Maddie

June 1, 2023

"Hm," I wondered aloud as I finished changing my daughter's clothes and heard a knock on the door. "I didn't invite anybody over, did I?"

I picked up my daughter from the changing table and carried her with me to the door. I expected one of three people: Nick, an army person, or a family member of Matt's. It was none of the above.

"Hi," Jason said as I swung the door open. I raised an eyebrow because this was kind of random. I know Jason and I made a deal to live together, but that wasn't set to take place anytime soon. Plus, Jason and I don't talk that much frankly.

"Hi" I replied, trying to not sound confused or surprised. "What brings you here today Jason?"

"I don't even know" Jason groaned, "just wanted to talk I guess." I smiled sheepishly, "How are you?" I asked. Jason shrugged. "Pretty okay," he said, "not too bad but could be better. And you?"

"Good, if I could even call it that" I began. "I'm trying my best, I suppose." Jason stepped inside, "I understand," he said. "Though I know you're a lot closer to Matt than I was, I still believe we share grief." I nodded, "you knew him before I did" I stated, "so honestly, the pain on either end isn't measurable. Sure I was his girlfriend, but you were one of his best friends." Jason chuckled.

"Remember the holiday carol we had to do in eighth grade?" Jason asked, unlocking a memory. "Matt liked you but we weren't sure about your feelings towards him. We were egging him to ask you out but he was scared shitless." I laughed, "Nick ended up ratting him out to me that day as well" I remembered aloud. "Then Brynn basically pushed us to go out."

"Oh yeah!" Jason said, "I remember that! Brynn outed Matt during the 10-minute break we had after we sang the second carol. You were blushing and smiling and shit, so Brynn assumed you liked Matt too and told everybody." I shook my head with a smile, "that girl has been something all her life."

"How did you even think to be with her?" I asked Jason after. "I know you explained already, but I can't even process that. Like, out of all people, why Brynn?" Jason took baby Aubrey out of my hands as he thought for a moment. "I wish I could say."

"I don't know" Jason continued, "and I feel like shit because she doesn't deserve me not wanting anything to do with her after putting her in that position. But the thing is, I would've never in a million years liked Brynn. I was confused and disgusted with myself after the fact.

"Brynn isn't ugly Jason" I replied, to which Jason nodded. "I know," he said, "but like, she just isn't what I'd ever want in a girl. I don't do that hoe shit, I don't want to and me being in college doesn't change that mindset. I was out of it." I nodded, then resorted to changing the topic.

"Remember when Nick got his braces off freshman year, and the first thing he did was fight Kaiser?" Jason's face scrunched up in a huge smile as he remembered that incident. "Funniest shit ever" he replied, "Kaiser didn't even wanna fight anymore at that point too. Nick practically hunted him down."

"In Nick's defense, Kaiser was only trying to 'fight' him previously because he knew Nick didn't wanna fight with braces on. Once Nick made it known that the train tracks were coming off soon, Kaiser backed out" I replied. Jason tilted his head, "that's true."

"And Nick beat his ass so bad that Kaiser switched schools. Hope he learned a thing or two about talking shit." I fixed my shirt strap, "Matt helped Kaiser that day. If he hadn't pulled Nick off of him, Kaiser could've been injured real bad."

"Nah, for real" Jason said, "that shit was crazy. Everybody thought Nick was demon-possessed. The school made him take a breathalyzer test and all."

"I hope he's holding up okay," I said, referring to my cousin. "He doesn't talk much about romance anymore. I don't like him being a school slut."

"He hasn't done much since the second semester started, other than fucking Nova I think. We've all been way too busy to think about all of that." I scoffed, "not you, daddy-to-be." Jason smiled.

"Well, at least I get to learn this parenting shit from the best," he said, looking down at me. I smiled, but we didn't say anything. It was just silence for a moment. It felt like the longest moment ever.

In the blink of an eye, the literal blink of an eye, Jason's lips met with mine. Jason had still been holding my daughter with his left arm in the midst of all of this. His right arm rested on my shoulder as my neck and head had been fixed upwards to accommodate to his height. This felt so wrong given that Matt and Jason were really good friends, but also right. I mean, we were bonding over Matt, and being teen parents, and were about to bring our families together.

"I'm sorry," Jason said after we kissed, "I don't know why I did that. I shouldn't have."

"No," I said, gripping Jason's free arm. "You should've. I'm really glad you did."

