Love to Hate You

Chapter Three

A deep red Chevy truck comes into view after a few minutes of waiting, and I hurry over to hop in.

“Thanks, A.J.,” I offer with a shy smile.

“Whatever.Can’t you get to the bus on time?” he grumbles, pulling the truck out of the parking lot.

“No, actually, I can’t,” I snap back.

He rolls his eyes and leans back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Why not take the scooter?” he suggests.

“Don’t I need a special license to drive the scooter?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

He shrugs his shoulders. “Just don’t get pulled over.”

I snort, “Yeah, okay.”

“You need an attitude adjustment,” he comments, and after a few moments pulls into our driveway.

“Whatever,” I mutter, and jump out of the truck, landing awkwardly on the pavement.

As I follow A.J. into the house, we are immediately greeted by a baby’s screams and my older sister’s attempts at hushing sounds.

I slip off my shoes and walk in stocking feet to the living room. The lush carpet envelopes my feet as I enter the cozy living room and sit down on the couch next to my sister. Alexis, her three-year-old daughter, is in front of the television watching Yo Gaba, Gaba and coloring in a Disney Princess coloring book.

My sister, Alisa, is visiting until next Monday with her husband, Bryan. She just turned twenty-four and has two kids. The new addition is Joshua, and he’s only four-months-old. He’s proven to be a real pain this past week. He cries all night, every night. It’s safe to say that none of us have gotten proper sleep since they came.

I Reaching over, Iand stroke Joshua’s tiny hand with my finger. He still continues to cry at the top of his lungs, and his face is red and as tears rolls down his chubby cheeks.

“Ugh! I’ve tried everything! He won’t stop crying!” Alisa tells me, exasperated. She looks like she might cry herself.

“He might be teething,” I say, and lift him over onto my lap. I lay him down on my legs and bounce them gently. It doesn’t helping my self-esteem when he continues crying.

“Maybe. I don’t remember Alexis teething this early, though,” she sighs, and handing me a bottle.

I stroke Josh’s head. I can tell by the raven colored peach fuzz sitting on top of his head that he has his father’s same dark hair. Using my other hand, I reach for the bottle and try to put it in his mouth. After a generous amount of time he finally accepts it and everything grows silent.

“Thank goodness,” Alisa exclaims and drops back into the couch, covering her face with her hands.

“Aw, he’s kind of cute when he’s not screaming bloody murder.” I smile and make a funny face at him. His eyes light up.

There’s a moment of peace and everything is quiet.  Alexis is still absorbed in her coloring book. She’s always been super shy,usually hiding behind Alisa.

Only a minute later, the door slams and my mom appears in the room, gracing us with her presence. Alexis immediately jumps up and greets her with many lots of hugs and details about her day. I realize this is asthe most active as I’ve seen her in days.

“I missed you too, sweetie!” my mom tells her, poking her nose. Her face turns to me, Alisa, and Josh.

She smiles. “Hello, hello.”