Chapter 2-gotta have a little faith to fall back on
"Uncle Shane? Auntie Jo?" I set my backpack down by the door, closing it behind me.
"Hello!! Is anybody here?"
I stepped into the kitchen, slowly, cautiously.
"WELCOME HOME BRIDGET!"
"OH MY GOD!" I literally almost wet my pants.
"What are you guys DOING?!"
I set my guitar down on the tile, running over to my Auntie Jo, wrapping her in a hug.
"Surprising you, duh." I pulled away from my aunt and wrapped my 13 year old cousin, Ren in a big bear hug, shaking us to and fro together.
"Ew, ok, Bridge, get...ok you can...GET OFF ME NOW."
I pulled away, laughing.
"2 years ago you'd be the first one running to me, like I had a big bag of candy!"
"Well...I was 11 then. I'm not a little kid anymore, Bridge." I patted his hair and even he couldn't help but smirk a little.
"I know you are."
I turned to my uncle.
"Long time no see, Bridge!"
It was always awkward to hug my uncle, for anyone. Not because he had bad B.O. Or he was he social out cast of the family. Not at all. He was just really, really tall. Last time I checked he was almost 7 feet.
See, I'm only 5'5'', so hugs tend to be a little difficult. I only measured up to just above his stomach.
"Yeah, I've missed you guys!"
Even though they lived the farthest away, these were the aunt and uncle I was closest to. My mom had two brothers, my dad had three sisters and one brother. This was my dads baby brother. (Yes, my dad is quite tall himself.) Before they moved to Nashville about 7 years ago, we would do things together all the time. Sometimes it felt like I saw them more than I saw my own parents. We would go to football games, go bowling, out for dinner, normal family things. I think they're still trying to stay in their youth. My uncle was the youngest out of 6 kids, so that landed him in only his mid thirties. My Aunt Jo was the same way, being the youngest out of three boys. She was like me, and now knows how to hold her own because of it. (I have one older brother and one younger.)
"So what are we going to do? I was thinking we could go out for dinner tomorrow night and just stay in tonight, seeing as tomorrow IS someones birthday...." Jo suggested.
That would be me. Tomorrow is my birthday. May 28th. 21 years old, baby! Old enough to drink! Not that I'm going to. That I that I have anything against people who do, it's just there's so many people in the world that abuse it. And besides, I can't stand the taste.
"Yeah that sounds great. But you will NEVER guess who I met on my way here!"
"Santa?"
"Ren, shut up. No! HUNTER HAYES!!!" I finally allowed myself to jump around the kitchen for a few seconds.
"Let me guess. You have a huuuuge crush on the guy."
Ren rolled his eyes at my sudden silly actions.
"Well that GUY happens to be my favorite country artist, or artist in general, of all time. What if you got to meet Selena Gomez?"
"I would...pee my pants due to her hotness?"
"Exactly! That's how I felt with Hunter!"
Ren nodded his head. "Oh. Well I guess it makes sense, when you put it that..."
"Well he is 21...and...you're almost...21." My uncle whipped his head around to look at me with a smirk, while raising his eyebrows up and down.
"Ok that's not gonna happen..."
"Well you guys did JUST MEET. He knows you now! You told him your name, didn't you?"
"Well yeah but-" I
"No buts. Here, have a cookie." I snickered as my uncle handed me the chocolatey oven- baked dough.
************
I sat in my new room, strumming my guitar on the edge of the bed.
"That's not right." I sighed, muttering to myself. "Ok I'll never get a record deal with with this."
"Who says you're gonna get a record deal anyway?"
Ren popped his head around the door, a smirk in its usual place.
"You don't have faith in your favorite cousin?"
He pretended to think before shaking his head. "Nope."
I set my guitar down beside me on the bed and Ren walked in, sitting down next to me.
We sat in silence and he stared at the floor before speaking.
"I know...how hard it was for you. With your mom leaving. Then with losing Jane... I know...music is what got you through every passing day. And...that it still does. Even though I joke around with you a lot...I have faith in you. Faith that you can do it, pursue your dreams. Honestly... I wish I had the drive you did. To just pack up your life and come here, not knowing what will happen. I've...always really looked up to you and it's taken me a while to realize that. But...I really do."
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and leaned my head against his shoulder and wrapping an arm around him.
"I love you, Ren."
"I love you too, Bridge."
