Wrong //Zauren

4.

The fire is the only light in the living room. Out here, there's no internet or television so this fire is my best source of entertainment. I watch from the couch as it pops every now and then, the flames dancing from the wind coming through the chimney. Its pretty warm in here unlike before.

The empty pizza box sits on the coffee table that separates me and the fire place. I didn't expect there to be a pizza joint around here. That shit tasted like cardboard anyway.

I'm pretty sure everyone else has fallen asleep besides Lauren. I heard the showing running in the bathroom connected to our room not too long ago.

My eyelids get heavier by the second. I stand from my spot of the couch and make my way towards our bedroom. The dim lamp on Lauren's dresser is the only source of light in the room. As soon as I plop down on my bed, I begin to drift off to sleep.

The sound of the bathroom door opening brings me out of my sleep. I hear Lauren's footsteps walk out onto the creaky floor. I turn my head slightly to look over at her and I  quickly regret opening opening my eyes in the first place.

Wet strands of hair stick to her back as she leans down to open her dresser drawer. She holds the towel around her tightly against her chest, making her breast more revealing. When the hell did she get those? I'm not some creep that stares at her tits 24/7, but I can't help but notice that they've gotten bigger. A lot bigger.

I quickly look away, for her sake and mine. The sound of the towel hitting the floor aggravates me. Why can't she get dressed in the bathroom?
I ignore the sounds of her putting on her clothes and I drift back into a deep sleep.

~
The morning comes sooner than I want it too. I was woken up by Lauren, as usual.  She's the last face I want to see when I open my eyes once I come out of a deep sleep. And to make things worse, I'm being forced to go up in town with Lauren because she's too irresponsible to go on her own. I'm not annoyed about venturing out to the small town, but I just don't want to go with Lauren. She just loves to irritate me any way she can.

I've gotten used to the loud crunching sounds that comes from the snow getting crushed underneath our boots. Lauren leads the way in her old cheer leading sweatshirt and her head covered with a furry hat. It isn't as cold as it was yesterday. I can see the sun trying to shine through the tall dead trees unlike yesterday.

"Why'd you get those stupid things?" Lauren says lifting up the sleeve of my sweat shirt, exposing the many tattoos on my forearm.

I push her hand away and I pull my  sleeve back down. "Because I felt like it."

She looks displeased with my answer. I can't help but feel terrible for looking at her the way I did last night. It wasn't like I was checking her out, but she was just in the wrong place at the right time.

"Remember how mad dad was when you got your first one?  That was so funny." She laughs uncontrollably and begins to slow down the pace of her walking.

It was my 16 birthday and I thought  It'd be able good idea to let a friend do a tattoo on my hand. It came out pretty good, but my dad wasn't exactly happy about it. Lets just say he went on a rampage about how I was too young and he broke a few pieces of furniture in the process. That day still makes me laugh.

"Yeah, I guess." I'm not the biggest fan of small talk. Well, not with Lauren.

We finally make it to the ghost town. I see a couple of people wondering the chain of shops with small grocery bags in hand. Lauren leads me into this old looking antique shop and I sigh in agony. Who the fuck wants to walk around an antique shop? I thought that was an old people thing.

Her attention immediately goes to the little knick knacks on the shelves and I wander around another side of the tiny shop. Its pretty depressing in here and the boring elevator music in the background only adds to the mood.

"You need help finding anything?" I hear someone say.

I turn around to see some guy walking up to Lauren. He looks like some winter hippy with his hair tied up in a bun while wearing a Bill Cosby sweater. He must work here. I watch from a distance as Lauren shakes her head no and simply ignores the guy. She picks up one of the many snow globes on the shelves and the guy just stands there, watching her like a weirdo.

"I can sell you that half off." He shoves both hands in his pockets and smirks smugly. Lauren looks at him with bright eyes.

"Really?" She asks, oblivious to the fact that he's not trying to give her a discount just to be nice.

"Of course." He shrugs a shoulder.
"You know, you're a really pretty girl.." He lays a hand on her shoulder.

Oh how fucking smooth.

I waste no time walking up to them and grabbing Lauren by the arm before pulling her towards the entrance of the shop. She sits the snow globe back on the shelf in the process. I'm not gonna get in trouble for letting something happen between her and that boy.

Once I drag her all the way out of the shop, she snatches her arm out of my grip.

"Why'd you do that? I really wanted that snow globe." She pushes at my chest with little to no strength. I swear, she whines like a 5 year old.

"That guy's a fucking creep." I try to justify my actions.

She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me angrily.

"He was just being friendly, Zayn. Not everyone's an asshole like you." That's the first time I've ever heard her curse. I laugh, completely ignoring the insult.

"You aren't the best at cussing." I just had to say it, this is too funny.

She growls angrily and storms off in the direction of our cabin. I follow behind her, still laughing at her outburst. I think we might have switched roles. Usually, she's the one enjoying getting under my skin and I'm the one annoyed with her.
It feels good to be able to laugh at her instead of this being the other way around.