"How did everyone's day go?" I ask, leaning over the pan as the vegetable sizzle in the oil. I was excited to get home after my first day of training. Today had been a major success for me, I'd gotten the job at the grocery store just around the corner from our house. Plus I was lucky enough to get a discount on groceries. I couldn't wait to tell the rest of the crew.

I had texted Staton as soon as I found out of course. There was no way I was keeping something like this away from him for more than a few seconds. He was stoked to hear I had gotten a job, and very quickly gave me the same great news. The tire shop had hired him, and he had a wonderful first day learning about all the different things there were to know in a tire shop.

He would be mentoring for the next few weeks as he got better and more comfortable with the tools and such. That's two out of five with jobs, and honestly, I couldn't believe that we had gotten them so quickly. I was eager to hear how the day went for the rest of the group.

Julia was in the dining room, setting the table, as Breygan and Staton were standing outside drinking a beer and grilling some chicken. Aria was on her phone, playing some sort of puzzle game. She was the last one to get home, and she hadn't really been in a good mood since.

Once the vegetables were fully cooked I set them to the side and started working on the potatoes. Tonight was going to be a big meal to discuss and hopefully make a game plan for our future. Tonight was also the night Staton and I was going to bring up the need for a second car. Especially now that he had a job that was a little further away. It wouldn't be reasonable for him to Uber there every day.

Breygan opened the sliding patio door, leaving it as he placed a large plate of chicken on the center of the table.

"Dinner is ready bitches," He shouted, his voice echoing in the house with the lack of furniture we had. We were lucky that the people had furnished it, but they were very stingy and had only done the bare minimum. Something was better than nothing though.

Aria was the first to stand up and head towards the table. I'd left the vegetables on the stove so that they would stay warm, and placed the baked potatoes on a plate, bringing them over to the table. Staton helped grab some more plates. The kitchen was lively with everyone buzzing around to gather their utensils and other things needed to devour the food.

"Hey watch out," Julia shouts, as Breygan steps back onto her toes, trying to get out of the way of everyone. Slowly people began to take their seats, filling their plates to the brim with food.

A part of me couldn't help but smile at how much we felt like a family right now. It was the little moments like this that made everything worth it.

"How did your day go?" Staton starts the conversation off. Everyone was too focused on their food to even acknowledge that someone had said something. We wait for a few moments before Staton clears his throat. Nobody seems to listen. Aria is still on her phone, shoveling some of her baked potato in her mouth while Julia devours the vegetables.

"Guys! I got a job!" I shout, shockingly loud for the ones who weren't listening. I felt rather proud of myself considering it was my first job ever and I was able to land it on my first interview. Thank god I didn't have to go through that stress for too long. "I get paid minimum wage, but I should be working full time in the mornings. It will be perfect!" I looked around the table waiting for anyone to show just as much excitement and me. Staton had his hand placed on mine, but other than him, it seemed like no one else was paying attention.

"Guys, seriously, are we not going to look up from our phones for more than a second, focus please!" Staton was a little sterner this time, and it really did make us feel like we were the parents at the head of the table trying to get our kids to listen.

"I got a job today as well," Julia beams from ear to ear, putting another bite into her mouth. My heart warms a little, my body feeling less tense. There were at least three of us that had gotten a job today. That was outstanding! Almost unbelievable. "I work at the greenhouse just up the street right before you get into the busy part of town. I start on Monday. I will also be working full time, She said we would discuss pay based off of how I do on my first two weeks. I will start at minimum wage but If I exceed expectations I can earn more for my start pay."

"That's really good!" I couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy at the sound of her job. Working in a greenhouse would be so much more fun than working at a grocery store, but I guess that's what I get for picking the store to interview at first.

"I got a job at the tire shop, so Breygan if you need anyone to look at the tires for you, I'm your man." Staton points towards himself, chewing the rest of his bite.

"I wouldn't trust you to do anything with my truck," Breygan snarks, holding his head up with his hand as he eats a piece of chicken.

"Ouch!" Julia mumbles, looking around the table for anything that would ease the tension. "Didn't know we were supposed to be grouchy at dinner,"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean man?" Staton groans, looking at Breygan as if he put the flames in hell. Breygan shrugs before rolling his eyes and dropping his fork on the table.

