𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐣. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

𝟏𝟏 | 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤

After getting home from Detroit, Lotte and I talked for a little longer, agreeing to meet up on Wednesday, which was my next free day. The whole time I was in Detroit, I was worried about Charlotte when Gabi and Emilie told me she was overworking herself. It took a lot in me to not drop everything to come home to make sure Charlotte took care of herself. No matter what she thinks, even if I've known her for a short amount of time, I care about her and I want to be there for her no matter what. In the short time I've known her, she's one of the happiest and kindest people I know. I would rather get hurt a million times over than watch her work herself dry.

To help her take her mind off of whatever has been causing her to overwork, I decided to let her plan what we'd do together on my off day. I meant it when I told her that spending my off day with her wouldn't be a waste of time. There's nothing I rather be doing than spending my day off with her. I don't have a single clue as to what she has planned for us to do, but despite trying to convince her to tell me, she hasn't said a single thing. The only thing she would tell me is that I should bundle up and be prepared to walk.

Recently Luke has been talking a lot to Emilie, and despite how collected he tries to be when he talks to her, I know that Lukey might have a little crush. While talking with Emilie, she told Luke what Lotte has planned, but he was sworn to secrecy to not tell me. You'd think that since he's my brother, he'd ditch the secrecy and tell me but his little crush must be stronger than the fact that we're related.

~

Once I finish getting ready, I find myself watching TV trying to kill some time while I wait for Charlotte to pick me up while Luke is on his phone. Lotte called me this morning and the excitement in her voice radiated through the phone. Even though I have no clue as to what we'll be doing today, I feel some sort of comfort knowing that she's excited, which means I have nothing to worry about.

Sliding close to Luke on the couch, I snap my fingers in front of his face to try to get his attention, "So Lukey, what are you and Emilie talking about?" Looking at his face, he freezes for a second before speaking. "Huh? What makes you think I'm talking to Emilie? How do you know I'm not talking to Quinn? Or mom? Or dad?" Luke gets jittery, trying to get me to think he's talking to anyone other than Emilie. His face goes red, hands flying to scratch behind his neck.

I love my baby brother, but I think he forgets that I know him better than he knows himself. Watching him try to convince me it's not Emilie causes me to pull an 'are you serious?' face, "Luke I know you and you haven't looked up from your phone since you walked into the room and sat here like an hour ago." Before I could keep badgering Luke about talking to Emilie, a car honked outside and looked out the window to see Charlotte's car.

"Ha! Guess you gotta go Rowdy," Luke speaks from over my shoulder smiling and waving at me like a madman ready for me to get out. "Whatever, I'll get you later, don't think I'm gonna forget this." Laughing, and pointing at Luke, I grab my keys and head out to Charlotte's car. A noise draws me to look at the living room window, seeing Luke banging on the window, making kissy faces and I just flipp him off.

"Hey Charlotte," I reached over the center console to hug Charlotte. The smell of strawberries filled my nose, my chin on her shoulder. "I missed you," I whisper into her ear, taking in the sense of calm that comes from being in Lotte's presence. Eleven days is a long time to go without seeing someone you feel a deep connection to. Charlotte is the first one to pull away, "Hey Jacky I missed you too." Her eyes were soft, admitting that she missed me just like I missed her. We pull out of the driveway, but I still have no clue where we're headed.

"So, what's the plan for today? I've tried to think of what we're doing, but I truly have no clue."
I let out a chuckle hoping that she'll finally give me some sort of hint to go off of. Looking over at her, I see her focused and almost bursting at the seams to say something, pulling into the train station. Parking, she shuts off the car and turns to me. "Can I get a little drum roll please?" I move my hands to the dashboard trying to create a little drum roll, failing miserably. "We're going to.... the city to be tourists for the day!" Pure excitement is written all over her face and her excitement is contagious as I feel myself getting just as excited.