|Not You|
Summer always meant a five hour drive and three months in Cousins. The six kids had grown up together facing love, laughter, heartbreak, pain, and joy together. But this summer was different, with new feelings emerging, and an ever loomin...
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"June! You better be ready! We are leaving in five minutes!" Stephanie called up the stairs to her oldest.
"I'm coming!" June yelled down, running into her brother in the hallway. "Why isn't she yelling at you?"
"Couldn't tell you," Mateo shrugged, finishing the top button in his shirt.
The siblings walked down the stairs, one after another, as June was finishing putting in her earrings.
"Come on, we were supposed to be on the road twenty minutes ago. Laurel is going to think we are standing her up," Stephanie exclaimed, rushing her kids towards the door.
June quickly snagged her purse before practically being shoved out the front door. She tripped over her heel, slightly falling forward into her brother's back. She grabbed onto his shoulder, regaining her balance before pushing off, and shoving past him.
She beelined it for the passenger seat, quickly opened the door, and threw herself inside.
"June!" Mateo exclaimed, going to open the door, only for the handle to snap back into place, June having already locked it from the inside.
"I have been away at school, that means I automatically get front-seat privileges," June shouted through the closed window, crossing her arms.
"That is so not how it works," Mateo argued back, looking back to Stephanie for support.
"She's already in the seat, I don't know what to tell you," Stephanie shrugged, walking around the front of the car to get into the driver's seat.
"I live with too many women," Mateo grumbled under his breath, moving to get into the back seat.
"What was that?" June asked, whipping her head around to stare at her brother.
"Nothing," Mateo said, slamming the door shut and starting to put his seatbelt on.
"Yeah--Nothing," Stephanie repeated, rolling her eyes as she started the car. "There better not be any traffic, or we are going to be late. You kids drive me up a wall."
Once they got on the road, they all settled into their own things. Stephanie was focused on driving and audiobooks playing over the car speakers. Mateo had headphones on, watching something on his phone. And June was watching the scenery pass by. Trees she knew by heart, landmarks that helped her keep track of how far they had gone, and how far they still had to go.
Absentmindedly, she played with the charm bracelet on her wrist. A gift from the previous summer that she just couldn't take off, despite all that had happened. It didn't feel like long before they had arrived at a high school.
"What are we doing here, I thought we were going over--"
"We were running too late. Now you two hurry up, I don't want to miss any of his speech," Stephanie cut June off, quickly getting out of the car.
