I stand across a bungalow, a fucking bungalow. When Aria called me three months ago and said we were all set for a trip to Spain, she also added on that all hotel arrangements had been made and paid for. Of course I thought nothing at the time because her fiancé is a rich doctor rolling in money. However, I forgot about the fact that her boyfriend is also not the one included in this trip so that means this was probably all paid for by her. If there is one really important thing you should know about this entire situation, it’s that Aria Greyson and I have not seen each other for seven years. The last time I saw her I was twenty two years old and still trying to figure myself out. Nothing has changed in the years that have passed except for the fact that I’m now twenty nine and I’m still lost somewhere in between figuring myself and trying not to have a mental breakdown. I stare at the bungalow in front of me, it’s beautiful and vintage. Two balconies above each other face me, one on the second floor and one on the third. There is a cheery oak door below the first balcony and I begin to wonder if anyone has ever tried to jump from the first floor. It’s not too far from the ground, depending on how tall you are. There are beautiful pink flowers growing through the bars of the balcony, their stems weave through the bars and I am witnessing fully bloomed flowers that hang from the balcony of the first and second floor. The flowers have distracted me from the real problem at hand. The reason I’ve been so stressed out over the last two weeks before arriving to Spain. The reunion. I always knew it would be coming but I didn’t expect it to be this soon. I also didn’t expect to move to a completely different state seven years ago. However, I always assumed that it would be years from now. By then my life would have been perfect and I promised myself that the next time those four girls saw me, I would be a better version of myself. Unlike what I used to be seven years ago. That Ryder was weak.

I suck in a breath as I begin to move my feet and cross the street towards the bungalow. The sun hangs low and the glow it creates in the sky is distracting. I can’t be distracted right now, I need to remain focused. I tear my eyes away from the orange sky with golden highlights and place my fingers around the doorknob. I twist it in one swift motion and push the door open. I already know that the four of them are here, when I called Aria from the airport to confirm the address she said that all I had to do was walk in and give the woman at reception my full name.

“Ryder Tyson.” That’s exactly what I did and the lady with light green eyes gave me a top to bottom scan before she reached down for the keys and placed them on the table.

“Second floor, third door.” She doesn’t smile as the words leave her bright red lips and I quickly grab the keys from in front of me before racing up the stairs with my suitcase in tow behind me.

I try my hardest to be as quite as possible while trying to avoid scary lady at reception and trying to avoid four girls who are waiting on me to arrive. I took two days to get here from Chicago, the four of them arrived together yesterday and that should have been the first sign. I find the second floor and see the door with the number three on it and I don’t hesitate as I shove the key into the keyhole and throw myself into the room. I slam the door behind me and when I spin around and get a good look at my room I nearly pass out. It’s huge, it’s like a little apartment to yourself and I have come to the conclusion that I will be spending the entire week in my room.

The room starts with a small open plan living room, a single couch against the wall and a sink with a mini fridge across it. In the middle of the room is a counter with four barstools and a nicely decorated fruit bowl in the middle of the counter. I round the corner and push open the door behind it that leads to the bedroom. A king size bed sits in the middle of the room with a vintage wooden headboard and white linen. Everything in this room is white, from the chair in the corner of the room to the curtains and bedding. However, the colour of the room is a light sea blue and when I draw the curtains back the sun is setting over the sparkling blue ocean. My eyes widen in shock as I use my key in my hand to unlock the sliding door and slip onto the balcony. My balcony is at the back, not those ones I saw at the entrance. The ocean is right behind this building. A soft ocean breeze blows past me and through my shoulder length chestnut brown hair. My eyes flutter closed as I take it all in. Spain Ryder, you’re in Spain. I soak in all the air around me and I probably stand there for a good ten minutes before the phone in my room begins to ring. My brows frown in confusion as I eye the phone on my bedside table and the sound coming from it is clearly a ringing tone.

“Hello?” I bring it to my ear and I’m sure these things aren’t supposed to ring. It’s usually just there for room service or in case of an emergency.

“Hey, you’re here.” Aria let’s out a breath of relief from the other end, it’s almost like she expected for the phone to ring and nobody to pick up. She didn’t expect for me to actually come halfway across the world. She doubted me and it’s evident in her voice.

“The girls and I are at the bar across the street in the alleyway, come join us for a few drinks.” She doesn’t ask. She commands, she’s never been the type to ask for permission ever in her life so it doesn’t surprise me. “Before you say no.” She begins to say before pausing and then it took me a minute to realise that I hadn’t had sad anything for a few seconds in response. “Just know that it’s been seven years, it’s all behind us now.” The words came through the speaker with pity laced in her tone. Actual fucking pity, as if I’m some sort of person who everyone feels sorry for. I wonder if all the girls will address me with pity in their tone or if it’s just Aria.

“Give me an hour.” I look at the clock on the bedside table beside the phone and it reads seven minutes past six. I have just under an hour to get ready and it’s too late to back down now. I look down at my black sweatpants and white Adidas hoodie, I need something that screams out ‘the old Ryder doesn’t exist anymore’ and luckily for me, I’ve had seven years to perfect that look.

