Sarah Campbell

I woke up in a panic, my heart pounding and hands shaking.

I threw the bed covers off of me, tears streaming down my face as I stumbled around the room.

My phone. I needed to find my phone.

"Sarah?" Aubrey called out, her voice hoarse. "Sarah, what's going on?"

I couldn't answer her, a knot lodged in my throat.

Where was my fucking phone?

I found it underneath my pillow, and I blindly called out to Siri.

Joel had to be okay.

Joel had to be okay.

Joel had to be okay.

It went through to voicemail.

"Sarah, what the hell is going on?" Aubrey asked, laying her hand on my back.

"Call Joel," I begged, my voice shaking. "Please."

She did as I asked, and it took four times before Joel answered.

"Hello?" his voice called out. "Sarah, what the hell?"

I grabbed the phone, unable to choke out any words of relief.

Joel was okay.

And then I began to sob, my body shaking and head pounding.

"Joel, I don't know what's wrong," Aubrey said. "You have to come over."

"I'm already on my way," he said. "Sarah, do you want me to stay on the phone?"

All I could do was nod.

"She does," Aubrey said.

Aubrey continued to rub my back as we awaited Joel. She didn't ask anymore questions, instead just sitting by my side as my panic attack continued to worsen.

A knock came on the door, and Aubrey jumped up to let Joel in.

Joel sat down next to me, pulling my head toward his chest. "What's wrong?"

My dream.

I dreamt of Joel's funeral, watching as my dad stood there alongside us. I'd dreamt that Joel had passed away.

I couldn't handle the thought of losing both Joel and my dad. It was too much for me to bear alone.

I wrapped my hands around Joel's torso, and I felt him stiffen beneath my touch. But he didn't ask me to move.

"Promise me something," I choked out, my face pressed into Joel's chest.

"Anything," he said, in a soothing voice.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my panicked state. "Promise me that you're going to be okay."

"What?" Joel asked. "Sarah, I'm fine."

He's not. And we all knew it.

"Please, just promise me."

He let out a long sigh, and I could feel him tense beneath me.

"I promise, Sarah," he said, quietly. "I promise things will be okay."

~*~

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked Aubrey.

She ignored me, her gaze focused on the road.

"I don't understand why you're upset with me."

No answer.

I leaned back in my seat with a sigh, kicking my feet up on the dashboard.

Aubrey had basically forced me out of bed this morning and all but dragged me out to her car. We'd been driving for nearly thirty minutes, and she hadn't said more than three words.

She wasn't even obnoxiously singing along with the radio, one of my biggest pet peeves and one her favorite ways to piss me off.

There was just unending silence stretched between us.

"Did I at least dress appropriately?" I asked, glancing down at my sweater and jeans combo.

"We're going far away from Vanderbilt."

I raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you going to murder me?"

"And bury the body where no one will ever find it."

I couldn't help but smile. "I think you've been watching too much American Horror Story."

Aubrey pulled off the main road, heading down a gravel path.

I gave up trying to question where we here headed, instead focused on our surroundings.

Trees. Lots and lots of trees.

Maybe she was planning to murder me.

We reached a clearing, and Aubrey parked the car before stepping out, beckoning for me to follow.

She popped the trunk of her car. Inside was a picnic basket, a blanket, and a cooler.

"We're going to have a picnic?" I asked.

Aubrey nodded, hoisting the cooler out. "And we're going to talk."

"What about?"

She turned to face me, wiping her blonde hair out of her eyes. "About everything, Sarah."

"I don't understand-"

"I'm your best friend," she said, her voice breaking a bit. "And I had to hear about your dad's diagnosis from Caden, when he called to make sure you were okay since you weren't answering any phone calls."

Oh.

"I was going to tell you," I said, quietly. "I just needed some time."

"No, Sarah. You weren't. You always do this. You have these walls built up and you refuse to let anyone in. You did it when Xavier left, you did it when Joel was diagnosed, and you're doing it now with your dad."

Tears built up in my eyes. "Aubs-"

She handed me the blanket. "So we're going to eat. And we're going to talk."

