Chasing Embers | 1

01 | E m b e r

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"You dropped it again," I mumbled as my curly haired brother bent down to grab his five dollar bill for the fourth time.

Beside me, Jonah laughed. "When will children learn that there are such things as pockets?"

My brother stuck his tongue out at the boy who could easily knock him to the ground if he wanted. We continued to stroll down the sidewalk that was covered in sweet smelling cherry blossoms from the trees adjacent to the road. This was part of our everyday "walk to school with your brother, please" routine my mom forced upon me. Luckily, I had Jonah. He graciously gave up his morning everyday so I wouldn't have to suffer with the troll I called brother. Now, before you start to criticize me, I had some pity on my brother. Tyler was only eight, so he was still learning what maturity is.

Jonah was my best friend. I don't know if I could've survived walking Tyler to school without him by my side. He calmed Tyler and kept strangers away with his size. Jonah was definitely not a cuddly looking teenage boy. He looked as though he could have been a bodybuilder with his broad shoulders and muscular arms. Girls loved the sight of him and his crystal blue eyes that complimented his short-cut blonde hair. He was strong as well as easy on the eyes. As long as he was with me, I was safe, aside from the glares girls would give me.

"How much longer?" Tyler whined from in front of me, trudging his feet along the pavement.

"Walk faster and it'll be sooner than you know it," I retorted, adding in an eye roll.

I shifted my black backpack to the other shoulder and ran a hand through the blonde curls that mimicked those on my brother's head. The sun glared down on those walking in the streets of West Seattle. My senior year was coming to an end, and I could hardly wait. This year, I planned on spending the summer traveling the world with a few friends. Hopefully, I would be able to find an interest before college found me.

"Firecracker? Did you hear me?"

I snapped my head up towards Jonah. "Um, no sorry. What did you ask?"

He smiled down at me. "I wanted to know if you had plans tonight. Mom's headed to Oregon so I thought I might stop by for dinner."

It was never strange for us to randomly show up at each other's houses. We'd been doing it since we were Tyler's age. Our small townhouses were only a few blocks from each other, so I was over a lot.

"No, I don't think we have plans. Dawn's making spaghetti for dinner."

Jonah scrunched his nose. "I don't think your mother would appreciate you calling her that."

I rolled my eyes.

"Finally!" Tyler ran up the brick steps of the elementary school. He pulled open the tall wooden doors and ran inside to try and find his friends.

"Alright, bye," I muttered, even though he was out of sight.

Jonah laughed at me, so I punched him playfully in the arm. He feigned crying and swaddled his arm with his hand.

"Wimp," I teased under my breath, grinning.

"I'm sorry what was that? Do you and I have a problem, missy?" Jonah grabbed me by my small waist and tossed me over his shoulder while keeping a strong grip on my legs.