Permanent Vacation // 5SOS

14. Cody

She's still gone.

I shouldn't have spoken to her the way I did, but I guess I didn't think she'd run off like this. The boys have been out searching for her, but they won't let me help. They said I should stay and wait in case she comes back here.

So I've been sitting in the bus's kitchen, waiting patiently. Luke's sitting across from me, Calum's in the bathroom, and Michael's pacing up and down the bus impatiently. They didn't find her, and now we can't even find Ashton.

"They'll come back. They have to. And if Tess doesn't come back because she's forgotten where we are, she'll probably call you." Luke says reassuringly. I give him a sad smile.

It should be me that has the memory issues. Not my sister. She doesn't deserve this.

Tess ran off at about one in the morning yesterday, and we've been looking for her ever since. I'm starting to think she's gone for good since it's been twenty-nine hours. Nobody has slept and we've all barely eaten.

"Earl!!" There's a series of thumps on the bus door and we all rush over. The door opens, and Ashton's standing there with a giggling Tess on his back.

"Holy fuck Tess." Surprisingly, Michael's the first to speak. Tess hops off Ashton's back and comes into the bus.

"Hey Michelle." She giggles, booping Mike's nose on the way past him. She freezes as soon as she sees me, and her smile fades.

"Tess." I say quietly, so glad that she's okay. Her expression changes to a glare.

"Don't talk to me." She spits. Ashton comes up behind her.

"Tess, your priority is food. You haven't eaten since before the doctor's appointment, and that was the day before yesterday." He says. She nods once and shoves past me on the way to kitchen.

"You okay?" Luke is right behind me, his warm hand on my lower back. I nod silently, watching my sister go to the fridge like it's a normal day.

"Want some pancakes?" Michael asks her. She narrows her eyes at him.

"Are you cooking, or are they already made?" She asks. He chuckles slightly and grabs a plate from the fridge; Earl made sure we all had breakfast yesterday by ordering a whole heap of pancakes. None of us really ate any, so there are heaps left now.

"Just chuck these in the microwave." Michael grins. Tess smiles widely, then notices my gaze and flips me off angrily before walking away.

"Thanks Mikey." She says loudly on her way to the back of the bus. I sigh and sit down in the small dining area with Luke across from me again.

"She won't be mad forever." He says. I sigh again.

"I know, but I can understand why she's upset; I shouldn't have said what I did. I should've known she'd take it that way. I just..." I look down at the table awkwardly. "I just want everyone to be happy, even if that means me being sad."

"But if you're sad, I'll be sad, and the other boys will get sad too." Luke says. Tears brim in my eyes, but he wipes them away. "I'm here for you Cody. All of us are, even Tess."

In this moment, I really, really want to believe him but I just know that my sister hates me.