There were four of them. My dad, his brother Rob, and their best friends Matt and Mason Caldwell. And there were four of us. Me, Sophie, Axel, and Jacob. It was always the four of us. Just like it had always been the four of them.

But we hadn’t felt much like a foursome recently. It was usually just me and Soph hanging out. I missed our lives before high school. It seemed like everyone else around me was looking forward. To college and beyond. And I just kept looking back.

Maybe that’s what happened when you fell in love when you were young. You just got...stuck.

I sighed and looked up at the old treehouse. Yeah, I was definitely stuck. My past was all tangled up with Axel. My whole life had been tangled up in him. And I was having a hell of a time unraveling myself from his grip. I was so tired of going backwards. For once, I was ready to look forward too.

Maybe I was drawn to the treehouse tonight because I needed to say goodbye to the past. To finally take a leap forward. I was just so tired of my heart aching. And saying goodbye to the past felt like saying goodbye to our four. How was I supposed to say goodbye to all I ever knew?

I needed a sign. Just...something. Anything. I stared at the treehouse in the moonlight. And again, I had the oddest sense that it was calling to me. That it had all the answers I was seeking. Maybe I was drunk. But I felt a little magic in the air tonight.

I stared down at my feet in the grass. My father had stood right here when he was my age. So had Uncle Rob, Uncle Mason, and Uncle Matt. They’d all made mistakes and come out the other side for the better. And most importantly, they were all happy now. They were still a four after all these years. They’d figured it out. And that gave me confidence that I could figure it out too. I could leave my feelings for Axel in the past and we could all still be friends. I didn’t have to let go of the past completely. I just had to change things up a bit so it didn’t feel like I was drowning every day.

I took a deep breath. So yeah, this treehouse did have answers. It had kept my dad and his friends together. And it could keep me and my friends together too. Somehow. I’d figure it out. I had all night to soak in the old treehouse’s wisdom.

I made my way up the rickety old ladder. I pushed the door in the floor up.

“The sign says no girls allowed,” said a deep voice.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Chapter 28 – Truth or Dare

Saturday