utah || hemmings au {sequel to camp || hemmings au}

thirty-seven

Let me start by saying that having your brother take you shopping is a not a wise decision, never do it. Kyle had just gotten his license a few days before and when he heard my mom and I discussing the necessities I needed for college, he insisted on taking me to get them. I knew how shopping with Kyle went, he would get bored the first ten minutes in and look at his phone the rest of the time. That was just one of the reasons why I wasn't too keen on him taking me. Another was that Kyle only listened to country music, so the whole 20 minute ride to the mall Keith Urban blasted through the speakers of the car. Don't get me wrong, I liked country music and Keith Urban's songs were good, but I liked a variety of music and country was not what I wanted to hear that day. Nevertheless, I sucked it up and dealt with it.

"Kyle, can you get that for me?" I asked as I attempted to reach for a plush pillow that was on the top shelf. Kyle tore his eyes away from his phone momentarily and grabbed the pillow for me, handing it to me before his eyes returned to the object in his hands. I rolled my eyes and put the pillow in the shopping cart.

"You know, you could help me." I sighed as I began to push the cart down the aisle. I knew this would happen and it was exactly why I preferred my mom to bring me, but Kyle was set on coming and I was forced to find everything on my own.

"I'm a little busy," Kyle replied as he followed behind me, "Besides, you're doing fine by yourself."

"This would go a lot faster if you would put the phone away and help me, though." I let out a small groan. Maybe I was being pushy, but I really did need help and he should have realized that I would when he volunteered to bring me.

"I don't know what you need for college, I'm sixteen for Christ sake." Kyle shot back.

"I knew I should have convinced mom to bring me." I mumbled to myself. Kyle was starting to irritate me. I mean, it wouldn't have been so hard to just give me a little help, he was being so stubborn.

"I heard that." Kyle said from behind me.

I stopped pushing the cart and turned around to face Kyle, causing him to nearly run into me. He looked up from his phone and I squinted at him. "If you don't stop being an ass and help me, I'm going to tell mom that you nearly crashed the car on the ride here." He hadn't really, but I willing to do anything to get some help from him.

"Really?" Kyle raised his eyebrows at me as he shoved his phone in his pocket. "Because if you do that, I'll tell her about how you left the house at three o'clock in the morning and slept over at Luke's."

It wasn't Kyle's words that upset me, it was the thought of Luke that upset me. It had been nearly a week since that night, and although my mind had been off of him for most of the day, it was definitely on him now. I hated thinking about him because I doubted that he ever thought about me. I didn't know how he was doing, but I hoped he was better. I hated the thought of him hurting, even after all he had done. No one deserves to hate themselves, no matter what they've done.

I guess Kyle saw the look on my face because his softened and he sighed. "Okay, look, I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

I swallowed hard and looked down. "You can start by not mentioning him anymore."

"I didn't mean to bring him up," Kyle said, "Caroline, I won't tell mom any-" When Kyle stopped mid-sentence, I looked up at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking behind me, so I turned around, and in all honesty I wished I hadn't.

Luke was standing in the aisle across from the one Kyle and I were on. He was in a black tank top and basketball shorts with flip-flops and a black snapback. He hadn't noticed us and I was thankful for that, it was hard enough seeing him there and if he had seen us it would have just added to situation. I have to admit, I did feel a pang in my chest, but it wasn't as bad as it usually was. Maybe that meant I was getting better, but I highly doubted that. In fact, I knew I wasn't.