At Aunt Amy's

Chapter 15

 When I finally got home after one of the most stressful ordeals of my life, I made my way up the stairs to Hazel's room. Though her method was way crazier than needed...it worked. As I trudged up her stairs, I could hear muffled yells coming from Hazels. So when I got to the top of the stairs, I hesitantly knocked on the door and called, "H-hello?"

There was silence, followed by a bit of shuffling around until Hazel finally opened the door. In the corner of her room, there was a purple blanket draped over something big.

"Should...I even ask what's under there?" I questioned. I saw the thing move slightly. "Or who?"

"You...don't wanna know," Hazel replied.

"So...I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks?"

"For the whole net thing, even though I had to climb a tree and Charlie fell on her head. But it worked. She stopped bothering us. And came out."

"Like I said: fear sells everything!"

"Effed up ideology, but I get your point."

The thing (or person) under the blanket shifted and moaned again.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some stuff to do," Hazel said hastily. And with that, she closed the door and left me on the stairway.

Just as I was about to swing down the stairs and back into my closet, Aunt Amy called, "So did the girl stop annoying you?"

Frustratedly squeezing my eyes shut, I responded, "Yes."

I made my way to the kitchen, where Aunt Amy was leaning her elbows against the table. I did the same.

"Did you really get through to her? Show her who's boss?" Aunt Amy asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't have to try too hard."

"Good. So...anything else happen'? Any hot boys?"

S***, I thought. "Naw. Not to mention it's an all girls-"

"Hot girls?" S*** again.

"I'm uh...not really..." I mumbled God, how do I put it for a thirtysomething-

"Are you not into that stuff?"

A little surprised, I responded, "Yes, actually."

"Are you an ace? I mean, you're probably a little young for the-"

"Aromatic," I corrected.

"Oh, I get it."

"Really?"

"Sure...honestly I think it's fine you're not dating anyone. It'd just be another thing I'd have to explain to your parents."

I chuckled a little, a smile curling up my face. "Welp, it's nice to know someone gets me."

"And by the way, we should probably move you out of the closet," Aunt Amy suggested. "It gets cold in there."

"C'mon Brenda! We've been waiting for three minutes and seventeen seconds!" Hazel yelled, tapping her foot impatiently.

"In a minute!" Brenda yelled back.

"It's been three!"

"Okay, okay..." Brenda ran down the stairs, throwing on a coat. As the three of us raced through the driveway, Hazel called, "I call window seat!" This prompted me to yell, "Other window seat!"

"C'mon, guys. I'm the eldest," Brenda mumbled.

"But not the tallest," Hazel pointed out, shoving her in the middle seat.

As Uncle Eric drove us down the highway, I Like It by Cardi B blasted over the radio. Sadly, only Hazel and I were enjoying it. We were singing along at the top of our lungs while Brenda sat in the middle with her back straight, her hands in her lap, and staring forward. Hazel and I subconsciously squished Brenda between us the more and more into the song we got (and we got too into the song). It got even worse when Hazel and I started holding hands.

As Brenda sat there awkwardly, Aunt Amy told us, "Remember what I told you. Don't freak out too much in front of everyone at the airport. And ask to carry their bags. And Avery, don't mention the closest thing."

"I won't," I answered, yelling over the music.

"Should we tell them about the milk thing?" Hazel asked innocently.

"Oh, no," Aunt Amy warned. "If you told them, then I would never see you guys again."

"Sounds legit," I responded. When we pulled into the airport, Brenda rushed right out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh air, stretching out her limbs.

"C'mon guys!" Hazel called, taking a head start down the parking.

"Hazel, be careful!" Uncle Eric yelled after her. A car slowed to a stop right in front of her.

"Yeah, that's right," Hazel said, puffing out her chest. "You won't hit me. Huh? Huh? Ya lil' wimp."

Hazel led the way into the airport, where we entered where everyone else exited. All around me, tired people were lugging their heavy suitcases through the halls, muttering curses under their breaths.

"Damn, I was expecting it to look like that scene from Love Actually," I whispered to Hazel.

"Really, I was expecting Civil War," she muttered back.

"You seriously want Spiderman and Falcon to bust through the window?"

"...yeah, sure."

"As effective as your schemes are...you're still a weird kid."
"Hey, we share blood," she said, though I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or an insult. But we high-fived, so I settled for a compliment. Looking around, I realized something: the last time I was at the airport, it was before I knew that Hazel was probably involved in the mob. Before I knew Charlie had a thing for Gretel. Hell, before I knew who Charlie was! God, it was before I'd really figured myself out! Before I had friends. Before I was all that open to anyone. Before I realized that setting up a scheme to have your sister and her friend fight each would end in an allergic reaction.

Before...I knew Aunt Amy.

When I stopped zoning out and focused, I saw two blonde adults of the exact same height making their way down the escalator. They each had two heavy suitcases and seemed to be looking around like they were lost. But when their familiar eyes turned to us, they immediately smiled. Brenda started to run towards the escalator, followed by Hazel, followed by me. After waiting anxiously for them to get to the bottom, I hugged my parents.