"I mean I wouldn't trust you to touch my truck, you haven't worked on a vehicle a day in your life. If you want to know why I'm in such a bad mood, it's because I didn't get a job today." He picks his fork up once again and stabs into a piece of chicken, holding it up in the air to examine it before plopping it in his mouth.

"I didn't either," Aria holds her head down for a moment. She had barely touched her food, her phone now resting on the table. "I tried interviewing at the art studio but they said I was too late and they had already filled the position. It took me so long to find the place I couldn't interview."

There was a twinge of sadness in her voice. She looked around the table waiting for everyone to respond, but there was silence.

I cleared my throat before finally speaking up.

"That's okay, for both of you, we did really good today by getting out there and trying. You guys don't have to be mad, you can go back out tomorrow and try again." I tried my best to be encouraging.

The room had grown even more awkward as we all looked at each other trying to figure out what to say. Half of the room was on cloud nine, proud of themselves for achieving things that we never thought would be possible. The other half of the room was devastated by the fact that they felt they weren't good enough for a job.

"We have a little bit of time. We can work through this and figure it out. In the meantime Breygan you can drive us to work so we don't have to waste money on Uber's." I tried to pull in some positivity but apparently I should have just kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah, so I can be everyone's bitch boy while they go out and make money. I"m going for a walk, this is damn ridiculous." Breygan jumped up from his seat, leaving his food in front of him. Aria removes herself as well, following him out the front door.

"What the hell was that all about?" Julia questions, sneaking a few of the vegetables off of Breygan's plate. "You don't think he will mind right?" She asks when she notices we had busted her.

"No, I think you are probably fine," I muttered, handing her a few of my own. I'd grabbed way too many.

"Thank you!" She smiles, chowing away at her food. Staton grabbed my hand holding it tightly as we finished eating our food.

**Aria's POV**

"Breygan wait up! I shout, rushing after him. Why did this boy have to walk so damn fast! I couldn't help but start to jog, just trying to catch up was more of a chore than I expected it to be.

"I want to be alone," He reached for his pocket grabbing a small carton that I recognized the second he opened it up.

"You started smoking again?" I would be lying if I said I was shocked. The way Breygan had been acting moodier than normal had really thrown me off, but how he went from happy one second to hating life the next meant he was dosing with something.

"So what if I have?" He asks, handing the pack in my direction. I grab one, placing it between my teeth, waiting patiently for the lighter. He hands the lighter over after he lights his own, taking a quick drag.

"We aren't losers, you know that right?" He cocks his head, looking at me as if bugs had just started crawling out of my mouth.

"I don't think I'm a loser because I didn't get a job, I don't know what has gotten into me today. After a smoke, I should be back to normal." He looked at the sunset, watching as it fell behind the ocean waves in the distance.

"Did you ever think we would be somewhere as beautiful as this?" I ask, taking a long hard drag off of the cigarette until my lungs couldn't take anymore. He looks at me once again.

"We lived in Washington, just because we weren't right on the ocean and it wasn't sunny all the time doesn't mean we haven't seen things as beautiful as this." He paused for a moment, parting his lips as if he was going to say something else. He closes them around the cigarette, before looking at me as if his life depended on it. "Plus, I've seen you."

My heart melts inside my chest.

Those words were all I ever wanted to hear from him. I hated how hot and cold Breygan could be to me at times. I could never tell if we were heading in the right direction or falling behind on where we should be. We've been through so much together that I really didn't want it to be the latter.

"I don't know if you know this Breygan, but..." I took another drag cursing myself for what I was about to say to him next. He looks at the ground, kicking out the butt of his cigarette before grabbing another one and lighting it. He must be really stressed if it's a back to back kind of day.

"You going to say it or what?" He snarks, my heart leaps into my throat. Maybe I shouldn't tell him? Maybe this would be really bad timing and I would end up with my heart hurt even more than I need it to be.

I took yet another drag, finishing off the cigarette before I did the same. Dropping the butt on the ground and stomping it out.

"I love you too," Breygan whispers, looking at me as if he knew every part of my soul.