Running Towards the Light

Chapter 21 - Arguments

That damn bell was always SO LOUD in the library!

"Shit! I was supposed to give this to my teacher before the break ends." I told Brady, frantically getting up from my chair. "I gotta go. Thanks for talking to me!" I grinned at him.

"Anytime!" Brady called to me as I ran out of the library.

***

It was the end of the day and I wasn't sure what was going on after school today for me at all or even what the plan was for me to come home. So I unlocked my phone to find a text from West ... great.

West — come to my car.

After what had happened with my explosion this morning and hearing my brothers speaking about Brady's brother I was a little hesitant to walk to his car after school. But I also knew that West would be pissed at me if I was late and I really didn't need him more pissed at me than he needed to be.

I walked out to where my brother parked this morning to find everyone but Ben already there.

"Get in." Cameron ordered me the second I arrived.

"What about Ben?" I asked.

"We're going to his game. He's already there."

I didn't respond. I just got into the car with Sam on my left and Spencer on my right and West and Cam up front. I saw Cameron look at me in the mirror with a furrowed expression – probably to check my seatbelt – before starting the car and practically speeding away. Cameron had always been a fast driver.

I pulled out my phone and started to text Eli because he wasn't at school today.

"Who ya texting?" A voice whispered in my ear. Sam was so close his chin was resting on my shoulder and I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, jumping in the other direction, and by default towards Spencer.

The deep rumble that came out of my idiot brother's chest was the next thing I heard from my place. My hand held my phone tightly to my chest and my back was squeezing Spencer into the car door but he didn't say anything. That moron was laughing!

"What. The. Hell." I hit Sam with my palm pretty hard in my opinion in his shoulder blade but this only caused him to laugh more. "God! Do you always have to be this fucking annoying?"

"Language." Cameron eyed me in the mirror.

"Oh, please. You swear a thousand times more than me." I sassed.

Cameron rolled his eyes bringing his hand up to his hair: "I'm also five years older than you."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, making sure my brother saw before retaking my spot in the middle.

"You're in a mood today." I heard West mutter under his breath from the front seat. He probably didn't intend for me to hear him ... but I did.

Cameron's eyes also shifted over to West at his remark. It was clear the entire car heard what our brother said and that meant I had to defend my honor!

"I'm not in a mood." I scoffed, knowing full well saying that pretty much proved his point.

"Oh yes you are." Spencer piped up.

West scoffed as well. "This morning and right now, you sure as hell are!"

"I'm not—"

"What happened this morning?" Cameron cut me off, his question directed at West.

West looked at Cam for a second before leaning on the window with his elbow and not looking at him. "Nothing." He grumbled.

"Clearly it was something? Was it in the car? Spencer!" Cameron barked towards his younger brother.

Spence looked conflicted as he looked from Cam to West, his gaze on me for a slip second before going back to Cam and West. "It's not that big of a deal. We dealt with it."

"Doesn't look dealt with when she's still being bitchy."

"I'm not being bitchy!" I immediately responded, cutting off whatever Spencer was going to say next. "And can we stop ganging up on me? Cause Cam, this isn't even your business." I threw my hands up.

"Everything to do with my little siblings is my business, star." Cam responded smugly, looking at me again in the mirror.

"Most of the time you guys ignore us so it's really not!"

"Because most of the time you guys are annoying little shits like you're being right now." He argued, speeding up.

"I'm done with this." I declared.

My head was already starting to hurt and I really didn't need four of my brothers making it four times worse right now!

"You can't just be fucking done with this. I'm still fucking speaking. So one of you dipshits needs to tell me what the hell happened this morning?" He sounded extremely angry ... and that was making me get really scared.

I closed my eyes tight as my brain started to fog up. My headache pounded and it felt like my brain was suffocating. It was overloading! Help me! I needed to get out, I needed to go, but I couldn't. I felt my breath starting to shallow, but I couldn't see it or even hear it, I only felt it.

A strong hand gripping into mine brought me back into reality. I turned my head to where the other hand was coming from to be met with green eyes, similar to mine, that held nothing but worry and compassion in them — Spencer.

"Cameron, slow down." Spencer told Cam, calmly. "You're okay." He whispered to me, but only so I could hear.

I didn't feel the car move. Not faster. Not slower.

"Cameron! Slow the fuck down!" I heard West's voice barking and then I felt a shift.

The car lurched forward as it came down at least 30 mph in just a second. My seatbelt locked, Spencer tightened his grip on my hand, and Sam's hand came to rest on my tight, squeezing it to keep me in place.

"You okay?" Cameron's gruff voice sounded from the front seat.

At that moment I realized that we had arrived at a highschool that I assumed was where Ben was playing, so I just really wanted to get out of this car!

"Y-yeah, yeah ... I-I'm fine." I said, shortly.

My hand untangled itself from Spencer as I kinda pushed him to open the door. He knew what I was trying to do so he immediately opened the door and exited so I could climb out of the car as well.

I took a deep breath of fresh air the second my feet hit the hard concrete.

"You sure you're okay, Tris?" Spencer asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-yeah, Spence. I'm perfectly fine, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Let's just go watch Ben play."

He nodded in understanding and all five of us started to walk towards where the field was — or I hoped this was the direction of the field. I was just following them.