Chapter 4

"Andy," Summer's voice from my office door snaps me out of my continuous work trance.

"Hmm?" I ask and look up.

"It's lunch break, you know?" She says smiling cheerfully.

"Oh, yes," I say as I check the time.

"Let's go, girl! You are going out to lunch with us at the café at the opposite side of the road," she says, coming towards me and grabbing my hand to pull me up.

"Us?" I ask, clearly confused.

"You'll see," She says and winks, dragging me out the door before I can utter another word.

After what seems like 10-15 minutes, Summer and I are standing in front of what looks like a very old yet classy café. The neon lights spelling 'Crude's Magic Café' are turned off since it is morning, but I suppose some of the letters don't even light up anymore.

"This?" I ask, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, this. Doesn't this remind you of Holder's Café back home?" She asks, with a twinkle in her eyes.

I laugh. Holder's Café back home was a place almost every teen group could call their own. That was the place Kevin and I first met, Summer and I first crashed, literally, with each other, Kevin and Summer had their first date there, and so many other happy and horrible memories. My group of friends, Kevin, Summer, Megan, Arthur, Tristan, Archer, Hunter and Morgana, we all hung out there every Friday after school to discuss and decide how to spend our weekends.

Now Crude's Magic Café here was starting to make me nostalgic.

"Are we gonna keep standing here or are we actually going to enter?" I ask, laughing a little again with a bit of moisture in my eyes.

"Aww girl. Don't cry. Let's go in," she says and we enter, both laughing like idiots.

"Hello, Ms. Summer. Usual order?" Asks the girl at the counter as soon as we enter.

"Yes, Kate. Thank you so much. This is Andrea, by the way. Andrea, this is Kate," Summer says, introducing us. I nod at Kate with a smile and mutter a 'hi' and she returns the gesture.

"There they are! Close your eyes!" Summer suddenly says, clasping a hand over my eyes and again dragging me who knows where before I can get a single word out of my mouth.

"Who's this, Sum?" I hear a voice ask. A very familiar voice.

Kevin Morell.

My teeth grit together in nervousness, and I almost push Summer's hand from my eyes and bolt out of the café. But before I could do so, Summer lets go of my eyes and grabs my arms, knowing that I am going to make a run for it.

"Andrea Julie Harper," says another very familiar voice as soon as I open my eyes. Megan Stevedores.

I smile sheepishly at Kevin, Megan and Archer. Kevin is staring at me with an unknown look on his face, Archer is trying to kill me with a death stare, and Megan looks ready to throw me off a bridge.

"Yay. Hey guys," I say, my voice small and full of anticipation about what is going to happen.

"Why is she here?" Kev asks, turning away from me.

"Kev, Meg, Arch. You all here? How?" I ask, completely ignoring Kev's very hostile remark about me being here.

"Not that any of your business, but we all stuck together with each other. Unlike you," Meg says, her cold voice drowning any cheerful mood I had after meeting with Summer.

"Oh guys. Don't be like that. I am sure she had her reasons for suddenly dropping out of contact like that," Summer says, sitting down and pulling me down to sit on one side of her since the other side is already occupied by Kevin.

Although, even her words had a pinch in them, I smile appreciatively at her for sticking up for me.

"Listen guys," I say. "I really am sorry. Like as in, very very sorry, but, as Sum said, I had my re-,"

I am interrupted, ever so rudely, by phone ringing in my hand.

"Hold on a minute," I say, before picking up Hunter's call for the second time today.

"Hunt," I say, almost in a questioning manner. Although I have no doubt about why he actually called. The kids are missing me again.

"Andy, I suppose it's your lunch hour? Can you give your kids a minute? They wanna see you," Hunt says, quickly. I can hear Nick crying in the background and Rory screaming loudly like a banshee.

"Uh, sure. FaceTime me," I say and hang up as he says 'ok'.

I look around me to see everyone with a questioning look on their face. All their anger seems to have disappeared only to be replaced by curiosity.

"Was that Hunter? As in Hunter Morningstar?" Kev questions, breaking the silence.

"Yes," I say just as my phone starts ringing again.

I smile at my friends and answer the call.

The kids and Hunt are on Hunt's bed, with each of my kids on one side of him.

"Mommy! When are you coming home?" Asks Nick as soon as he sees my face. I can see his stunning blue eyes wet from the crying.

My face softens.

"I'll be home soon, darlings. Don't worry and stop disturbing Hunt?" I say, in a soft yet commanding voice so that they don't take my words lightly.

"You have kids?!" Arch says, talking for the first time since I came.

I nod.

Hunter gives me a questioning glance.

I smile sheepishly.

"Mommy. Who's the pretty woman beside you?" Asks Rory, peering at the phone screen like she has seen something amazingly interesting.

"What's her name? And why is she so sweet?" Summer says, as I notice her poking her head over my shoulder to get a glance at my babies.

I laugh at her childish behaviour and decide to introduce my old friends to Nick and Rory here.

"Summer?" Hunt asks before I can start introducing the kids.

"Hunt!" Summer says, her voice taking over a shrill cheerful tone. The same one she used when she realised it was me who was Damon's assistant.

"Summy! It's been years!" Hunt yells and his whole face covers the phone as he pulls the camera over his face.

"You know I hate it when you call me that, Hunt," Sum says and scowls playfully.

Hunt had been Sum's neighbour since the day they were born. They were as close as Kev and I were back in high-school.

"Okay, hold on. Back up, Hunt. I am going to introduce my kids to Kev, Sum, Arch and Meg," I say and Hunt moves away from the camera with a laugh, and although he probably doesn't want me to see it, he is sheepish as well about how the others are going to react to him being here with me.

I turn the phone around so that my kids and my friends can see each other.

"Kev, Sum, Arch, Sum. These are my baby twins, Dominic and Aurora. More commonly known as, Nick and Rory."

"Nick, Rory. These are my high-school best friends, Kevin, Archer, Megan and Summer."

"Oh my God! They are angels, Andy!" Sum and Meg yell together as Arch and Kev's face soften with a huge smile.

"There you go, guys. The reasons I disappeared," I say as Nick and Rory cheer out a 'hi!'