"Aw sh.t," Aaron curses under his breath while walking towards me on the same park trail through the woods. I am back in the tree again, but now it's raining heavily. I would go home, but my mom isn't there and the dog still is, so now Lily perches on my shoulder and the black cat guards the base of the tree while I put the edge of my index finger on my lip so that I can think what to write another poem of. The way foxes cleverly sneak around the woods, the white flick of their tails the only visible part of them? Rain falling in heavy sheets, stinging as the icy water pierces your skin? Moss layering on trees, almost like butterflies when they migrate?
"Come on, you're coming with us," he tells me, almost as if he was trying to sound disappointed, but was deep down almost seeming to be happy. I throw my journal down and start down the tree, my small hands grabbing the bark and slowly try to inch my way down. Lily flies down and perches on the cat's back.
"Just jump." Aaron rolls his eyes, "I'll catch you," he tells me when I give him that 'are-you-kidding-idiot, I-prefer-not-to-break-my-neck' look. I then give him the 'you'll-drop-me-again-into-another-puddle-though-that-doesn't-matter-because-I'm-already-soaked' look when he says that he'll catch me.
"Just jump," he snaps, not playing around, while his hood being blown off by the wind. I roll my eyes and let go of the branch, time slowing down again, and I see each raindrop as they fall, the whale's song heard as each one plops on the ground, the flick of a tail seen when the rain falls down and soaks into the black sweatshirt of his.
He catches me, and I see what his face actually looks like. He isn't some hot dude, with muscles and a sharp jawline and exotic eyes, but he still looks nice. He is tall, and quite thin (Note: But not in the creepy way). His black hair and dark eyes aren't that mysterious, and his scowl and tattoo are the only thing standing out on a quite average looking face, but I still try to hide a little smile. I take in a deep breath of the rain water when he actually kindly sets me down, the smell of lemons and sea salt mixing together perfectly (Note: I smell like sea salt thanks to the rain and Robin smells like lemons. I'm not smelling him or anything, it's just that his scent is so strong that it surrounds me).
We walk down about half a mile through the rain to the car. He shivers next to me, except he actually had pants and a jacket on, while I hold my arms that aren't covered at all, and the hair on the back of my neck stands as the cold and rain seeps into my bare legs (Note: I do have shorts on, but I might as well not because they aren't doing any better than wearing a pair of pants made of denim).
"Why don't you have a jacket or at least pants on rather than shorts?" Kai asks the second I sit in the back seat. I cringe as the water slowly drips onto the leather seats, rolling down onto the carpeted ground, ever so slowly, simply taunting me. I instantly recognize this as Dakota's car, but that doesn't make me feel any worse.
"I don't have any," I respond, and he frowns, as if he has never heard anyone say that before.
"Aye, sorry, you're gonna have to sit in the back, until we get the van, fam," Max laughs, and I turn and see Aaron frowning, looking at the full car.
"No," Aaron snaps when I start to crawl out of the car, and he pushes me back in, as if he knew I was trying to leave. He then shoves Kai over, so that we were all halfway on top of each other. Quickly opening the door where Rialyn sat, I crawled over him and got out.
"Where are you going?" Rialyn asks.
"Making room for you guys. Besides, I don't even know where you are going," I tell him in a 'duh-you-should-know-that' tone.
"Well, we are going to get the van, then picking up Rosella, then going to your house."
"My house?"
"So you can pack up."
"Why?"
"Because we are going somewhere special for the weekend," Kai answers for him.
So now we are pulling up to my house. I'm not worried what they think of my neighborhood, because I knew that things like don't matter to them. I walk in, and breath in, and I smell cigarette smoke drifting through the house and the faint scent of spaghetti and sauce.
I get my things. Not that I have much. It's only three days (Note: We get school off Friday due to a meeting), so I just walk to my brother's room and grab shorts and shirts. I just then think of the fact that the only clothes I have are truly my brothers. It could be worse. I could have nothing. I borrow another pair of shoes before zipping the bag and walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" My mom stands behind me, tears putting a slight shine in her dull blue eyes. Her hair is messy and a small bottle of lemonade is in her hand.
"Just out for the weekend, mom," I tell her softly.
"Promise me you'll come back." She looks so tired, as if the only thing on her mind when she looks at me is Toby.
"I promise, mom. I'll come back," I promise before opening the screen door. "I always do."
A/N: Did anyone else imagine Elle Fanning as Claire?
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