For The Next Thirty Seconds ✓

a drink to calm the soul

L A N E

"So... elaborate on this 'family shit,' " Jack says to me as we walk through the considerably less crowded streets. And, for some reason, I do.

"Well, uh, my sister's engaged..." I start, but then I pause, because how am I supposed to explain this? Oh, uh, yeah, no biggie, I just hate my sister for falling in love and being happy, it's whatevs. Yeah... no.

"Isn't that a good thing? Jack asks from beside me, interrupting my flow of thoughts and causing me to sigh.

"Yeah, I guess," I huff, crossing my arms over my chest. "But, it's not for me. She's marrying my best friend, Emma. Like, my best friend since childhood. Emma's my age, by the way, eighteen, and Thalia's twenty-two... doesn't that seem like too soon? And, we used to make fun of Thalia—my sister—when we were kids, and, now, suddenly, they're getting married! And they've always been nice, but seperate, and, now, they're taking each other away from me. When they started dating, I was surprised, but I just thought they'd break up eventually and everything would go back to normal, but now they're getting married! I know it's selfish, Jack, I do, but I don't want them to be in love. Because, now they're going to have each other. My sister and my best friend will be a unit and I can't complain about one to the other, and I won't be the number one person in their lives like they are in mine."

I can't believe I just said all that. I really didn't plan to, but... it all just came spilling out before I could really even think about it. And, now Jack's really quiet beside me and probably thinks I'm crazy and bitchy and regrets his decision to walk around with me.

"Wow, that was a lot of words at once..." he says, and when I look over at him, he's running his hand across his forehead. "So... basically, your sister, Thalia, is marrying your best friend, Emma, and you're upset because both of your best friends are being taken away from you?"

He really just had to go and sum it up in one sentence, huh?

"Basically," I confirm nodding slowly. "That's not really why I'm here, though. They announced their engagement last week, and I've been trying to get over it, but then my parents, who have been happily married for over two decades, decided they're getting divorced. So, that's why I'm here."

Jack scratches the back of his neck. "So your first thought, after all of this shit happens, is 'hey, I know, let's run off to New York, a city I've never been to before, because that's a great idea'?"

"Pretty much," I nod.

Jack chuckles, and we stop to wait at a crosswalk. He looks down at me, for the first time since we got outside, I think, and he shakes his head with a small smile.

"You're somethin' else, Lane."

"I know," I say, turning my nose up to the sky, trying to fight away my smile. "I'm amazing."

"That you are," he laughs, then the little man pops up, signaling we can walk across.

"You wanna race?" he asks suddenly, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"I don't know," I frown, uncrossing my arms and shoving them in my pockets, instead. "Your legs are way longer than mine, so—"

And then Jack takes off before I get the rest of my words out. And, suddenly, I'm following him, a big grin on my face as I run as fast I can. We make it across the street quickly, but then we keep going down the block.

I somehow manage to get up next to Jack, and I shove him in the side as a desperate attempt to overtake him.

"You're gonna regret that, Elane!" he yells, but I just start laughing and try to run faster, deciding we'll stop at the building at the end of this block.