See You Soon

Chapter 17

  “You know I have work, Skylar. There’s no way I’m going to have time to drive you around the state and back anytime soon.”

This is what I knew he would say, as I had grown accustomed to my dad’s usual responses for most of life's grand questions. Most do, while living under the same roof as another for over a decade. 

  "Of course, though there is another option," I gave him a smile. "I could go with my friends."

  This is the conversation my dad and I had two days before, after I had come home driving Aaron's car slow enough that three cars passed me on the usual quiet strip of road. I had my mind set, James seemed to aswell. He wanted to come with me. His father was well content with the idea, as he was having an ongoing business call from home in the next few days.

  His wife and him were drinking wine in their lounge when the question was raised, and by the look of how empty the bottle was, I was sure they would have thought any idea was a good one.

  The sun was shining high and bright, and the hot steel of Aaron's car burnt my fingers as I opened the trunk and threw my suitcase in. With the three other suitcases in there already, it was a tight squeeze. I could already picture driving along the highway, and the trunk popping open to release all of our bags.

  “Here, if you just turn the suitcase like,” With a simple motion, James had all of them stuffed and the trunk shut with a  satisfying click. “That. Nothing will fall out now, don’t worry.”

 We heard Aaron’s front door close, and turned around to see him running over with little Jessie in his arms, her eyes squeezed shut and holding on for dear life.

“Skylar help! Help me!” She cried out between burst of laughter.

“Does the big scary monster guy have you?” I reached out and tickled her bare stomach; her blue ocean shirt had ridden up.

  Gerald said that Jessica cried all through the night. She was devastated her big brother was leaving her, even if only for a short amount of time. The feeling was mutual for Aaron, but he would not let me go without him on this trip, which made me feel guilty for following through with this whole ridiculous idea. My father must have talked to him about keeping an eye on James, even though without a doubt Aaron had already planned to do that very thing. My father wasn’t a great man and he made many mistakes. We all do. Though, he truly cared for me and at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered.

  Brooklyn rushed out of Aaron’s house, wearing one of his huge sports sweaters and a ball cap. She had went in for the bathroom, and stayed for a wardrobe change. She mouthed a sorry to me and leaned against the car and its scorching heat.

“We were worried you might have somehow drowned in the sink,” James said, “But we should have been worried of you having a heat stoke instead.”

  “Girls are allowed to take long in the restroom. We actually have to sit down. As for the heat, I’ll be fine, I was cold.” She smiled, tugging at the end of the old sweater.

  “Alright Jessie, Brooklyn’s ready now.” He knelt down beside her. “I’m going to call you every night.”

“Does that mean you’ve got to go?” Jessie said.

“Yes.” They hugged and then she insisted on accompanying him to the driver’s seat of his car, where she double checked to make sure he had his seat-belt on. James had shot-gun, making the car divided into genders.

  “Do we have to succumb to society’s pressure?” Brooklyn remarked as she took her seat beside me on the left side of the car.

“No, but I wanted my man James up here with moi, your driver this afternoon.” Aaron turned around. “Are we ready ladies?”