FAST CAR - Awsten Knight ✓

v. snow boots or flip-flops?

With shaky fingers and an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, Awsten searched his attic.

His dad obviously didn't know what he was doing. If he did, he most likely wouldn't have even thought before pulling down the ladder and running up there into the smelly, dusty, hot, area above the master bedroom.

Cobwebs and sun dust danced all around Awsten's face. He constantly tried to remind himself that there were no spiders on him. There were no bugs on him. He was fine. There were no bugs.

Gracie was in her room lying on her back on her fluffy white rug. She stared up at the ceiling curiously wondering why there were footprints up there.

Her bright red record player was live and in stereo. She didn't really like to play music from her phone, but would when she inevitably had to. For example, on the bus ride to school, she used to as she sat next to some random girls, but maybe that wouldn't count since she wasn't really paying attention to the music but to Awsten, who often sat only a few seats away (when he still attended).

bright lights
big city
i got the top down
do your hair all pretty,
girl.

"You probably find me by the store. We sit in corners at the doors." Gracie sang along. Slalom by Healy. Her favorite. Memories were rushing from her brain and out of her eyes, the last two lines oddly breaking her emotionless facade.

Awsten pushed back a box labeled 'mom' and rolled his eyes. his sister probably wouldn't have appreciated that eye roll right there. He no longer cared. His sister was the lucky one. She was so lucky that she had managed to escape off to school before his dad became the spiraling, out-of-control person he was today. She was extra lucky to have left before the divorce. Awsten never thought he would himself jealous of his sister, until one day he woke up and was.

Finally, he came across what he was up there looking for and grabbed it. He quickly climbed down the later, shoved the hatch closed, and sprinted through the house back to his room before his dad woke up. I guess looking for suitcases and crying at two am really does let you go unnoticed, huh? Nobody cares about that sort of thing. Two crazy teenagers running away from home? They could have fun trying to make it on their own. Wait until they get one lick of the real world, they'll wish they never left. Contrary to popular belief, the city actually is asleep at two am. Nothing is all fun and games in the real world except for the delusional.

Gracie sat up straight. She rubbed her eyes for a second. Her mind was still swirling, but she was starting to feel better. Letting it all out does help. Apparently. Her throat was sore now. The girl had on blue and green flannel pajama pants that were too big for her which caused her to almost slip on her way to the bathroom in search of her cherry-flavored cough syrup from when she had strep six months ago. The stuff was flat-out vomit-inducing, but it was also a miracle worker.

She flipped up the light switch and grabbed a tissue. Grace was about to leave and retreat back to her bedroom when she caught a split-second image of herself in the mirror.

Her red, puffy eyes were annoying her a little. Almost as much as the way her blue eyes looked against the red. She pulled her blonde hair up into a messy bun before heading out with a shake of her head and an even bigger frown than before. Gracie hated the way she looked the past few months; her hair was falling out so much and her face was starting to look like it was caving in on itself. She wanted to swap bodies with somebody- anybody.

Awsten lay on his bed with his suitcase on the floor in front of him. He stared at it, not knowing what else to do. What do you bring with you when you're running away forever and you don't know where you're going? Does it get rainy in forever? Will he need flip-flops? What about snow boats?

Do I even own snow boats? Awsten thought to himself. It snowed where he lived, but actual snow boots? Seriously, did he own those anymore?

The boy reluctantly got up from his comfortable bed and opened his closet. He stared (again), for a second and decided that throwing random things in would be his best bet. T-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, his secret stash of candy, a pair of Nikes, doc Martians, lots of socks, and then a few pairs of underwear. Not the neon yellow ones or the Captain America ones, though. He'd most likely never be able to live it down if Gracie saw those.

Meanwhile, Gracie was drifting to sleep with her blinds pulled tightly closed and the thoughts of finally leaving this useless town swirling around her mind. She finally felt at peace with everything going on in her life, which wasn't something she felt in a few very long years.

It's selfish- or at least she thinks so- only, she really never liked her life since Awsten 'left.' She felt incomplete in a way and uncomfortable in lots of varying social situations. She felt better when he was still by her side and she resented him for leaving for a long time; much longer than she cared to wonder about.

It had nothing to do with him, but she never really found the time to sleep either. she'd get home from ball practice around 7, start her homework, eat a really unhealthy diner usually consisting of takeout or leftovers, showered, then try to finish her homework. By then it was usually, at the very least eleven pm and she had to wake up at five. Every morning. Her bus came at six-thirty, most days earlier, and she needed time to change, eat, study, actually finish her homework, and attempt her hair and makeup.

All that and she only missed the bus once.

Awsten on the other hand took his time in the morning. But not really.

Every morning he'd wake at six and pop on jeans and a muscle tee, grab a granola bar or banana, and head out for his bus. He liked his system a lot better than Gracie liked hers.

The two kids would've driven themselves to school, however, Awsten dropped out soon after he actually could drive and Gracie just didn't like commuting the hour-long drive alone. Too much time alone also made her uncomfortable.

This was also why she didn't mind school as much as Awsten did, (although, looking back at it now he finds it ten times better than anything in his life).

He hated not being able to be himself for seven full hours, then having an extra three hours of homework, and never having any time for the rest of the things that mattered to him. Like guitar, video games, his tv shows, and every other little interest of his.

But it's not like he had to deal with it anymore.

______
a/n:
i missed this book ahh