August

1. Augustine

Salt air, and the rust on your door
I never needed anything more...

I stared out the window of the small plane and the darkness surrounding it. I always made sure to take the window seat when we traveled, so I could admire the stars we passed. I turned up the volume of the soft music playing from my headphones to drown out the voices of my parents immersed in yet another debate. I nodded along to the gentle beats until my mom reached over from two seats away and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Augustine, can you entertain your sister for a minute?" she asked me, as I slid my headphones down around my neck. "Your father and I are in the middle of an important conversation."

"Sure, Mom," I sighed.

She flashed me a smile, her perfect long brown hair spilling across her shoulders. At least I inherited one good feature. She quickly turned around to face my dad across the aisle as I looked at my four-year-old sister seated next to me. She stared back at me with her huge brown eyes. A colouring book sat on the tray in front of her, along with a juice box, her favourite drink. There were no TVs on the plane so she couldn't be occupied by cartoons.

"Hi Auggie," Aurora grinned, taking a sip from her juice box, her brown curls bouncing just above her shoulders. "Look at my pictures." She gestured to the flowers she had coloured in on the page. She waited to see my reaction. "I did my very best. I think I'll be a famous artist."

She rested her chin on her hands, wistfully looking out the window. I smiled softly; the girl had ambition.

I watched my sister, grinning to myself. Her bottom lip twitched a few times, before she suddenly snapped back into focus, looking at me.

"Would you buy my drawings if I was a famous artist?" She pointed her finger at my face, scrunching up her tiny nose.

I laughed softly, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Of course I would," I replied. I tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. "I'd buy all your drawings and hang them up all over my house."

She giggled. "If you bought all of them, you'd have no more money. I'm selling each one for a million dollars, but maybe you'll get one for free."

I shook my head. Aurora had ideas of her own. She annoyed me sometimes, but I would've done anything to protect her. My parents gave her little to no attention, which made her very needy. I made sure to give her the love my parents didn't. They were always lost in the world of paperwork and the courtroom.

"Auggie?" Aurora asked me.

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.

"Are you going to find a boyfriend this summer?"

I coughed. "I don't think so, Aurora," I began. "I'm not really looking for anyone." I didn't tell her the real reason, of how I was too scared to get heartbroken again. A boyfriend heartbreak would be different from a best friend heartbreak, but still. I wasn't ready to chance it.

"Maybe a friend then," my sister smiled.

"Maybe," I said, just to appease her. I ruffled her hair with my hand affectionately.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," a voice announced, filling the plane. "We are now beginning our descent. Please ensure tray tables are stowed and all carry-ons and under the seat in front of you. Thank you for joining us on this flight to Prince Edward Island."

Aurora grabbed my arm excitedly. "We're almost there, we're almost there," she sang, earning us looks from the people in aisles around us.

"We sure are," I smiled, stowing our belongings and fixing her tray table. "Wanna look out the window with me?"

Aurora leaned over me and gazed at the stars surrounding the plane. Her innocent eyes knew nothing of the world she was growing up into, only of the beauty she found in each new experience. She always had something to say, but now she was speechless as the plane dove through the clouds and the city lights came into view.

I was as mesmerized as her. The lights reminded me of back home, though there weren't as many since Charlottetown was a small city. I made a mental note to write about the view in  my journal. I couldn't wait to land, to be picked up by my mom's friend and be driven to our summer home.

I hadn't always been in love with the beach house. At first, it was another trip I had to take with my overachieving parents, but overtime, I found it to be my escape. We left our mansion LA and flew to the smallest state – province – in Canada. Away from the awful cameras and loud businessmen always occupying our house.

Summer was my favourite season. There was no place prettier than Prince Edward Island in the summer. I wished I could say I truly belonged there, but the truth was, I was just another tourist adding to the island's summer population.

"Auggie, c'mon!" Aurora chimed, reaching under the seat to grab her backpack.

"Not so fast, princess," I replied. "There are lots of people in the aisleway. We need to wait for them."

I always felt anxious when the airplane landed, so I turned my music back on and un-paused One Direction's 18. Though the song was cheesy, it was the one that would forever ease my anxiety. We bumped our way out of the plane and proceeded to walk down the ramp.

I took a deep breath to soak in the PEI night air, soothing all emotions I had bottled up for the past year. Usually, we got here as soon as school let out, but my parents had some long-lasting court case and we ended up delaying the trip until the end of July.

The small airport stood a few hundred feet away, welcoming us to the island. It was relatively chilly, and a small shiver ran through me, causing goosebumps to appear on my legs. Instead of the usual rush of traffic and loud sirens I heard back in LA, it was silent here aside from the chatter of the passengers. The roads were so long, farmlands stretching for acres, leaving less space for houses. I sighed contently, I've missed this.

"Augustine, hurry up!" my mom snapped. I spun around to see my mom glaring at me through the light coming from the airport. "And take off those headphones," she added. Rolling my eyes, I followed her and my dad to the airport.

I felt a tiny hand tug on my sweater. Aurora pulled me down to her and whispered softly, "Look at the stars, Auggie."

I looked up, seeing multiple lights glistening across the sky.

"They're so pretty," my sister spoke in awe.

"They sure are," I whispered back.

Suddenly, a light shot across the sky. My eyes widened and I smiled, my stomach fluttering in excitement.

"No way," Aurora breathed softly. "A shooting star." She turned to me, her brown eyes as wide as I've ever seen them. "Should we tell Mommy and Daddy about it?"

I tried not to let my smile falter. Our parents wouldn't care. They'd tell Aurora she was imagining it, or that I was lying to her. They'd just dismiss us, but I couldn't let my baby sister know that.

"How about we keep this between you and me?" I whispered. "It's our secret."

Her lips parted as she made a little "Oh" sound. "It's our secret," she nodded.

I stood up, taking her hand in mine and leading her into the airport, back to our parents who couldn't be bothered we were on this trip. I truly thought no one in my family understood me or cared about me. But just before we entered the doors, I heard Aurora whisper, "I love you, Auggie."

I squeezed her hand and stepped through the automatic doors, hoping this summer would be the one I had waited for.

A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter of August! This is my first chapter book and I'd love any feedback to help make it better.