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"What makes you think I'm sad?" I ask, unwrapping the plastic and taking a bite.
"Because," she says, offering me a small smile. "Your smile doesn't reach your eyes now."
Chapter sixteen
Sleep…work…pancakes…lake…sleep.
And repeat.
I end up in a vicious cycle, my days becoming routine as I go through the motions.
Days pass quickly, and life is back to normal.
Almost.
The wedding is fast approaching, and I'm excited. But I feel like I can't function properly. I can't enjoy my new life like I did before I went back home, because there's a cloud the size of a wedding hanging over my head.
I have to go back again soon.
I wouldn't miss Phoebe and Con's wedding for the world. But the thought of going back, made me feel sick.
"So, travelling back again tomorrow?" Jeremy says with a mouthful of pancakes.
I nod gingerly. "Only for two days. I have to be there the day before so the bridesmaids can stay the night with Phoebe. But the morning after the wedding, I'll be heading straight back."
"What if you're hungover?" he asks, shoving more food into his mouth.
I laugh. "I'll be fine. Besides, I told Tara I'd work. They were already kind enough to give me that time off, I don't want to take advantage of their hospitality too much."
The past few weeks had flown by in a blur. I was in survival mode, going through the motions until I could get over this last hurdle. I feel like I can't breathe until I am back from the wedding, so I'm counting down the days until Phoebe becomes Mrs. Connor Sloane and I can go back to normal.
If normal is such a thing.
"Ooh, is that pancakes, I smell?" Jasmine says, walking into the kitchen. Her eyes light up at the stack on the table. "You spoil us," she says, taking a seat next to Jeremy and grabbing a plate.
"I try. If I impress you guys and keep feeding you, you'll have to keep me," I reply, amused.
Jasmine pours some syrup over her food. "I'm impressed and the adoption paperwork is already filled out."
"Where's Carmen?" I ask, noticing our fourth amigo is nowhere to be seen.
"Work," Jaz answers, cutting her pancakes. "It's their busy period."
Carmen works in finance, spending her days crunching numbers and doing boring admin stuff. I've noticed she's been gone a lot more recently, and when she's home, she's holed up in her room on her laptop, working even more. The poor girl has bags under her eyes and is living off coffee.
"What's your plans for today?" Jer asks.
I shrug, pushing my food around my plate with my fork. "Not sure yet. Maybe we could go to the lake?"
Jeremy nods eagerly. "Hell yes. Jaz, you want to come?"
Jasmine sighs sadly. "Can't sorry. I have to help my mom move her house. Her landlord sold the house and she has to move across town. Luckily he had another house to offer her. My siblings and I are on packing duty."
"Dang," I mutter. "Moving sucks."
She nods. "Tell me about it. And my mom is a hoarder. She still has popsicle stick figures I glued together when I was a baby. And there's four of us kids. So just imagine all the stuff she has accumulated."
The three of us finish eating, the two of them telling me about their families. Like Jasmine, Jeremy comes from a big family. He's the middle child of six. Both of them are still close to their parents, and grew up in humble homes. Despite the fact they grew up without money, I can see how much they love their families by the way they talk about them.
