Belong With Me

5:Strikes and Storms

"Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure you went to my car first." He lets the ball go and makes a strike. As the smirk grows he says. "and to my defense, our cars look exactly alike."

"Well, then we need a way to tell them apart don't we?" I swing the ball and leave three pins up and on my second try I only get two, I get the last one on my third try.

After cheers from the girls for Matt's case, and cheers from the boys for me, we end the game with me ahead. By quite a bit I'd like to add.

"Way to go big foot!" Jake cheers as I finish my run with another strike. Matt sends me a funny look before saying a good job.

"Ah, you weren't too bad. I've played worse." I give him a light punch on the shoulder before pulling off my shoes and replacing them with my converse. I set my shoes on the counter. "Thanks for the shoes bud, I'll be back, I want to play you next" I tell Jake.

"You sure about that big foot." With a nod from me, he continues. "I'll see you around Cameron." I give him a wave as I head toward Matt who after dropping his shoes on the counter went to his friends.

"Wow girl, you sure know how to bowl. Whooped little Mattie's ass now didn't you? " Dallas says and raises his fist for me. I bump it and give him a smile.

"So Matt, you're my ride back to my car, and I'm kind of ready to get back home. Whenever my mom knows I'm mad at her she always steps up her cooking, so I'm expecting something good tonight." I look at Matt as I say this.

"Yeah sure, let's go. Bye guys, I'll see you later." He gives a short wave to the group before heading towards the door.

"Bye guys, it was nice to meet you." Even though only one of them talked to me, but hey I can still be the nice one.

"Bye Ron." Dallas says right as I reach the door. Before I have time to question the nickname Matt honks the horn and I bolt to his car. When I reach it, I open the door and slip inside fast.

"Goodness, no patience in kids these days." I say as I buckle my seatbelt. Matt laughs as he pulls out of the parking lot.

We are only half way back to the cafe when I look up and right as I think of it, it starts to pour rain.

"Yes!" I do a little happy dance in my seat and raise my arms.

"What?" Matt looks over at me confused and switches on the wipers.

"It's raining duh."

"So. You like the rain too?" He looks over at me and I nod. "Finally, someone who does. Everyone thinks I'm crazy because I like storms."

"What! Those are the best." I smile as a flash of light cuts across the sky. Now it may seem weird that I love storms. But it is something that I associate with my dad, we would go out and sit on the front porch and watch the storms when they were in the area. And he would tell me stories about how the lightning was God's own firework show for the people in heaven, and the thunder was their clapping at the beautiful sight. So ever since he died, storms have been a time that brings on happy memories.

"Why are you smiling?" Matt's soft voice almost sounds wary as he looks over at me, and I realize we are parked beside my car.

"I was thinking of my dad, I used to watch storms with him." I play with my fingers in my lap and glance at him.

"What happened?"

"A car accident. A drunk driver hit me and him head on. He died instantly and I had to go in for a six-hour surgery, to reset my ribs so they wouldn't puncture any of my organs." I realize I've said more than I've ever talked about it in the past four years. And to his boy, I've barely known a day, yet I feel strangely safe doing it. I give a soft smile. "Anyways, thanks for the tour, I guess I'll see you around?" I undo my seatbelt.

"Ya, I'll see you around Cam."

I open the door and step into the freezing rain, and despite my love for it, I really don't want to soak my new car so I make a dash for the driver's door. I open it as quick as I can and slide inside.

When I get home I realize that Matt didn't follow me, so he must not have come home. I kill the ignition and get out of my car, before hitting the garage door closed as I exit the garage. I shed my soaked shoes by the washroom to dry before I enter the kitchen.

"Hey, mom." I say when I spot her reading on the couch.

"Oh hey honey, how was your day?" she looks up from her book and pushes her reading glasses back up her nose.

"It was good. I'm going to go get cleaned up, call me down when supper is ready please." I drop a kiss on her head when I pass her on the way to the stairs. I hear her quiet ok as I bound up the stairs and swing into my room.

I sigh as I realize I missed lunch while bowling today. Supper better really be good then.

I shut my door before shedding my wet clothes and pulling on an old coke shirt and a pair of flannel pants. I open my blinds which were still closed from this morning and curl up on my window seat.

I watch the rain streaking down the window and drenching the world outside until I'm almost asleep. But right before I fall asleep, I see a black car pull into the house next door and watch two blonde heads step out of it. One golden and one platinum, before I close my eyes and fall asleep.