*NOT EDITED*

Chapter 27

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   "What's going on, I heard- REECE!"

   Elyse pushed me off Reece and enveloped her into a big hug. "My baby!"

   "Excuse m-"

   "Did you come here all the way from Arizona?" Elyse interrupted me rather rudely.

   "Yes, I did. We were traveling to Toronto to visit Amelia, but I decided to stop by," she explained.

   Amelia was Reece's older sister, and she was attending her last year of college in Toronto.

   "What's all that racket, I'm trying to sleep," Damon said annoyed as he walked down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

   "Sleep when it's five pm? You're such a troll," Reece said with a smirk. Damon's eyes widened when he heard her voice and rushed to the couch, tackling her into a hug.

   Yeah, my whole family kind of liked Reece more than they did me.

  "Ugh, your breath stinks," she said jokingly with a groan as she hugged him back.

   "So does your whole body but you don't see me complaining. You really need a shower from traveling." He laughed.

   And I thought he was mad and cranky.

   "Yeah, I know. So, where's Mr. Brooks? Did you know that he was the one that planned my stay here. He got a driver to drop me off here because my parents couldn't stop; they had to continue to Toronto and Alaska was on a different route," she said as Damon made himself comfortable in the couch.

   Elyse, Damon, and I shared the same shocked expressions on our faces.

   "He did what? Why didn't I know about all this?" Elyse asked.

   "I guess he wanted it to be a surprise," I said with a shrug, "come on, Reece. Let's go upstairs, we have so much to catch up on."

   "I have to get my bags first." She stood up and stretched her stiff limbs from being on a plane so much, and then in the car.

   "I'll help you," Damon said, following her out the house.

   "Where's Sarah? Why is she always disappearing?" I asked.

   "She went to do some errands. She'll be back very late at night," she explained and I nodded.

"I still can't believe that she's here. I can touch her, oh, my God. I've missed her so much," I said to Elyse.

"I know, honey."

"I'm so sad that she's not staying with us forever. Elyse, it's so hard to live without your childhood best friend," I said sadly.

"I know it's hard and unfair, but that's just how it is. Come on, I think they got the last of the bags."

I nodded and went to help them carry the bags upstairs. Unsurprisingly, when I said bags, I meant five large, very heavy bags.

"God, Reece. Did you pack your whole closet here? You're only staying for five days." I groaned as we went up the second flight of stairs.

"Exactly. A bag for each day. I need to pick out my accessories, vanity, hats, shoes, and a lot of options to choose from for my clothes. What if I'm feeling cheery and girly one day?"

"You could've just burrowed clothes from me like we always do," I suggested.

"Yeah . . . I didn't think about that."

I just shook my head with a laugh as we finally reached my room.

"So, are you going to stay with us, Damon?" I asked him hopefully. When it came to Reece, I knew that he wouldn't turn down the offer. It wasn't like they had a crush on each other, but he really did consider Reece as a sister. I think more so than he did to me.

"I'm just really tired, and today wasn't my day," he said directing all his words to her like I wasn't even standing there, "I'll catch up with you later, Reece."

She looked at me confusedly as I closed the door to my room. "What's up with him?"

"We got into a fight."

"About?"

"Ugh, it's such a long story and I'm tired of explaining it to everyone. Can we talk about it tomorrow? I just want to spend happy time with you." I flopped down on the bed, exhaling heavily.

"Sure thing, butter cake."

   That's one of the million reasons to why I loved Reece. She knew when to drop it or when to stop talking about something. But she was always there for me whenever I wanted to talk.

   "So, how's it going with McRockinYourWorld?"

"McWhat?" I asked, almost chocking on my spit.

   "McRockingYourWorld. You know, Ryder starts with an R. McRockingYourWorld-"

   "I got that part. But how do you even come up with these nicknames?" I asked with a laugh.

   "Well, the way that you're always talking to me about him makes him sound better than Channing Tatum, and boy, I can just tell you what I want him to do to my-"

   "Okay, stop. You're getting off track." I held my hands up before she got too distracted. Reece has the attention span of a gold fish.

   "Right, so where was I? Yes, Ryder. I think you might just be falling in love with him. The only reason why I don't hang up on your face from hearing you blabber about him all day is that I miss your voice."

   "Reece, you can't make the assumption that I've fallen for him over a few skype calls. Love is a pretty big word and you can't use it that loosely." I shook my head, not letting any of her words get to me. "Plus, I'm doing this all for the plan. I'm sure he must've fallen for me by now, it's almost time to complete the final step of the plan."

   "How stupid and naïve and dumb can one get? Oh, look, Ash knows the answer! Seriously, you take love is blind to a whole new level."

   "Stop using the L word!" I placed my palms flag on my ears to block her talking.

   "Love? Stop running away from your problems and facts! Just get this inside your thick skull!" She stood up and shook my shoulders hard. "You have fallen in love with him. Stop. Denying. It."

   "We've only known each other for five months and a half."

   "It doesn't take long to love someone." She shrugged as if it were the simplest matter in the world.

   "Geez, Reece. Why did you even come here?" I asked jokingly, hiding a smile.

   "Because I love you and you love me. Also, someone needed to open your eyes so you can see the truth. Seriously, do you not have any friends to tell you about Ryder? I'm not surprised, you loser."

   "I do have friends. Except, they don't go making massive assumptions about massive things like you. Emma and Bex know that I didn't fall in love with him."

   "I want to see those friends of yours. I don't believe it. Are you sure those friends aren't some imaginary characters from your books?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

   I rolled mine. "Yes, I'm a 101% sure."

   She was about to say something else when the doorbell rang.

   "I'll get it!" she yelled as she rushed down the stairs to see who it was.

   Some people may have found it annoying that  she or anyone else would make him/herself feel at home like that, but I found it really comforting.

   Reece was finally back home.

   "Reece, you came!" I heard dad call out excitedly as I walked down the stairs.

   "I did!"

   "Hi, dad-"

   "We've all missed you so much," he interrupted me, "oh, hi Ash. So, how was the trip, Reece?"

   He gave me half a glance before turning back to her.

   I told you they liked her more than me.

   "Okay, enough greetings. It's time for dinner," Elyse said from the kitchen.

   I went to help her set up the table while Reece got Damon from upstairs. After everything was set up and everyone was ready, we all sat down and started eating.

   "So, you guys are going to California next week," Reece said.

   "Yeah."

    "I know that's your tradition and everything, but I really would've liked it if you guys came to Arizona." She prodded around her mashed potatoes.

   "Me too, but at least you're here with us for this week," Elyse said with a smile.

   "And I'm going to make it count. Get ready to spend this week doing Disney marathons, losers," she said with a smirk to Damon and me, making us laugh.

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Author's Note:

Hey, guys! It's chapter 27! So, what did you think of it?

I really wanted you to take a better look of Reece and her personality. I think she's one of my favorite characters from this book. Which one's yours?

Also, how old do you guys think I am? I took a mental age test and the result was 39 years old 😂. I'm curious about how old you think I am. I'll tell you in the next chapter if you tried to guess now :)

Don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT, SHARE, and FOLLOW!