AU || Cairo Lucia Santiago is on break from university. Bradley Will Simpson wants to get his big break in the music industry. Together, they go on a roadtrip around the UK, where they busk their hearts out and discover more about their lost selves...
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📌 Birmingham, England, UK
Brad's right hand tightly held the steering wheel as he switched to a higher gear, insisting on staying on the rightmost lane since he was going faster than most of the cars on the road.
I didn't blame him; I would act the same if I were in his place. In fact, he was calmer than I could ever be, given that his brother reported that their father was in a critical condition.
Brad hit his horn for the fourth time to tell the car in front of him to move aside, and when they didn't budge, he passed them as quickly as he could, with the creaky roar of the engine emphasizing how old it was, but it was still willing to take Brad to wherever he has to go.
"How far are we?" I asked Brad, which surprised him a little, since we haven't talked since the second we left Yorkshire.
"About 20 minutes with this traffic. Hopefully it subsides," Brad said as he impatiently tapped his fingers on the wheel, then his phone started to ring.
"Can you hold the phone for me, please?" Brad asked, then I took his phone from the dashboard and did so after I answered the call and put it on speaker.
"What happened? Is he okay?" Brad asked, then his brother sighed from the other line.
"He's stable for now. They're going to observe him for one day to check on him."
"That's good. I'm already here, just stuck in some traffic. I'll be there in maybe about 10 minutes; depends on how bad this traffic actually is."
"Alright. See you soon," Brad's brother said before ending the call, then I put Brad's phone back on the dashboard. I observed that the time Brad gave was shorter than what he said earlier, and I was about to ask him about it when he shot me a glance.
"It may be too much for me to ask given your story earlier, but will it be okay with you if I go a little faster? I'm afraid that you could be triggered if I go too fast for your liking, and while I promise that I'll be safe and careful, what your say is matters more to me," Brad said, and I could feel his anxiousness toward the situation we were in, convincing me that while I wasn't keen toward his idea, he had a valid reason to do it. In the end, I took my earphones and connected them to my phone, played some music, and crouched down so I couldn't see the windshield.
"Go for it," I said, then I felt the car move faster. I closed my eyes so I could focus my senses on the music that was playing, and after a while, I glanced at Brad, who was putting all of his focus on the road as he sped to the hospital. After screeching the car into a parking space, Brad and I got out and walked inside, with me following Brad since he knew where he was going. After arriving at the part of the hospital where cancer patients were confined, Brad looked around for his brother, who called his name so we could look toward him.
"Alvin," Brad said as he walked to his brother, then they shared a brief hug. A girl who was sitting next to his brother stood up and went to Brad, who bent down and gave her a hug.
