One Man Band System

Eric and Emma kept looking out the window, watching Caleb talk to Jade and the guy who had his arm wrapped around her waist. Eric noticed that the guy with Jade kept glancing over at his Maybach, which was parked right in front of his own car. Suddenly,

"Tap."

The two of them almost jumped out of their skins and whipped around. It was just Avery, placing a hand on each of their shoulders from behind.

"Don’t worry about it. Go on and finish your food, there’s something I need to tell you, Eric," Avery said.

"Oh... okay," Eric replied, glancing at Emma, who just shrugged her shoulders.

They headed back inside and sat down at their table. This time, Eric sat next to Emma, while Avery took a seat across from them. As they picked up where they left off with their meal,

"Jade already knows you’re in town," Avery dropped the bombshell.

Eric froze. The sandwich in his hand, halfway to his mouth, levitated in midair. Emma turned to look at Eric beside her, studying his expression while silently chewing on her sandwich.

"I see... how did she find out? Did Caleb tell her?" Eric asked.

"No, she found out when she opened the local newspaper. The guy she’s with lives and goes to college here, and he sent her the link. His name is Mike. They’ve been dating for a long time, they met online, even though they rarely see each other in person," Avery answered.

"So that’s how it is," Eric replied.

"She also found out Caleb was in town because Mike’s older sister is Caleb’s coworker. But Caleb told Jade to keep it a secret that you’re here. And the reason she isn’t coming inside right now is because she’s not ready to face you yet," Avery added.

"So Jade found out he was here from the paper?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, exactly. You’re in the middle of changing your last name, right?" Avery asked, looking at Eric.

"That’s right, I’m changing my last name to my grandfather’s," Eric answered firmly.

"There’s no need to worry. Caleb already gave Jade a massive lecture. He also told me everything that happened to you, so I know what you went through back in your hometown," Avery said, leaning forward to gently take Eric’s hand on the table. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Well, that’s a relief, right Eric?" Emma said, leaning her shoulder against Eric’s arm and looking up at him.

"Yeah... it really is," Eric replied, looking between Emma and Avery with a smile.

"Jade is actually going to be living in this city now too. She just finished moving in yesterday. She starts at the nursing academy in two weeks, so she’ll be my junior," Avery said.

"Huh... she’s moving here?" Eric asked.

"Yep... moving in with Mike," Avery answered.

"Oh... is Jade your age, Eric?" Emma asked.

"Yeah... we were in the same grade. She always used to say she wanted to be a pediatric nurse... I just didn’t expect her to come to this city. I figured she’d stay back in our hometown," Eric answered.

They continued to chat casually while enjoying their food. Eric had calmed down a bit, though he still had no desire to go out front and face Jade. But suddenly, Avery gasped as she saw Martha rushing toward the front door.

"Oh no... this is bad," Avery said, her tone shifting.

"What’s wrong?" Emma asked.

"My mom knows Jade... ugh... there’s no way I can sprint over there in time," Avery muttered, about to go after her mother.

Sure enough, Avery’s fears were instantly confirmed. A few moments later, Martha walked back inside with her arm wrapped warmly around Jade, with Mike following closely behind. Caleb brought up the rear with a sour look on his face.

He caught Eric’s eye and silently mouthed, "sorry." Eric simply nodded and stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice Jade at all. Meanwhile, Emma quickly shifted seats, sliding right next to Eric to block him from Jade’s line of sight.

As Martha guided Jade and Mike toward the backyard, Avery rushed to grab some Tupperware and began packing up the food. She put all the containers into a bag just as Caleb hurried over to her side. He looked at Eric.

"You should get out of here. I trust Jade not to say anything to the family, but her boyfriend is a different story. Go, hurry," Caleb urged.

"Alright... I get it," Eric replied.

"We’re going to take off, Avery. Congratulations again!" Emma said, giving Avery a quick hug.

"Yes, thank you... get going! Come visit my apartment often, okay?" Avery replied, hugging Emma back.

Without losing a second, Eric took Emma’s hand and walked briskly toward the exit, carrying bags of leftover food. Once they cleared the driveway and reached the street,

"I’m heading out, Caleb... congrats again, man," Eric said, extending his hand.

"Yeah... come over to my apartment sometime, alright?" Caleb replied, shaking Eric’s hand.

The two shared a brief embrace, then Caleb gave Emma a quick hug before letting go. Eric and Emma immediately got into their car and drove off. Once they hit the road, Emma glanced into the back seat and noticed the stash of bags.

"Wow... that is a ton of food," Emma noted.

"Yeah... it’s for the others. They’re still practicing at the house, right?" Eric replied.

"Haha... true. Do you want to finish your sandwich?" Emma asked, picking up a piece of Eric’s sandwich.

"Hmm... kind of tough while driving," Eric muttered.

"I’ll feed you... open up," Emma offered.

Eric looked over for a split second, took a bite of the sandwich, and focused back on the road ahead. They continued driving toward the center of the city to head back to Eric’s building and meet up with their friends, who were currently practicing in the private recording studio in the basement.

***

Meanwhile, Caleb walked back into his future in-laws’ house and headed to the backyard. He saw Jade talking to Thomas and Martha, while Mike was helping Thomas grill the meat and sausages. Jade noticed Caleb and quickly walked over to him.

"Did Eric leave?" Jade whispered.

"Yeah. Don’t worry about it. Just promise me... do not say a single word to Ruby about Eric being here. I know you two are close," Caleb replied, raising his index finger to poke his sister’s forehead.

"Yeah... I get it, I wouldn’t say anything... besides, I’m sick of the people back home... especially Vivian... that person is literal trash," Jade said, visibly annoyed.

"I know... alright, let’s drop it. I really don’t want to talk about her or Jason," Caleb muttered, completely over the topic.

"By the way... who was that girl with Eric?" Jade asked.

"Hmm... that’s Emma, Eric’s girlfriend. Why?" Caleb answered casually.

"Nothing... she’s just really gorgeous," Jade replied, a slight hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Uh... of course she’s gorgeous. She’s the daughter of movie star Miranda Cruz, and she’s the same age as Vivian," Caleb boasted proudly.

"Wait... seriously? Wow... Eric really scored big time getting someone like that," Jade said, a bit shocked since she obviously knew exactly who Miranda Cruz was.

"Seriously... I was shocked at first too, but it’s the truth. They actually performed here earlier. Eric played the guitar and Emma played the organ, it was awesome," Caleb said.

"Man... I can’t believe I missed it. Since when can Eric even play music? How did he learn?" Jade asked, totally confused.

"Hey... don’t look at me. You were the one always hanging out with Eric. How could you not know?" Caleb shot back.

Jade instantly went quiet. It clicked in her mind just how much she didn’t know about Eric, even though they had always been together, went to the same school, and constantly hung out. Her hands clenched into fists as she silently filled with regret, though she still genuinely wished Eric the best.

"Why? Jealous that Eric scored a girlfriend as gorgeous as Emma?" Caleb teased.

"Huh... who’s jealous? Eric is my cousin, he’s family. Even if I had a crush on him, it’s not like we could ever be together anyway... what is wrong with you, idiot," Jade replied, hitting Caleb’s shoulder hard.

"Ow... that actually hurt! Whatever, go get some food. Besides, as long as you’re living in this city, I’m sure you’ll run into Eric sooner or later. When that day comes... please apologize to him, brace yourself, and do not bring up the past," Caleb said, placing a hand on his sister’s head.

"Yeah... I know," Jade replied, looking down with a bitter smile.