nice | drew starkey

4.4

The soft sound of birds chirping filled my room, not the cars I had grown accustomed to. I rubbed my puffy eyes and realized I was no longer in my father's arms but rather, wrapped in my comforter. He must've covered me after I fell asleep. I sat up and noticed a note on my nightstand.

We love you, sweetie. Your father and I had to go to work but we'll be home tonight for dinner. Make sure to get Duke up before noon, you know how he can sleep in.

Love you Mom xoxo

I smiled at her sweet note and set it down. My phone was nowhere to be found, and then I remembered I had forgotten it at the hotel. I groaned and slid out of bed. Grabbing my pillow, I crept into Duke's room. Droll was trailing onto his pillow, I snickered quietly and threw my pillow. It hit him square on the head.

"What the -- Charlie!" Duke shouted.

"Morning, Pumpkin," I smirked. "I'll make breakfast,"

"Dick," He muttered under his breath, before groaning as he got out of bed.

"Love you too," I yelled over my shoulder as I ran down the stairs. The house phone began to ring. "Hello, this is Charlie," I cheerfully answered.

"Hi hon, just wanted to make sure you were up, also some friends of yours did the texty thing on the Instagram we set up," My mom said. My stomach dropped.

"Which friends?" I asked hesitantly, bile rising in my throat.

"The Maddies and Elaine, I think," Blissfully unaware of how concerned I was that it was -- him.

"Can you tell them I'm at home? I left my phone at the hotel so I couldn't respond. I left in a hurry," I muttered the last part.

"I'll do that right now, also you're father and me, we planned a 3-day camping trip for this weekend, we thought you wouldn't be home for another week. We can cancel though," My mother quickly added.

"No! Don't cancel because of me. You and Dad need some quality time. I can watch Duke." I chuckled.

"Thank you, dear, alright I'll see you at home," She finished and hung up the phone. Great, nothing like being home alone when you don't even want to get out of bed. My stomach wasn't even rumbling, but I figured Duke would be starved so I made him two eggs.

"Duke! Get your ass down here," I screamed through our echoey house.

"I'm coming," Duke groaned back and his blanket wrapped figure emerged from the top of the stairs.

"Gorgeous Princess," I winked at him and slid his plate in front of him, which he scarfed down.

"Did you eat?" He looked up from his plate.

"Not hungry," I shrugged. Anything I would eat would probably come right back up. "Let's go for a hike today,"

"Alright," He nodded and put his plate away as I went upstairs to change. My room was unnervingly quiet. I was so used to having some sound in my room. After digging through my drawers I found my old iPod and put it on the speaker. Soft trumpet began to fill the air, my breath caught in my throat.

Kiss me once and kiss me twice, it's been a long long time

My thoughts drifted back to the boat, the moment that started this crush. Our song drifted through the air. A part of me cracked all over again, but I remained frozen. Unable to leave this trance. Silent tears began to fall onto my cheeks.

"Charlie?" I vaguely heard Duke's voice in the distance. I was trapped in this recurring nightmare. I could still remember the feeling of his hands on my waist and spinning me. Not a care in the world, and being teased about dating. And now, now-- all of that was gone. Warm arms wrapped around me, and I melted into their touch. Sobbing silently craving some type of warmth to ease the cold pain of loneliness. Something held my shoulders, and I saw a pair of green eyes staring at me.

"Charles," Duke said quietly.

"He cheated, this is-- was our song," I sniffled, tears still flowing down my cheeks. Duke just nodded, as I slowly began to calm down as the song came to an end.

"Let's get dressed, and go hiking," Duke smiled, and went into his room. I nodded and slipped on my shorts and t-shirt. Grabbed a pair of athletic socks and put on my hiking boots. I hadn't worn these in forever, but our parents used to make us hike together every night so we knew the woods really well. I sat down at my vanity and looked back at my reflection. She didn't even look like me. I felt like a fool, and there's the fact that he might not have cheated. He still went with her though and lied. Just thinking about it made tears well up in my eyes.

"Ready charlie?" Duke knocked on my door.

"Yeah," I answered and we set off on our hike. The first half was in silence and then Duke decided to talk.

"I'm sorry for what I said at the dinner table, I didn't know," Duke said quietly.

"It's alright you didn't know," I gave him a comforting smile, it wasn't his fault. He didn't know and he was just being a brother. Silence surrounded us once again. "I don't know what to do,"

"How do you mean?" Duke turned his head back. I sighed and explained the story once more. It was easier to bear, it still hurt but it was getting easier to say.

"He pushed her off, but he didn't text. But I don't want to go back to a guy that cheated. I can't be that girl again," I admitted. I was cheated on once, we had dated for 2 years in high school and he went to college. His best friend told me he was dating a girl at college and at home. Being the young dumb high schooler I was, I went back. Duke was pissed, always so protective of his big sister.

"I hate him," Duke fumed.

"Duke, it's really okay. I just needed time, it brought back too many memories. I need to talk to him," I explained to Duke, and honestly, to myself as well.

"You don't deserve that," My brother stopped and turned to grab me by the shoulders. "You deserve the world. I'm sick of these guys hurting you, and now I can finally do something about it," He turned around again and continued walking. "If I see this guy I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," Duke continued.

"I love you, Duke," I smiled and walked after him.

"I love you too, sis," Duke turned back with a boyish grin on his face. The one he always gave me when we were kids. Those simple times were something I longed to go back to. 

...

Sorry, this is so short, and it came so late I've been trying to type with a broken finger. Does not work well.