Explosive

16 || Bassist

"Honey, please take Audrey with you," my aunt pleads for what seems like the hundredth time. I'm sitting on the stairs, a book in my hands, watching Josh argue with his mom. "I don't want to leave her home alone."

"Then take her with you," Josh says, spinning the basketball on his finger. He's wearing jeans but is claiming that he's going to play basketball with Todd.

"You know I can't do that," my aunt says quietly. Theodore comes and sits beside me, holding up a foam ball before laughing loudly. I take it from him and lightly toss it to Mary who doesn't catch it. It rolls away and she chases after it, her brother running behind her.

"Guys, it's fine. I can stay home alone," I say but my aunt dismisses me with a wave of her hand. Apparently, my uncle is taking the kids out to eat. Josh had politely refused, while I was not invited. It's no big deal. Jumping off a cliff into a pile of cacti is better than eating dinner with my uncle.

"Josh, I will pull the grounded card," my aunt warns, raising her eyebrow and crossing her arms. She is wearing an elegant red dress that reaches just above her knees. Around her neck, there are string of pearls that compliment her beautiful eyes.

"Whatever. You can come with me," Josh says to me, tossing the ball angrily into the air. "Just hurry up, okay? I'm waiting downstairs." He slams the door behind him and his mom frowns but doesn't say anything. I scramble up the stairs without waiting for my aunt to apologize for her son's behavior. My cousin is acting as if he would rather jump off a bridge than bring me with him. I feel like a child.

I change into a pair of jeans and pull on my baggy green sweater, muttering to myself. Grabbing my backpack, I give Mary a kiss and rush out the door. Downstairs, Josh waves me to a beat-up blue truck in which a dark figure is hunched over the wheel. He's wearing a beanie and I smile, thinking about the video games that we played last night. When I come to stand beside Josh, Blake lets out an audible groan. "You're brining your cousin?" Blake asks, slightly annoyed.

The smile on my face falters and I cross my arms in disappointment, feeling embarrassed and unwelcome. "It's not my fault. My mom made me," Josh answers, pulling the door open for me and gesturing me inside. He looks up at the building before climbing in after me.

"Are you sure about this?" Blake says, putting the car into drive and pulling out onto the road. His car smells good, a mix of his cologne and wood.

"It's nice to see you too, Blake," I mutter, wrapping my arms around my bag.

"What's up, Moore? How was your test?" he asks, grinning at me.

"It was good," I answer. "Where are you guys even going?"

"A party," Blake responds as he stops at a red light.

"I thought you were playing basketball with Todd," I say, turning to look at Josh. The ball he brought is sitting between his feet and he just shrugs his shoulders. A smug look spreads across his face.

Blake snorts. "Josh lies a lot."

"Shut up. I'm only going to the party because the last one I went to was weeks ago," Josh mutters, snapping his seatbelt in place.

"It's Monday night and you guys are going to a party. Not cool," I huff, feeling stupid about bringing my backpack. I thought that I might get some homework done while Josh played basketball with Todd. My attempt to stay out of their hair.

"Someone is mad," Blake says. He's acting different, more laid back than usual. There are so many sides to Blake that I'm having trouble keeping up.

"Audrey doesn't get mad. She just gets mildly irritated," Josh sings, leaning over to look at his friend. They both laugh and I slump in my seat.

"Why go to a party today of all days?" I ask, my cheeks burning from the attention.