The Fire We Make

chapter one

"Come on," I groaned, slamming my hands against my steering wheel. I was not in the mood to waste yet another hour in traffic.

"Move!" I yelled, honking my horn. Some guy in front of me stuck his middle finger out the window which I returned with a sarcastic smile.

I slumped back in my seat before peeling off my flannel shirt. I don't even know what possessed me to wear this on top of my tank top. It was 90+ degrees in Chicago and the temperature just kept rising. I didn't have the luxury of blasting the AC due to my crappy second-hand car I was left with.

It was Tristan's car, a voice said in my head. You should be thankful for it.

I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat and felt myself begin to panic as I saw 3:55 flash against my lock screen. Brayden's flight was going to land any minute and I was still ten miles away. I sent him a quick text telling him that I didn't forget about him, that I was just stuck in traffic. He wouldn't get this until he landed, but at least he would know I didn't forget about him.

With my hair in a frizzy mess and my body lathered in sweat, I was finally at the airport. I paid the ridiculous fee of ten dollars when I was only going to be here for a couple of minutes and ran inside the cool building. My bag's strap was hanging low on my shoulder, hitting my thighs as my short legs raced to the baggage claim area where I expected him to be.

I stepped on my tippy toes as I scanned the airport. There were no signs of a eighteen-year-old man with messy light brown hair anywhere. I let out a huff of exhaustion as I looked at my phone. The time now read 4:20. So where was he? I tried to call him and as soon as I pressed his contact name my phone died.

You have to be fucking kidding me.

After looping around the airport trying to find a pay phone, I realized that this was useless. This airport was way too big for me to look around by myself. Just as I was about to give up all hopes and ask a stranger to borrow their phone I saw Brayden biting into a jumbo-sized sandwich. A grin came over my face as I walked to the side restaurant he was sitting at.

"You couldn't have waited twenty minutes until we got home?" I asked, slipping into the seat in front of him.

He stopped biting his sandwich midway, looking alarmed, before his face spread into a goofy grin.

"Hollyn!" He exclaimed, dropping his sandwich down before scrapping his chair back as he got up.

I could contain my laughter as I hugged my brother I missed so dearly. Though I was older, he was much taller than me. His tall frame towered over me as he pulled me into a hug, literally. His slightly toned arms picked up my petite body and I couldn't get rid of the ridiculous smile on my face.

"Ah, I missed you!" I said, grabbing his cheeks.

"Ow!" He complained, swatting my hand away. I could see his cheek look fairly red under my intense pinching. "You have hands like a man."

Instead of taking this as an insult, I smiled. I helped him grab his bags as we began to leave the side restaurant. He grabbed his sandwich and began to stuff his face again. I gave him a disgusted face which he returned with a frown.

"What?" He asked, his mouth half full. "I paid for it I might as well enjoy it."

I shook my head at his disgusting behavior. There were something's I would never be able to get over and his lack of manners was one of them. Despite his grossness, watching him devour his sandwich had my own stomach growling. I was then I realized I've only eaten a bowl of cereal hours ago. I made Brayden wait at the dining table, warning him if he wandered off somewhere again he would seriously regret it later.

I walked to the counter and greeted the barista cheerfully. I knew from experience what shitty customers can do to you when working at a café. She was equally polite as I ordered my salad and smoothie. I drummed my fingers against the countertop, waiting for it to arrive.  To my surprise, it was done pretty fast. My mouth watered as I thanked the barista. I was so hungry, I could practically taste the crunchy lettuce and the fruity softness of my smoothie.

As I made a move to suck my drink I realized that I didn't grab a straw. Brayden saw my attempt to drink my smoothie without a straw and began mimicking me, making heat rise to my cheeks. His laughter only added onto my embarrassment and I made a mental note to get back at him for it. Shaking my head, I turned around to walk back to the counter to retrieve a straw when some asshat walks directly into me, spilling my smoothie all over my tank top--my now drenched tank top.

"Watch where the hell you're going!" He bellowed.

That's when I took notice of his features. His skin was a nice glowing bronze, which was surprising since summer just begun. He had jet black hair like me that was all ruffled up messily. The scruff around his jaw added onto his mysterious look, making him the ultimate desired man. He towered over my 5'3 figure by a long shot and his hooded angry green eyes were so penetrating I almost backed down.

Almost.

"Why don't you watch where the fuck you're going! Do you think you're the only one walking around?"

"Look munchkin, just get out my way. I really don't have time for this."

The look of pure disgust on his face only fueled my anger more. Did he just call me a munchkin? What the fuck do I look like? Pooh Bear? I was not fat or abnormally short! My body always seemed to have its mind of its own so I wasn't surprised when I reached my hand out to pluck his soda right out of his hand, making it spill all over him. My usual feisty self was coming out of its long time out and it was ready to be mischievous again.

It was just going to be a thirsty day for everybody.

He stood there and fumed while getting napkins to dry himself off. He looked like he wanted to tell me off or throw something else at me, but he contained himself. I noticed he had two sets of dog tags around his neck which caught my eye. He saw me staring at them and soon he was narrowing his eyes at me, before turning around in anger. I went back to the table where I last saw Brayden. When I got there I see him shaking his head with a devilish smile on his face.

"Oh Hollyn, I have missed that temper of yours."

I lightly punched his chest and he played like he was hurt, but laughed it off. I glance at my Brayden's phone as he unlocked it and see it's getting pretty close to my evening shift at the bar. I mentally groaned to myself. I hated the evening shift. I looked down at my shirt and realized I was going to have to change before I could walk in.

"Well, I'm glad to see you little brother but I've got work to do so let's get out of here."

He nodded and got out of his chair. The thick Chicago air suffocated us as we walked out of the cool airport. We leave without any further interruptions or annoying jerks bumping into me. 

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