I nodded, taking the blanket. "Okay."

"And you're going to be brutally honest," she added. "And we're going to work through this. Together."

"Thanks, Aubs."

We made our way to the clearing, and Aubrey set up camp.

"Are these subs from Subway?" I asked, unable to contain my laughter as I opened the picnic basket.

There were Subway subs and bags of chips.

"Who do you think I am?" Aubrey huffed. "Give a girl a break."

She had gotten me my favorite order, a sign of true friendship.

All best friends should know your fast food orders.

"Where should we start?" Aubrey asked, after taking a sip of her soda. "What's the beginning of the story?"

"I don't know anymore."

She placed a comforting hand on my knee. "Just start talking. The story will come."

And so I did.

I started with Joel's relapse, which led into my dad's diagnosis. I told her about Aiden and Xavier and Liam all coming into town, and the disaster that'd been my house with having all the boys under the same roof again.

I told her about how I was thrown back into my usual role as the martyr between my brothers, how I hadn't had the time to properly process everything as I was too busy trying to save everyone else.

I was always too busy trying to save everyone else.

As I broke down into sobs, Aubrey held me close, letting me cry on her shoulders.

And damn did that feel good.

Just to finally let my emotions free, to lift the weight from my shoulders.

"You need a break, Sarah," Aubrey said, quietly. "Away from the peer mentoring, away from other people's problems, just away. You need some time for yourself."

I wouldn't ever be able to quit. And she knew that too.

"Let us help you," she said. "Your brothers want to help. I want to help. Everyone wants to be there for you, Sarah. You just have to let us."

And Adam.

I wouldn't let Adam be there for me, I pushed him away too.

"I don't deserve a friend like you, Aubs," I said, with a sigh.

"You're entirely wrong," Aubrey said, with a laugh. "Nobody deserves a friend like you."

~*~

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" I asked.

Adam shrugged. "I've got to play Saturday, so I've got practice Wednesday and a team meeting Friday."

So he wouldn't be going home then.

"Would you like to come over?" I asked.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Come over? To your place?"

"Well, to my brother Ryan's place," I said. "He's going to make the Thanksgiving meal this year."

He shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, Campbell, but-"

"You don't have any other plans," I interrupted. "And I'm not letting you spend Thanksgiving alone."

He rolled his eyes in response.

"It's my job as a peer mentor to ensure that you have a turkey in your belly."

He laughed at that. "Again, thanks, Campbell, but I'm staying here with Terrence."

"Obviously Terrence is invited as well. And your parents."

Adam's lips tightened. "My mom is, uh..."

I could read the pain evident on his face. "Okay, well just you and Terrence then. We'll eat some turkey, eat a little too much pie, and make some gingerbread houses."

Adam cocked an eyebrow. "Gingerbread houses?"

"It's a Campbell family tradition. After the food has been digested, the gingerbread house competition begins."

He cracked a smile at that. "Whatever you say, Campbell."

"So you'll come then?"

He shrugged in response. "I'll have to check my schedule."

I reached over and swatted him with a pillow, causing him to laugh.

His smile lingered a few moments, before he offered me a small nod. "Thanks, Sarah."

"For what?"

He didn't answer, instead leaning back and flipping on the TV.

"Hey!" I complained. "You have to finish your Humanities paper."

He waved me off, turning up the volume on the current game.

There always seemed to be a football game on.

"Halftime," he said. "I promise."

"Don't promise something you can't follow through on."

Adam shrugged. "You never know, Campbell."

Sometimes it felt like I knew Adam all too well.

And that scared me.

So what did you guys think about Aubrey's intervention? Do you think she had some fair points about Sarah? Do you think Sarah might listen?

I was inspired to write this chapter after going ice skating yesterday, which might tell you something about the upcoming chapter or two ;)

I'm hoping to get some more writing done this week, as I have a plane ride to get through and am determined to actually finish a story.

Teaser: Adam agrees to go to Ryan's place for Thanksgiving, where the alcohol is flowing and the drama is plenty.

Updates are basically like unicorn sightings at this point.