August

16. Miles/Augustine

...Remember when I pulled up and said, "Get in the car"

Miles

Well, fuck.

She's not even my type.

I had absolutely no attraction to Augustine, my brother's soon-to-be girlfriend. My brain couldn't figure out what shifted. She was awkward and shy. I liked girls who were chatty and played sports. I only approached her on the beach because I noticed her staring at James. I wanted my brother to be happy. I really did. He deserved a great girl like Augustine.

Then James brought out her flirty and fun side. I saw them laughing, touching foreheads. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Augustine was, but I still wasn't into her.

I found myself telling Augustine how nothing had ever worked out with a me and a girl before. We joked about Rory, sitting almost knee-to-knee at the beach. When she met my gaze, I couldn't help but stare at her. I knew I was sending her signals and forced myself to walk away. I had no idea what had gotten into me.

*

I headed down to the kitchen the morning after seeing Augustine and Rory at the beach. My hair was a mess, but I didn't care. I needed to apologize to her. I could've texted, but I wanted to do it face-to-face.

I stopped when I reached the dining room. Augustine, Rory, and James were sitting at the table, talking and laughing. I walked in slowly as Leah came in from the kitchen, holding a tray of pancakes. The table was set with a cloth covered in forget-me-nots, with a bowl of strawberries and one of whipped cream accompanying the usual cutlery. Rory had a glass of orange juice she was currently chugging.

"There you are, sleepyhead!" Leah exclaimed. She sent me a smile as she placed the tray of pancakes on the table. She ruffled Rory's hair and left the kitchen.

"Morning," I muttered, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Miles!" Rory exclaimed, rushing to me like we hadn't just seen each other yesterday. She had on a light purple sundress and black sneakers. Her favourite colour was purple, and she wore it everyday.

"Hi, Rory," I hugged her once I picked her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck like always and rested her head on my shoulder. I usually hated little kids, but Rory was adorable and not at all annoying. Her "crush" just showed she looked up to me, and it warmed my heart. I loved how she always gave me hugs and wanted to tell me everything about her day. In a way, she was becoming my little sister.

"Hi, Miles," Augustine smiled softly at me.

"Hi," I said, barely meeting her eyes.

She didn't seem annoyed or suspicious, so I went to sit down at the table, next to Rory who was beside James and across from Augustine. She looked pretty, her curly hair resting softly along her shoulders. She had on a purple headband and wore a light blue t-shirt. I sat down and reached for some pancakes.

"Since you were sleeping, I'll fill you in on the plan," Leah said, re-entering the room. "Today, I thought it'd be nice for us all to go to Sandspit, the amusement park in Cavendish."

"Huh, sounds fun," I said, placing more than enough strawberries and whipped cream on my stack of pancakes.

"Wow, someone's excited," James announced.

"Shut up, James. I'm tired," I reached over Rory to smack his shoulder.

"Yeah, James, shut up" Rory said saucily.

James's mouth dropped open in mock hurt as Augustine and I burst out laughing. Leah covered her mouth, but I could see her holding back a smile.

"How rude!" James said, fake glaring at Rory. Getting out of his seat, he picked her up and tickled her.