Burning Out

Chapter 4

 "My silence is just another word for my pain"
Song: It's Time by Imagine Dragons    

~~~

          Saturday and Sunday flew by. We did the same things we did every time my parents came home. We are lunch at our favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. We went trekking sightseeing, and more. As usual on the last day of my parents 'vacation', they went on a date night. My parents were never really free until they came home, so they went on a date on the last night. I sat at home, flipping through Netflix, when Tyler came down from his room.

          "Hope?" he called out. "Mhmm," I hummed in response. "Do you ever wish that dad and mom stayed home longer?" he asked. I sighed. Tyler was only 16, a sophomore. Sometimes, he needed mom and dad. When he needed console over his first break-up. When he needed to choose and outfit and location of his dates. When he needed to learn how to shave. But all he had was me. "Yes Tyler. Sometimes I wish we could move with them. Sometimes, I wish they would stay for at least a week. But not all wishes come true. But at least you have me. I'm an amazing older sister, aren't I?" I added the last sentence to lighten up the mood.

          By the time I was done with my response, Tyler had snuggled under the blanket with me. "Nah, you're the worst," he said jokingly. I smiled and ruffled his hair. "No! You spoiled my hair. Plus I'm not a baby anymore," he pouted. I chuckled and ruffled his hair again, "Yes, you are still a baby, to me and mom and dad." Together, we watched all two seasons of Agents of Shield.

          Tyler had dozed of towards the end of season 1. I continued on as I brushed his hair with my hand. Though me and Tyler weren't that close, sometimes we had those cute sibling moments. This was one of them. Soon, season 2 was also over and I looked at the time. It was about 11 p.m. I shook Tyler awake," Tyler. Tyler. Wake up. It's time to go to bed." He yawned and woke up. "Thank you sis," he sleepily smiled up at me. "Goodnight Tyler," I smiled at my brothers retreating figure. Sometimes, both of us needed this sibling moment.

          I cleaned up everything after my brother went to sleep but I couldn't. I thought about Hunter and his British accent. I like British accent. It was deep and smooth. I had to see Hunter tomorrow again. I wanted to believe that he'd be my friend for a long time so badly. But I knew that that would never happen. Every time I thought something like that, I got my heart broken. It was really sad. Expectations bring disappointment. So, I stopped expecting stuff. I stopped expecting to make friends. I stopped expecting a lot of things. There is always this one part of me which continued to expect, but I learnt to compress it over time. I stopped expecting, I stopped believing. I slowly drifted of to sleep with an image of Hunter in my mind. He was different. Maybe there was a reason to expect, to believe.

          I woke up in the morning to the sound of my alarm ringing. I there was one thing I loved, it was sleep. And chocolate. Both of them were basically my life. I yawned as I stretched and woke up. I took a shower and got ready for school. I wore my normal outfit to school, a long maroon shirt and black tights. I brushed my straight brown hair pulled it into a ponytail. The only things that ever changed in my outfit was the color of my shirt and tights, the way my did my hair, and the color of my eyeshadow.

          I carried my bag downstairs and dumped it near the breakfast table. I nearly moaned when I saw what was made for breakfast. It was so rare that I didn't eat cereal every morning. My mom made awesome pancakes, bacon, and eggs every time she came home. I wolfed all my food down. I could never have enough of mom's breakfast. Once I was done I saw that it was time for the bus to arrive. "Mom, I'm done. I need to catch the bus," I hollered. "Calm down sweetie. You don't need the bus anymore," my mom smiled excitedly. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before realization hit me. "Really?" I squealed before running to the garage.

          And there it was, standing in its magnificent glory, a new red Jaguar. I squealed as I ran my hand over it's sleek hood. It was amazing. "Can I drive it to school today mom?" I asked. She shrugged in response," All the documents needed are in the glove compartment. And I'm assuming that you have your licence on you." I nodded," Well when did you guys buy this... I never saw you guys do it." "Well that's for me to know and for you to guess," my mom smirked.
          "OMG SIS LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!" my brother came into the garage, screaming and showing off his new Bose headphones. "That's nice Tyler," I smiled at him. Then he stopped in his tracks and saw my car, "WHOA! That's so cool. Can you drop me off at school today, sis? I'll came back with Jason." I nodded and gestured for him to have a seat. Jason was Tyler's best friend. My mom opened the garage and waved us goodbye,"Have a safe journey kids."
          As soon as I reached school, I dropped Tyler at the main entrance and parked my car in the parking lot. Then, I saw Hunter park his Volkswagen and step out of the car. I turned my head away, hoping he wouldn't spot me. But obviously, luck wasn't on my side and he spotted me,"Hey Hope! How have you been?" Hunter began walking in my direction. Knowing that I couldn't do anything about it, I sucked in a huge breath and turned around to face him. "Whoa, nice car there," Hunter whistled. "Yeah, I just got it today as a Christmas and birthday gift from my parents," I said, without realising my slip-up. "Christmas is like 2 months away Hope..." Hunter trailed of. "Umm... yeah, my parents are really busy and they couldn't be here," I said curtly. My curt response probably was the reason he switched the topic.
          "Yeah. So, how was your weekend?" Hunter asked as we walked into school. "Good, I guess," I replied as we stopped at my locker and I opened my locker to take my World History and Pre-Calculus binders,"You?" "Ehh. We settled in more and drove around the area a little to familiarize ourselves," Hunter replied.
          We walked to our first period, talking about the weekend. I was surprised that Hunter was still friends with me. I mean, he would've realized by now that when I said that I had no friends, I literally meant it and wasn't exaggerating. So I asked him,"Why are you still friends with me? I mean there are so many other people. Why me, the anti-social girl who practically doesn't exist?" He laughs,"Why would I care? You're the first friend I made here and you are really nice. I don't care if it affects my 'social status'. All I want is to know that if something happens, you'll be there." We reached 1st period and he held the door open for me. "I'll be there," I whisper, so softly that I don't know if he heard it or not. But I'm pretty sure I heard him let out the breathe he was holding.