[ this is what we call a filler chapter and it has no pretty baby in it ]
☁︎
NOW YOU SOUND LIKE SCOTT.
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"I'M just saying that it's kind of lame to bring your baby sister on a first date," DJ said as she climbed the stairs with Tyler.
Tyler just rolled his eyes. "It ain't a date."
"You're bringing her dinner and asking her to the rodeo. It's a date," she said flatly.
After finishing up at the decimated town, Tyler decided to go after Kate, who'd moved to a different, closer motel. Scott was too busy with his uncle and didn't have time to take DJ back, so she was sticking with Tyler.
Now, the siblings were in front of Kate's door, a pizza in DJ's hand — she'd already split one with Tyler in the car. She rocked back and forth on her feet as Tyler knocked on the door. It took a moment, but Kate soon answered, a confused look on her face when she saw them.
"Thought you might be hungry," Tyler said with an awkward smile.
Kate raised an eyebrow silently reached for the pizza, shutting the door in their faces. DJ actually giggled, seeing the shocked look on Tyler's face. He usually had better luck with girls than this.
But after a good thirty seconds of standing there, Kate opened the door back up, leaning against it. "You find the dog?"
"Course, I found the dog," he said, smirking.
"How you doing after all that?" DJ asked softly, still thinking she was from New York.
Kate just shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It's those people, they..." She couldn't even finish it.
"Yeah, well, you've seen the worst of this place," he said. "Probably nice for you to see something good." Tyler's gaze softened then. "Want to take you somewhere. Think it might help. Come on."
They ended up at the rodeo right across the street from the motel. And though she was third-wheeling hard, DJ couldn't keep the smile off her faced sitting in the other side of Tyler while watching the rodeo clown rile the crowd up.
"You've ever seen anything like this, City Girl?" Tyler asked Kate, looking at her for her reactions as they all clapped for the show.
Kate shook her head. "You keep calling me that. You know, I grew up on a farm? Yeah. Sapulpa. Couple hours from here. This ain't my first rodeo."
Tyler raised an impressed eyebrow. "Look at that. Learned something about you."
"Yeah, I kinda figured from your accent," DJ told her with a smile. Tyler was just too thick to notice it.