We kissed again.

Nova

Aubrey laid on my stomach as I looked up into the orange-pinkish-purple swirled sky. We had been alone on a small piece of land, celebrating one hectic year of marriage. I had used Nick's senior year tickets that I lost but then restored after Nick made a phone call, to get here.

"You know, the sky looks real pretty right now," Aubrey said, almost as if she could read my mind. "But even then, it'll never be as pretty as you."

I smiled, though Aubrey couldn't see that. My hand fell to her face and moved up to her scalp to caress her hair. "Says you" I finally replied, "you are beautiful. What did I do to have gotten so lucky?"

"I can't believe it's been a whole year already" Aubrey voiced, somewhat changing the topic. I still remember how different life was just 365 days ago. I mean, my hair was still blonde, yours was short-"

"Matt was alive," I said, not even realizing I said it.

"Yeah" Aubrey replied softly. "Maddie was still pregnant with baby Aubrey. Everything seemed to be going great for everybody." I scoffed, "not Nick."

Aubrey damn near snorted. "You're right," she said, "I totally forgot about that little fit he threw for several days. It was quite amusing actually."

"Now it is," I replied. "In the moment of it happening, it was aggravating as hell."

"Everything in life is aggravating once in a while. That doesn't mean that it's not still a positive in your life" Aubrey voiced. "I'm thankful for Nick, believe it or not. He pissed me off and broke my heart at some point, but I've grown past it. Beyond that, he's a good friend and an even better brother."

"I know," I agreed. "I am so proud of him. He actually went through a lot. I can't imagine how hard it must've been to be the one to have to mend your broken family. And finding out you have a brother at 19 years old is insane." Aubrey nodded, which I couldn't see but I could feel because she was laying on me. "Insane isn't even the word."

"I guess the only one who didn't fight demons this year was Jason," Aubrey said. "He kind of just, watched everybody else struggle."

"Eh," I said in response, "Naya did dump him over the Lewis accusation shit, and I know he really, really liked her. That was evident given the fact that he resorted to fucking Brynn of all people after."

"You've gotta point," Aubrey said, "and I guess even if that Naya thing didn't happen, he had to put everybody else's broken pieces back together. That's a really hard thing to do when you're not a therapist."

"Damn," I said, thinking of therapists and the whole crazy stint with Rico's sister. "Rico's sister really took the place of a dead woman at a therapy center and nobody noticed." Aubrey giggled, "now that shit was crazy," she said, "like, whoever even let that happen needed to be fired."

"You know" I began as a small wave of water came towards Aubrey and me, "I honestly thought that Norwood's drama would be the last of that drama stuff for us." Aubrey's head moved upwards.

"Really?"

"Yeah" I responded. "I mean, I know no marriage or even friendship is perfect, but this year was a shit load. I'm surprised that we all managed to still be cool with one another. You would've thought that the universe was trying to desperately break us apart."

"True" Aubrey agreed, "but some issues were self-inflicted, and I'm sure you know what I mean. Like Lewis and May, for example, shouldn't have happened. Jason and Brynn-"

"Me and Nick."

"For your sake, I was avoiding that," Aubrey said. "But yeah, that too. Some things we couldn't control, like Nick finding out Rico was his brother and Matt dying, but many things we were at fault with."

"All I know, is I don't wanna go through a year like this ever again" I sighed. I could feel Aubrey nodding. "Me too love," she said, "me too."

"But hey," Aubrey said, sitting up and moving around until she was straddled over me, "this is about us. We're vacationing! We have any of the other 364 days in the year to talk about how shitty life was to us. For now, let's try to have fun."

I smiled as I grasped Aubrey's midsection and pulled her down on me. "I love you" I whispered as I kissed Aubrey. She let out a seductive sigh, music to my ears. "I love you too, babe. Thank you for this."

Here I was: nineteen, rich, a college dropout, and enjoying a two-week vacation on a private piece of land with my soulmate. 365 days ago, I would've never seen this coming. I never imagined that I would be capable of living a life as complicated, though beautiful, as this. It feels as though the hardships leading up to now, between my family issues throughout the years, learning to love myself, and understanding what it truly takes to be a good person and friend, were worth it.

I am so thankful for my friends. I am so thankful that my father came back. I am so thankful that I survived what could've been a fatal situation. And last but not least, I am most especially thankful for...

Becoming Mrs. Bryant.