Page 54 of Fractured Mind
We keep going through the photos from the first twelve years of our lives, and I’m laughing and crying, but in a good way.
“I love this photo.” I’m on Ashton’s back, my arms around his upper chest, my legs around his hips. We both appear to be laughing in the photograph.
Once I reach the last photo, the biggest smile paints my face. I touch the smooth picture. It’s a selfie. I’m kissing Ashton’s cheek, and he has a blinding smile on his face, with the sand and ocean behind us. Those dark eyes, that messy hair... that smile. The photo reflecting back at me is of the boy in my dreams.
Peace and happiness settle in my soul as I treasure every photo.
I grin smugly when I hear a car pull up out front because it’s most likely Levi checking to see if we left him any cookies.
“Mother, I’m home.” Levi’s voice echoes throughout the house.
Jade’s smile stretches across her face. “We’re in here.”
Footsteps get closer until they all walk in. Ruby frowns when her eyes find mine.
“I’m okay,” I say reassuringly. “We’re going through some photos of when we were young.”
Ruby’s eyes twinkle, and she strides toward me. “Gimme gimme,” she says, then grabs the photo album.
Levi wraps his arms around Jade. “There’re some cookies left in the kitchen,” she tells him.
“Yes!” he cheers. “Thanks, Mother.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek and heads straight for the kitchen.
“How adorable were you two,” Ruby announces in a high-pitched voice as Roman steps forward and gives Jade a bear hug before he sits beside Ruby.
Jackson gives Jade a chin-up greeting, but she raises a brow. It’s all the signal he needs because he drags his feet over to her. She pulls him into her, squeezing him, mashing her cheek against his chest. Even though Jackson is rigid, the small tug on his lips almost curves into a smile.Almost.
Levi walks in with the plate of cookies, some of which are missing, and sits beside Jade. As Jackson goes to grab one, Levi hunches over the plate, sheltering it with his arms and body so that Jackson can’t get any, which makes Jackson grab Levi’s shoulder. “You better share those!”
With narrowed eyes, Levi slowly moves his body away from the cookies.
“Here’s another album I made.” Jade passes it to me.
I wonder what it could be if I’ve already seen the other pictures of us.
“This one is after your accident. There aren’t as many photos in this one because as soon as they hit high school, they were too cool to have their photos taken, so Ruby helped me.”
In unison, the guys scowl at Ruby, which makes her beam.
“You know people don’t use photo albums anymore, right, Mother?” Levi teases as he takes another mouthful of his cookie.
She subtly rolls her eyes. “I know you all use technology now, but I needed the photos to be special.”
When Jade opens the cover to the first photo, a gasp escapes my lips. They all look so different. The five of them are in a line, their arms across each other’s shoulders. Ruby is smilinga big, cheesy smile. Roman is short and thin, and if it wasn’t for his face, I would never have guessed it was him. Levi’s hair is similar, but in this photo it’s longer and falls just below his shoulders. Jackson has no tattoos, and Ashton has a black eye and is the only one not smiling. It makes my heart sink.
I peer at Ashton. “What happened to you?”
He shrugs. “A school fight.”
Jade purses her lips. “It was hard for me to get a photo in which he didn’t have a black eye or split lip.”
Levi cackles. “I forgot how small you were back then,” he says looking from the photo to Roman.
“And look at me now,” Roman replies as he puffs out his chest.
Ruby leans forward as she inspects the photo. “Yuck! I look terrible.”
“You do not,” I say. She’s young, with no makeup on.