Beautiful Curse

Chapter 4

        The grass violently rustles as I kick through it, smashing it to the ground to reach the parked Subaru. My cousin and I aren't (animal)s anymore, just normal humans, so our pace is a bit lagging. Luckily the car is very near. Moments later we reach it and I grab hold of the driver's door handle. (Cousin) cries out in a panic and pushes me away, tearing the door open himself.

        "Let me drive!" I scream at him.

        "No! You barely know how to!" (Cousin) throws himself through the doorway and lands into the driver's seat roughly, causing the entire vehicle to shake. "Get in (Name), before it comes back!" He sounds very upset, on the verge of hysteria. Fear flashing through my eyes, I sprint around the front of the Subaru to the passenger's side. Then I yank the door open and jump in beside my cousin.

        The instant I slam the car door shut I twist around and grab at the seatbelt to latch myself in. We'll be leaving in a hurry, I know that. However, (Cousin)'s hands seem to be trembling as he tries to jam the key in the ignition in a hurry.

        "Your hands are shaking, (Cousin)! Please let me drive," I beg once again.

        "Dude shut up, we gotta get out of here!" he yells in panic, becoming flustered as his hands continue to shake while he turns the key to start the engine. As soon as the vehicle roars to life, (Cousin) smashes the gas pedal and speeds off without buckling in. Hopefully he doesn't cause a car crash in this frenzied state.

        The ride home passes by in the worst type of silence possible. It's that kind of silence in which nobody says a word, but you can still feel the emotions pouring out; like how a ball of static electricity reaches every corner of a contained room, touching everyone and everything with its prickling energy. Mainly what I'm getting at is...I think (Cousin) is about to explode. At least he definitely looks it, with his constant face twitching and all. He's glanced into the rearview mirror about a hundred times, and home is literally only a mile away from where we had parked in the forest!

        "(Cousin), you okay?" I ask in a quiet voice, not wanting to startle the panicked driver. He nods once. Not much of a response, but better than nothing.

        "Don't...don't tell your parents about this, alright?" I stare at him with an annoyed expression. Like I was going to just walk up to Mom and Dad and tell them that two talking animal creatures saw us running around as a couple of wild (animal)s. Mom would freak, and Dad would go berserk and ground me for life. I'm not about to let that happen. I need my alone time.

        The skies are a dark blue as (Cousin) enters the neighborhood and weaves through the maze of streets. It didn't seem very late when we had first left the forest, but around here, when the sun starts to set, it sets fast. Both my cousin and I heave sighs of relief as my house comes into view. So far no additional problems with being chased down. (Cousin) silently pulls the car into the driveway and switches off the ignition. I am about to leave, but when I glance back at my cousin I lean into my seat again.

        He's just sitting there, dull eyes wide open as if he's dead. I can feel a corner of my mouth twitch downward. Seeing my older cousin like this...I hate it. Nobody should have to live this way, hiding their strange, supernatural ability from the rest of the world. The price that comes with being different, I guess.

        "Come on, man, you're still alive. That's all that matters right now." My hand rests on (Cousin)'s shoulder. I give him a friendly shake and he seems to snap out of whatever thoughts he was so enthralled in. I give a weak smile and lightly push him. "My mom's probably wondering why we've parked but not come in," I point out. The young man nods and opens his door, quickly crawling outside into the cool, evening air. With me following behind, he locks his precious Subaru and holds the front door open for me.