In My Head

THE MOVE ~ A Change ~ Logan

I read the sign and breathe a sigh of relief; we're almost there. I'm so ready to get out of this car. Six hours behind the wheel is a real claustrophobic nightmare. After three hours all I could think about was how I'm breathing in this stale air, and the space inside this car's seriously shrinking.

"This is our exit, Logan." Dad's voice sounds gravelly coming through the wireless radio.

"Finally," I say under my breath as I follow Dad's red Toyota and Mom's white Mazda up the exit ramp, and we slow to a crawl as we merge into gridlock.

The first thing I do is roll my window down.

The second thing I do is check my brother in the passenger seat. His black hair is a mess of loose shaggy curls, and his tawny skin looks a bit washed out. As far as I can tell, he's dead to the world. The thought makes me watch for the slow rise and fall of his chest. He's not dead; of course he's just sleeping.

My eyes wander out Kaden's window and land on the ocean coast. I take in the sandy beaches and breaking waves. A couple chicks in bikinis catch my eye, and I let myself stare. It's noon on a school day, and there are still hot babes on the beach. I could get used to this.

"How's Kaden?" Mom's voice booms out of the wireless radio.

I grab the wireless from the cup holder. "He's still sleeping," I say. He must be really wiped out, which doesn't surprise me. It was really bad this morning.

Kaden will need to get up soon anyway, so I might as well show him the beach. I reach over and squeeze his shoulder. He inhales and jerks awake. "Whadisit," he mumbles, still half asleep.

"We're almost there. Check out the beach." I point across him and out his window, just as we coast to a complete stop at a traffic light.

Kaden squeezes his eyes shut, not even bothering to look. That's when I realize he probably doesn't remember leaving Oregon.

"I'm sorry," I say. He rolls his eyes. I lean over and put my elbow on his reclined seat. "I know this is hard . . . Moving sucks, I get that, but maybe it's not as bad as you think. Look out that window and then try to tell me you're not at least a little bit excited to be a single guy living in California. I know I'm excited to be single for a change."

Kaden's face softens. He props himself up on his elbow and looks out the window. "I hate to break it to you, Logan . . ." He looks over and shakes his head. "This isn't a change for you. You're always single."

The tension in my shoulders releases. "The change is that I'm excited about it this time," I say, and Kaden actually scoffs at me, which is practically like laughing for him. Finally, I can breathe easy. "Mind if I turn on the music?" I ask.

Kaden shrugs; I reach up to where my phone is stuck to the dashboard and tap the play button. "Move" by Lil Tjay Tyga blares from the speakers. I drum my hands on the steering wheel and follow Mom through the intersection.

"Dude," Kaden says. "Not the best thing for my head right now."

"Shoot, I'm sorry." I turn the volume down to a whisper. "Want some ibuprofen?" I lean over to open the glove compartment with one hand on the wheel. The car swerves.

"Whoa, let me get it." Kaden nudges my hand back and grabs the meds himself. The pills clack against the plastic bottle.

We make our way through a few traffic lights, and my stomach starts to growl. I pick up the wireless again. "Hey Mom, are we gonna eat?"

"Not right now, no," Mom says.

Dang it, I'm starving! "Hey Kade. My stomach is trying to eat itself. I think there's still chips and jerky in the back. Can you . . . ?"