The Pickup Line

Chapter Ten

I know where you stand, silent in the trees. And that's where I am, silent in the trees. Why won't you speak where I happen to be? Silent in the trees, standing cowardly.

Twenty One Pilots - Trees

- Sawyer -

Hersey's makes millions of kisses a day... All I'm asking for is one from you.

True to his word, Brayden texted me every single day while I was away. He sent me a text in the morning when he woke up and at night before he went to bed, even if it was already the next day when he sent it. He sent me pickup lines instead of good morning or goodnight texts and it made it all that much better.

Kiss ya later, on the plane I typed back to him. I tried to always answer him with my own pickup line but the flight attendant was sending me dirty glares because my phone was still off airplane mode.

"I had a great fucking time," Gracie said abruptly and loudly. Gracie, Hannah and I had seats directly across the aisle from Andrew and Tess on each plane ride and God did the rest of the passengers seem to hate that.

"Gracie, you do realize that you can't cuss once the baby comes," Tess scolded. Andrew groaned at the thought and we all knew why. Almost every other word that came out of his mouth was a cuss word.

"That means I have a couple months left to get it all out so..." Gracie retorted. She grinned real big and went back to reading her magazine.

"Other than the fact that I'll look like a tomato for a few weeks, I had a great fucking time too," I said as I nudged Gracie with my arm. She grinned and pinched my red skin as I winced. I had literally worn SPF 70 and ended up being sunburned early our second day. I spent a total of eight days getting more and more sunburned and my mom was utterly pissed.

"You saw it coming," she told me. Hannah had the window seat this go round and she was asleep within minutes once the plane took off, me trailing right behind her. A sleep that gave me dreams of unrealistic futures with Brayden.

----

"I want to go surprise Brayden," I told everyone in the cab. Our flight had gotten in hours earlier than we had planned and no one was answering our calls.

"Maybe that isn't a good idea," Andrew said. I looked back into the third row of seats in the van and saw Tess reading something on his phone.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I just got home and I was itching to see him again. We had bonded so much from our texts and calls this last week and I couldn't wait to just hug him. Be in his arms.

"He hasn't texted you?" he asked me. I saw the same look of worry flash across his face as it had the night Brayden came over.

"I haven't turned my phone on yet," I said as I pressed the power button. We all sat in silence as my phone came to life and continued to catch up with itself. A couple minutes later my phone started ringing left and right with multiple texts all from the same person. "That can't be good," I said. Gracie and Hannah leaned into me so they could read the messages as I did.

Alright baby. I'll see you at the airport

Wtf is this

SAWYER.

Are you fucking serious? You tell me not to do anything with Rachel and you go and do this shit?

Dont expect me to be at the airport.

"Click on the image," Hannah said. I scrolled to the picture he sent and waited for it to load.

"Isn't that...?" Gracie said. I looked at the picture and was torn between laughing at how stupid he was being and worried that he thought the wrong thing. I'm pretty sure he thought the wrong thing.