Reignite | Currently Revising

Chapter Three

~James~

The blistering sun glares in my eyes as Melanie slowly eases the brakes to a crawl. Once outside of Boston, the three-hour drive to the cabin in Vermont had been smooth sailing until now. I sigh as I pinch my sunglasses between my pointer finger and thumb, twirling them around and around and around.

"Only an hour and a half left. I swear," she says.

I groan, "It's just so damn hot. It feels like we've been roasting in the car all day."

She sighs, "Yeah."

I still can't believe the AC broke! I wish we had known this before the trip. Instead, my car sat on the street for the whole week. It could have been fixed by now. The windows have been down the entire time driving, which hadn't been too bad until now, as we come to a complete halt with no breeze.

The sun bakes against my pale skin as I wipe the sweat dripping down my face. When will this traffic end so that the wind can return? The breeze at Melanie's family cabin on the lake better be cool.

"So, who's going to be at the graduation party again?" I ask.

"Well, you know my parents, my sister, Marisa, and her boyfriend, Kevin. Both my grandmas, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins, Sean and Kara. Then Bianca's family."

"Who's coming from her family?"

"I'm not sure. Her parents and her younger brother, Ethan, definitely, but I don't know if her cousins, Graham and Charlie, will also be there. I hope so. They're hysterical. You'd like them. If they come, I'm sure Bianca's grandmas, aunts, and uncles will also be there. It'll be a big ole family gathering!"

How are we all going to fit in that cabin? I didn't realize there were going to be so many people! My hands start to sweat, and not from the stagnant hot air.

"Melanie, doesn't the cabin only have, like, five bedrooms?" I raise a dark eyebrow her way.

She chuckles, "Yeah. We like to camp out, too. You know, sleep under the stars. It's very romantic." She wiggles her dark eyebrows back with a smirk.

As I smile, I roll my gray eyes, then look out the window as our surroundings change from stores and shops to maple trees and farmland. The breeze returns as the traffic clears up, but my hands grow more clammy.

~~~

~Melanie~

I can't wait to see everyone again. The last time I saw Bianca was when we saw The Jonas Brothers in concert at the TD Garden arena last summer. It's been way too long not to have seen my best friend.

My parents were just in Boston last week to watch me walk at graduation, but the last time I saw my extended family was last Christmas. It'll be nice to see them again. Though, I am not really looking forward to their prodding questions...

I wonder how tall Sean is now? Last Christmas, he was almost as tall as me, and I saw on Instagram that Kara had dyed the tips of her brown hair lilac. I remember being nineteen and doing crazy things with my long, dark brown hair. I smile as I merge onto Highway 131 and cross the border into Vermont.

The last time I saw Bianca's cousins was at our high school graduation. I can't believe that was four years ago, and now we've graduated college... The last time I saw Ethan was at the beginning of summer break after my freshman year.

He was shorter than me then, as I'm five-foot-eight inches, but Bianca mentioned he's taller than her now. He'd finally gotten his growth spurt. Bianca and I swore puberty had passed over him for years, and he'd only ever be a pretty boy. I wonder just how tall he is now. I wonder if he's taller than James at six feet? Mr. and Mrs. Page are pretty tall people.

I think back to the dream I had this morning. It was more of a memory than a dream. I wonder what brought it up? Probably just the thought of seeing him again. I hope he still has the long shaggy hair he had as a teenager. He was always so cute with that hairstyle...

My mind drifts off as we wind through Vermont's country roads, the terrain growing more and more mountainous with thick pine trees encompassing both sides of the one-lane highway. The sun glares in my eyes as I pull the visor down.

~~~