Heart Key (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 7: A Thousand Years

Song: A Thousand Years

By: Christina Perri

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep! I groan as the sound of my alarm goes off on my phone over and over again, succeeding in giving me an early morning headache. I roll over and turn it off before my hungover dad can yell at me.

I roll off my bed and onto my feet before letting out a yawn and stretching. I look out my window to see Chloe already out there, sitting on the back on the back of her truck with her phone in her lap. I can't help but smile as Emma appears out of the back seat with a tired look on her face.

I guess we've found a new school buddy. I turn away from the window before walking to my bathroom to get ready. I manage this in seven minutes flat before walking downstairs and out the door without a word to my dad or aunt.

Yeah, she's been here this whole time but I've succeeded in avoiding her while I go out with my friends every day. That is, until today. I'm at the door with my hand on the handle when her voice says, "You stop right there young lady. I will take you to school today after I talk to you."

I slowly turn to see my aunt's ragged appearance and offer her a small smile. "Hey Aunt G-Grace." I stutter and she shoots me an icy smile as a strand of her bright red hair falls into her eyes. "Tell Chloe to go on without you. It'll take me a bit, you may miss a class." She orders and I let out a sigh before shooting a text to Chloe on my phone.

A few seconds later I hear her truck start up and pull away. My escape. I think with a sigh as I follow my aunt into the kitchen where she already has food set out for the taking. She stands with her arms crossed until I fill a plate of food.

We both sit at the small table in the kitchen and a grave look takes over her face as I start eating. Even in the face of bad news my stomach still yearns for food. I eat silently as she fiddles with her fingers for a minute before blurting, "Your cousin, Chris, is coming to live here!"

I look at her in surprise. Chris is my age and my second cousin and has been living with Aunt Grace since his parents died about two years ago. He's an awesome cousin and has seemed like more of a brother to me than a cousin so I really don't see the problem, until.....

"Wait, that means....." She nods gravely and I groan before leaning my head on the table. "I have to share a room with Taylor." Taylor is Chris's twin and a serious pain. She's always complaining and crying for random reasons.

Of course, I haven't seen either of them since their parents funeral two years ago. Who knows? They could've changed, but I seriously doubt it. "Why are they coming to live here?" I ask softly as I push my food back and run a hand across my face.

She smiles at me sympathetically before replying, "Well I had to move into a smaller apartment because my job cut my pay and I don't have enough room for them. Plus, their school burnt down." Of course that was the time I had decided to take a drink of water.

I start coughing and water sprays across the table as Aunt Grace comes around to pat my back. "H-How did their school burn down?" I ask once I regain ability to speak. She lets out a sigh at the mess I've made before walking over to get a towel to clean up.

"A boy who had been recently suspended decided to set the school on fire so he broke into the school ventilation system and accidentally dropped his box of matches in front of Taylor." I let out a sigh, already knowing where this is going. Not only is Taylor annoying, but she can be completely clueless at times.

"So Taylor picked them up and saw the instructions but ignored what the matches were actually for. Yeah, so when the match went up in flames she dropped it and caught the room on fire." She goes silent at that and I roll my eyes up to the ceiling, shaking my head at Taylor's stupidity.

"Yeah, so Taylor's no longer welcome at that school anymore anyways." I laugh dryly at that before looking at my aunt curiously. "Well where are they? Shouldn't you have already brought them?" I ask and she nods before replying, "They'll be here tomorrow. They had to have time to gather up their things so I came ahead in order to break the news to you."

I nod at her explanation before pushing myself to my feet and grabbing my backpack. "I'll figure out someplace, besides my room, for Taylor to sleep when I get back, but I need to be getting on to school now." I tell her and she glances down at her watch before nodding in agreement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So Taylor burned down her school and now Chris and her are coming to live with you?" Chloe asks with an amused smile while Emma looks at me in shock and I nod helplessly. "Yep, that's the gist of it I guess." I let out a sigh before running a hand through my hair and slamming my locker shut.

I hit it after I shut it before letting out a groan of frustration and heading towards my first class. Emma and Chloe follow close behind as Emma says, "I'm sure it's not that bad. They could have changed in these past two years, you never know." We had filled Emma in on the state of my family before I told them the news so she already knows how worried I am.

"I don't want Chris to change, I just wish that Taylor would have grown up some by now." I explain and then the memory of the bathroom in the airport with Blake pops in my brain. I feel my face heat up in at the thought and I quickly duck into the classroom.

Chloe looks at me curiously. "What are you thinking about?" She asks me, watching me closely as I quickly laugh it off. "Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking of that test we have tomorrow. I'm really not prepared for it!" That immediately sets Chloe off on me. She's always going on about how I should manage my time better. At least it distracts her from our previous conversation.

She quiets down when the teacher walks in and I let out a small shudder. That's how I feel every time I see Mr. Brown. He's young, for a teacher, but not young enough to wear pants a size too small along with a shirt that rides up to show his harry stomach every now and then.

Not only does he wear..... that, but he also insists on lecturing every day so that we have to look at him. Once I attempted to stare at my paper and take notes the whole time but, apparently, I offended him with my lack of attention and I would learn a lot more if I looked up at him while he spoke.

Now I just do my best to look at his face when he speaks. At least it's not as bad as his clothes. Why hasn't any of the other teachers or even the principal gotten on to him about that? I wonder as he clears his throat and looks around the classroom.

I notice him send a, not too subtle, wink in the direction of one of the cheerleaders, Mindy Zane, who simply rolls her eyes as soon as he looks away. He's a flirt that's for sure. I let out an internal sigh as I lean my head onto my hands and prepare myself for the long day ahead.