The Step Brother

Plane Out Vain

Feeling better about myself, I laughed. We walked out the door, and I silently prayed that nothing catastrophic would happen on the stairs. To my relief, nothing did. I felt pretty cool getting into the Mercedes with my outfit and all; I hadn’t ever had an opportunity to taste the high life, but it I was having a blast already.

The drive to the airport didn’t take very long, but it was boring nonetheless. My eyelids started to drop, because I had barely gotten any sleep. I really hoped the seats on the plane would be comfy, because I needed to catch up on my beauty rest.

The car ride was also painfully quiet, which added to my boredom and drowsiness. Just as my eyes drooped closed, and I felt like I was about to fall into sleep, I was rudely interrupted by the sharp jolt of our car stopping.

“Donna just texted me. She’s already at the gate. We have to hurry, loves. The plane is taking off in 30 minutes, and we’re late as is,” my mom shouted out quickly, fidgeting as she got out of the car. My new mom was barely a person I recognized. The old mom I grew up with was laid-back, calm, and didn’t care much about what others saw her as. She could make anyone feel comfortable. This new woman was very hurried, and made everything a show. Also, it seemed as if now the whole world revolved around her appearance.

Stepping out of the car, I grabbed my plaid rolling suitcase that had already been laid out for me by Jeff. Teetering only the slightest bit in my heels, I didn’t wait for the rest of my family to catch up. Once I entered the airport itself, I was greeted by a cool gush of wind, sending my hair flying back.

“I feel like I just stepped out of a movie,” I giggled as Liam came up beside me, looking pretty snazzy himself in what looked like a tux vest. I reached out effortlessly with my leg as I took a step again, the whole heel thing coming naturally.

“Well, if we’re going to James Bond, we should do it right at least,” Liam laughed, as he slinked one of his arms around my waist. Smiling, I stepped a little closer to him.

“Make sure Caleb doesn’t see,” I mentioned teasingly, our slow-mo worthy walk continued. However, just as I slipped my shades on (going for the full effect), we reached the line and stopped. Liam withdrew his arm making me feel cold.

“Hey, Brooke. You know its light outside, right?” Liam said to me quietly, his voice coated with laughter. Pulling my glasses off, I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I was in the moment, okay?” I muttered as we stepped up to get our tickets, which earned me one of those Liam smiles that meant I had said something actually funny. Jeff conversed with the lady at the desk, and I looked around the open airport. It was pretty small, but it was spacious. And of course, like lots of places in Washington, it was empty.

With our tickets in hand, we almost jogged to the passenger check area. I was particularly annoyed with the fact that half of my outfit needed to be removed, especially when my mom started to rush me as I put all my accessories on again. She was the one that made me put them on in the first place anyway.

The four of us set off at another speed-walk once we got everything together. The carpeted surface made my feet hurt less, and our gate was close to the security. As we walked into the open room, I spotted a decent-sized plane that I guessed was ours.

“Oh, there’s Donna!”

I turned my head to see a middle-aged, fake blonde whose smile looked permanently fixed on from Botox. So these were the people my mom hung out with now?

“Oh, Karla! I didn’t expect for Brooklyn to be this gorgeous,” she cooed, walking over to me and planting a kiss on my check. I smiled sweetly, really trying to please my mother for the time being.