE THIS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN

thank you to everyone who reads this and enjoys this story :'( it means lots and lots to me <3

i'll find time to write out the next chapters but until then i'm sorry i don't have a schedule life's just pretty busy atm

againt thank you, i love you, and the next chapter will hopefully be not as shitty as this one. have a great day! <3