I spend ten minutes in a shower after flying for two days. The water was warm and nothing like the first shower after two days of flying that I was expecting. I managed to pull my hair out of the way because washing, drying and styling right now was not an option. I find my red bodysuit at the bottom of my suitcase, I didn’t want to bring it with me but my assistant Karina said that if I didn’t take it with me then there would be a zero percent chance of me getting laid in Spain. The truth was, I didn’t bring this bodysuit with me to get laid but if I did then that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I found my black skinny jeans and threw on my outfit after slipping into a pair of underwear. I didn’t need a bra because this entire bodysuit was transparent. Majority of it made of lace and material that shows off your stomach. It has spaghetti straps and a small amount of lace that covers up my chest area. The back is non-existent, my entire back is on full display and I slip on my jeans as it meets the bottom of my bodysuit. I find my red Louis Vuitton pumps and begin to apply some light makeup. When I reach for my bright red lipstick and apply it to my lips I can’t help but wonder what on earth happened to that twenty two year old girl who sat on her front porch and cried her eyes out as she waited. My chestnut brown shoulder length hair falls in waves down my back and I don’t miss how the mascara and eyeliner makes my green eyes sparkle a little more than they usually do.

I hear them before I see them, the alleyway is next to the building we are staying at. When I slip into the small cosy bar with an apartment building on the floor above it, I smile to myself. They are sitting in the far corner and Aria says something before the three of them burst into laughter and Aria joins them. She hasn’t changed even the slightest, she still has her booming laughter and her charming personality. Her braids sway from side to side as she tries to say something else but fails miserably due to the fact that she can’t stop laughing. Kim is the first one to spot me, her hazel brown eyes meet mine and her laughter dies down as her eyes widen in shock. She abandons her spot within seconds and races to me, I don’t have time to register what’s going on. One second she’s in her seat and the next she’s racing towards me. Her raven black bob bounces with volume as she races to me in her long black dress with little red roses on them. The last thing I see is her soft smile as she jumps into my arms and throws her long legs around my waist. I’m very much shorter than her but she barely weighs much and I allow her to suffocate me.

“Finally, some normalcy.” She whispers in my ear before she gives me one last squeeze and unwraps herself from around me.

“Is it that bad?” I look past her towards the table, Aria’s eyes are on us but the other two have their backs facing me and they make no attempt to turn around.

“It’s not weird the way you’re thinking. It’s much worse than that.” I hate it when she speaks in riddles and I don’t have much time to ask her what she means by that. She spins around and takes my hand in hers before pulling me towards the direction of the table.

Aria rises to her feet and her piercing brown eyes meet mine as she pulls me in for a hug. I don’t miss the hint of sadness that flashes in her eyes, I can only see it because I know my eyes mimic hers.

“I don’t like how you grew up without me.” She whispers in my ear and I hear the pain in her voice.

“You’re getting married.” I all but yell out when we pull away from each other and she gives me a wide eyed look.

“To Nate Wilson.” She gasps and I don’t blame her. Nate Wilson and Aria Greyson, even thinking about it makes me laugh. Let’s just say that the two of them had nothing in common when we were in high school.

My eyes drift to the other two seated in the booth. Natalie’s eyes meet mine but she doesn’t offer me a smile nor does she make an attempt to throw a hug in my direction. Natalie Dawson, everybody assumed we were sisters growing up and I was the only one who thought that it was absurd. We had the same light green eyes, chestnut brown hair and pale white skin. She had freckles dusted on her cheekbones and I had a hideous birthmark the shape of a continent on my neck. That was the only thing that separated me from her and I hated it. I hated that we shared so much in common but we couldn’t even greet each other after six years. She hangs her head in shame before she turns around and gives Sarah her attention. I feel a pinch in my heart knowing that Natalie Dawson can’t even look me in the eyes.

“Oh fuck.” Kim Lee mumbles out and her brown eyes meet mine as she pulls me up from my spot next to Aria in the booth. “We need drinks.” She gasps and pushes me first, my purse is on the table and when I try to tell her she doesn’t listen. She just urges me to keep on walking towards the bar and to not look back.

“Five shots of tequila. Gold.” Kim Lee reaches into the pockets of her dress, yes her dress has pockets, and pulls out some cash to pay the bartender as he places five shot glasses in front of us and fills them up. “Three for you, two for me. Drink up.” She throws her head back as she takes the first shot and her face doesn’t even twist in disgust as she drinks.

“Why do I get three?” I tease as she downs the second one and waves her hand towards the bartender who’s offering her a slice of lemon.

“Because you’re going to fucking need it.” That look of pity flashes across her face and she turns around as she leans against the counter and looks at the entire bar in front of her. Her hands are crossed against her chest and she doesn’t look at me as the words leave her lips. “Cameron Bradlowe is here and he’s coming this way.”