hurricane // bridgit mendler

[thirty-eight]

Hurricane Chapter 38

The car ride to my parent's house was fairly silent. The most you were able to hear was my brother's PSP through his headphones. He seemed nonchalant about the entire thing, while my parents were a bit tense.

Harry and I sat in the third row, while Nick sat in the middle.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked me in a hushed tone. "With your brother...and I saw Shane and Lola there..."

I nodded and looked up at him. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I had recently remembered something that I forgot to tell him...something that I knew would set him off.

"What is it?" He asked, reading my expression with a worried look. I sighed.

"You have to promise not to yell

He laughed dryly. "Your parents are in the car. I doubt I want to yell at their daughter right now."

I took a deep breath and the words rushed out of my mouth before I could lose my nerve. "I'm going back to university in January."

I peeked up at him and he was just raising his right eyebrow, a small smirk on his face. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"No but-"

"I'm not mad. At least you're not planning our breakup."

I blinked and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't upset.

"And anyways, our Midnight Memories tour takes a pause from January to June."

"Well, that's perfect because my semester ends in May."

He smiled warmly at me and kissed my forehead.

"Are we almost home?" Nick asked from in front of us. I felt the car make a dangerous, sharp turn, causing me to smash into Harry.

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry," he mumbled and kept on driving. I had no idea what was up with those two.

"So, you guys, why did you want me to come down to Cali? It couldn't've been because of the shooting, because that must mean you can predict the future. And if you could, you wouldn't've made Nick go to school."

"No, it's something else," Mom replied.

"Then what is it?"

There was a long pause. "Nick wants to move in with you."

I bit my lip and stared at Harry, who simply stared back.

"Move in? I barely stay in a single house for a month," I said airily.

"But, he wants to travel, see the world," my dad said. By his tone, I could tell his teeth were clenched tightly.

I was silent. I doubt Nick heard anything due to his headphones.

"And...you're letting him?" I asked, my voice soft.

"You're his sister. It's not like you're around most of the time anyway," Mom said bitterly.

Her words hit me like a slap in the face. I didn't say anything; just looked out the window. It was getting dark, but it was still warm. There were people lining the beach, ready for midnight surfing and make-out sessions with their boyfriends/girlfriends.

I felt Harry's hand squeeze my thigh lightly, trying to reassure me that, given the situation, it's simply tense. But, she was right. I went to New York, I went to college a couple of months later, and when I finally returned, they weren't here so I left for New Zealand.