The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 13- Fate?

I wake up and it's still dark outside. After switching positions several times, I realize that I am not falling back asleep anytime soon. I pick up my phone and see that it's only four in the morning. Doing some counting on my fingers, I figure that it's about lunchtime in Los Angeles. I dial Brett.

"Sis!" He picks up after only one ring.

"Geez! Have you been waiting with the phone in your hand since we hung up last night?"

"You know me," he chuckles. "No, actually, I just got off the phone with Mom and Dad when you called. They're headed over in a bit."

"Oh." I think he can hear the slight sting in my voice because he quickly changes the subject.

"So back to last night—you ready to tell me what happened?"

I sigh.

"Steph?"

"I'm not sure."

"Steph."

I groan. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you can't freak out like you usually do. That's not helpful. It's not a big deal; I just really want to vent."

"Go for it." His voice is tense and I can tell that he is nervous about whatever I have to say.

"So I met this guy on the plane..."

"The guy you were with last night?"

"Yep."

"Stephanie! How could you go gallivanting around a foreign country with some dude you met on a flight?!"

"I wasn't gallivanting," I protest. "And you promised you wouldn't freak!"

"I lied."

I don't say anything for a moment.

"Fine," he sighs, "I'm sorry that I freaked. But seriously, what were you thinking?"

"First of all, nothing bad happened. Second, we were in public. And third, we weren't just by ourselves."

"If nothing bad happened, then why are we having this conversation? I'm glad you were in public, but who else were you with?"

I hesitate. "His friends."

Now it's Brett's turn to be silent. "Were there any other girls in this group of friends?"

"There were other girls around..."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take without freaking, Steph." His voice is strained, and I can imagine the veins popping out in his neck.

"Look, like I said, nothing bad happened. Really. His friends are nice. We just went to the beach and then to this amusement park on a pier. There were tons of other people around, and this way I didn't have to show myself the city."

He sighs. "You keep saying nothing bad happened. So again, why are we having this conversation? You seemed pretty upset last night when you got off the phone."

I pause. "Well, I said his friends are nice. But he can be kind of a jerk."

"What did he do?"

I know that I can't mention the kiss in the airport. Or the almost kiss in the Ferris wheel. If I do, Brett will be on the first flight to Sydney tonight. "He just said some rude things. Plus, he's really cocky."

"Then why were you even with him?"

I don't really know how to answer that question. The truth is, I'm not really sure myself.

"Because he's not always rude. And like I said, I didn't want to have to show myself around the city. So when he and his friends offered, I decided to take them up on it."