Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Eight

On 6/12/18 I changed the lengths of all the chapters to be more effective in interest and reading. If you don't know where you left off, message me where you were in the storyline and I will let you know where to start back off at. Sorry for the inconvenience:)

***

I drove down the busy road, watching the world pass by in the silence of the empty car. It was late evening and I was on my way to meet Aria, Holden, and Marla at a bakery in town. Jaxon was supposed to come to, but he was picked up by Kason hours before to go to work. My eyes repeatedly darted from the road ahead of me to my rearview mirrors, constantly checking to see if anyone was following me. It had become a daily habit. I was constantly paranoid. My life is a deadly version of hide and seek.

I pulled up to a bakery coffee shop and wondered if I was at the right place. The place was small and simple. The exterior was beige, along with the interior from what I could see through the windows. My eyes connected with a set of twins, each with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes. Marla and Holden were sitting at a booth in the window.

Walking inside, I went up to the front counter to order a hot chocolate. As each day passed by, it seemed to be getting colder and colder. "What can I get you?" a boy behind the cashier asked me. He seemed to be around my age, maybe a little older. His hair was black as night and his green eyes were striking. His smile seemed genuine and he looked to be an optimistic person.

"I'd like a small hot chocolate, please," I told him.

He punched a few things on the screen in front of him. "It's on the house," he said as I dug through my wallet for some cash.

"No, no, I'll pay for it."

He shook his head and rejected the cash I held out. "It's paid for."

Sighing, I nodded and slipped my money back in my wallet. "Thank you."

He grinned softly. "You're welcome. I'll bring it to you once it's ready."

I nodded and turned around to go to my friends. Sliding into the empty side of the booth, Marla and Holden greeted me. "You need some hot chocolate for this cold weather," Marla mentioned, holding up her cup.

I nodded. "I already ordered one."

At that time, a bell rang as Aria walked through the front door with an annoyed expression and a kid trailing behind her. The boy looked to be around ten and shared the strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes as the teenage girl in front of him. As his small eyes found Holden, he visibly lit up in excitement and ran toward him. Holden hugged him and patted his head. "Lydia, this is Lucas," Aria introduced us. "And Lucas, this is Lydia."

He waved kindly before turning to his sister. "Aria, I want a cookie and a hot chocolate."

"Come on, Little Dude, I'll pay for it," Holden offered before Aria could speak. The boy nodded excitedly and they moved across the room to the counter.

"Sorry, but I didn't have a choice but to bring him with me," Aria explained, sliding in the booth beside me.

"Bring him anytime you need to," Marla said. "We don't mind having him around."

Before Aria could respond, the cute cashier brought me my hot chocolate. With a bright smile, he also handed me a napkin. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he said, glancing down to the napkin he handed me. I followed his gaze and spotted what I assumed was his phone number. When I looked back up at him, he was already across the room, but glancing at me over his shoulder.

"He is adorable!" Aria shrieked, making me look away from him.

"You should definitely call him," Marla added.

I shook my head, already knowing very well that I wasn't going to. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now," I said. "I want to at least get settled here first."

"I could easily set you up with any guy you want," Aria told me as I took a drink of my hot chocolate. "You're cute. Any guy would happily agree to go out with you."

"We're lucky my brother isn't here," I said. "He's scared off all my past boyfriends." Him and well, someone else.

"Who do we know that is single?" Maria looked at Aria, both of whom were completely ignoring my replies.

"Kason is," Holden said, walking up. Lucas scooted in the booth beside his sister and Holden slid in beside his twin.

Marla shook her head. "We all know that Kason doesn't give girls his time of day."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Has Kason never had a girlfriend?"

"He's had a few," Holden explained. "But none of them ever lasted long at all."

"Why not?"

They shrugged. "He says that he hasn't met the one girl who deserves his time," Aria explained. "Every time I've talked to him about it, he says he's waiting for a special girl to actually catch his eye. Someone who is unique."

"Do you tend to talk to him about his love life often?" I asked her confused.

She smiled and shook her head. "I grew up with Kason. We've known each other basically since birth so we've always been close." I nodded.

"Will Kason and Jaxon be joining us after work?"

Holden shrugged. "They have weird shifts," he replied. "They never know how long they will be working." I found that strange considering the fact that they worked at a restaurant. They should be getting their shifts and schedules every week.

"We should take a trip over Christmas Break," Aria suggested after a while. "It would be so much fun."

"We can't be away over Christmas break," Holden told her. "Our parents would kill us." Marla nodded in agreement.

"Then how about we just take a weekend trip?" Aria said. "We could go camping or skiing or something."

Holden and Marla said that it was a good idea. I could admit that it did sound fun, but I was trying to stick to the whole "don't get attached to them" motto.

"Lydia, I know you don't know us very well, so if you aren't too keen on going, we wouldn't blame you," Aria said to me.

I grinned. "No, I'll go. It sounds like a blast." I said that, very well knowing that Jaxon would get onto me if I sat out on a chance of being social. Jaxon wanted to start enjoying these new lives.