✓ Forget Me Not (Short Story)

Chapter Two

"First Stop, Detroit."

"Detroit?" I question.

"There's a block party hosted by a local church. They've asked me to photograph the event," she says, stirring her latte. "Actually, it's my aunt's church who asked me. That's mostly why I'm going. It's volunteer work, though I'll still pay you."

"So you want me to take pictures of you taking pictures?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Essentially, yes. Two perspectives won't hurt either." She takes a sip of the caramel beverage, making a face. "I absolutely hate coffee. I need an energy drink up in this cafe." She leaves and comes back with a Mountain Dew soda. "It's not a Monster but it'll do."

We drink our purchases quietly for a few minutes until Felix speaks up. "I'll be driving up on Wednesday at nine in the morning. I'll text you my address."

I nod, secretly excited. Who would turn down a trip with a pretty girl?

Wednesday came sooner than I expected. Even though I had gotten my mother to help me pack, I still didn't feel prepared.

"You'll do fine, Caleb. She's taking you for your obvious talent. Don't be so down on yourself."

I roll my eyes, looking down. My cereal has long since gotten soggy and it's only seven thirty in the morning.

"Oh, and Caleb," my mother starts, momentarily pausing her mad dash for work, "do not bring home a baby. You still have school."

I sigh dramatically. "I'm not stupid, mom. I know how to be safe."

"I know, but from the selfies you've shown me, she could tempt any man..."

I jump up from the table. "I better be leaving! Don't want to be late!"

"But Caleb, it's only seven-" my mother begins but I'm already halfway up the stairs to my room. I'm nineteen. The 'talk' isn't necessary at my age.

My knuckles tap against the metal green door of her motel room. A few minutes later, she opens the door.

"Hey," her eyes squint at me. She has dark bags under her eyes and her hair in pulling into a loose pony tail. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"Um, sure," I respond with uncertainty.

"Can you drive? I have a huge headache today."

"Y-yeah, I can do that," I stutter. She gives me lopsided smile before handing me her keys.

"I had it looked over at the shop to make sure it was good to drive three hours away. I don't mind if you want to drive my car, or if your more comfortable in your own."

I nod, heading inside her hotel room. The room is spotless with one lone suitcase on the bed. Being the gentleman my mother raised me to be, I carried it out to her car. She gets in the passenger side and immediately closes her eyes to sleep.

Her Chevy Malibu isn't much different from my Impala, except I'm way more nervous about wrecking her car than mine. I set out on the road after calibrating the GPS for her aunt's house, which is where we apparently are going to stay.

We manage to arrive by noon, just in time for lunch. I pull into a Checkers. The car stopping wakes up Felicity.

"Oh man, I love Checkers. I used to come here a lot when I stayed with my aunt," she mumbles out drowsily.

We eat a quick lunch before heading to her aunt's, which is only about two minutes away.

"Felix!" her aunt greets happily, hugging her.  Her aunt looks exactly like her, except for her aunt having brown eyes instead of Felicity's blue.

"Who's this?" she turns to me. Did she not know I was coming?

"I meant to call, honestly I did, but," she says, rubbing the back of her neck in clear nervousness, "I just, um, forgot? Anyways, this is Caleb. He's my new assistant?"

"Isn't an assistant a bit unnecessary?" her aunt questions. A look passes between Felicity and her aunt that only they seem to interpret. Eventually, we're invited inside. Her house is on the smaller size, with a kitchen-dining room hybrid only about eleven feet by twelve feet. Though it's tiny, it has a very homey feel.

Two more members of the family come to greet her. One is her sixteen year old cousin Colton and the second is her Uncle. He signs to his wife, pointing to me in confusion. She signs back what is probably an explanation.

"This is Eric, my husband he's deaf." Oh, that would explain the signing. This might be harder than I thought.

"Hi, nice to meet you," he offers his hand in greeting. It takes me a few moments to recover from the fact that he can talk before I shake his hand.

"That's a little joke they play on everyone," Felicity whispers to me. "You really cannot take him seriously, like at all." I smile at her in response.

Felicity takes her bags into a spare bedroom while I'm confined to the couch.

"No offense to you or anything, but we just feel a bit better if you take the couch. We don't want any funny business in the house."

"Oh my god, Rachelle, I'm practically a nun. You do not need to worry about that," Felicity huffs as she comes back. My face heats up and know my cheeks probably look like a tomato.

"So, what's for dinner?" the always hungry Colton asks, breaking the tension.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know in the comments below what you thought!