Away: A Prequel

Chapter 15

"Hi." I announced my presence, showing her it was someone she knew, not a random stranger, though I was sort of one to her; both of us were then silent for a moment. I had seen Dex watching us, hinting at me to carry on, from behind. I added, "Sorry, Dex wanted me to come over to talk to you. He's not very good with things like that."

She was still silent for a moment, before I saw she smirked, "I know that. It's not you I'm angry at though." She gave a sad frown, "I'm angry at him, but I always struggle directing my anger towards the right person... or people. I always end up hurting people. Either physically or mentally...

I hadn't expected her to start confessing and she generally looked like she was going to cry; I didn't know what to do. I went to put a hand on her shoulder, but decided that might not be best. I thought for a moment, not sure what to do next, so there was quite a silence before I broke it.

"Wanna hear a funny story about Dex?" I finally said, a small smile at the corners of my lips.

I must have interested her, because she looked over at me with curiosity; she raised an eyebrow, "Sure."

"Well, during October, I wanted to do some baking, and we didn't have any ingredients. I decided I wanted to make some apple pies. Dex, being a grump, told me we didn't have anything in. I told him about the apple orchard around the corner, and the one thing the owner of the place definitely doesn't like is people taking his fruit or being in his garden..." I paused to make sure she was still with me, still interested; it seemed like it, "Anyway, we end up going to the shop, and then we approach the orchard. Dex decided to be a smart ass, like he normally is, and asked for one of my hair pins to pick the lock. It worked and we got to work picking the apples. I think we were there a good 5 minutes before we heard the owner come back, and he started firing his shotgun. Still with me on his shoulders, Dex made a run for it down the road."

"He shoots at people?" Cass asked, causing me to stop.

"Yeah, even if they're within 5 foot of the place. He's an evil bastard." I nodded, then continued with the story, "Dex tripped up on the way home, but it was clear he nearly shit himself."

"He would!" She giggled, and I was glad for it; she paused for a moment, before saying, "I got one."

"Go ahead." I insisted with a smile; it seemed she was warming up to me.

"Well, it was Christmas, and we were spending it with our nana and granddad. Usually every year, our aunt and uncle come to open presents with us. One thing my brother doesn't like is our aunt usually gives him a big kiss and just gives everyone else a huge hug. It annoys him a lot, but it's funny to watch. Well, that year Dex was able to drink, and he overdid it. He was drunk as fuck..." It seemed she paused to see if I was bothered by her swearing; seeing I wasn't, she continued, "It was hilarious. For most part, he was slurring insults at us all, and singing badly. A bit later into the day, I think, it was after dinner when he decided to have a bit more. I think it must have been too much because he then decided to climb to the roof - my grandparents owned a bungalow - and threw skittles at people, yelling 'taste the rainbow' at them. Needless to say, our parents weren't impressed."

"I can imagine they wouldn't be." I giggled.

"Yeah, he was grounded for months after that." She giggled; her laughter died down, and she looked sad again, "I miss us being a family... I miss dad, I miss Dex, I miss us. That's why I got so pissy before. I didn't like you because I thought you were taking him away from my mum and me..."

"Didn't?" I glanced at her, raising an eyebrow; does she like me now?

"Yeah, you actually seem pretty cool." She gave an awkward smile.

"Thanks." I smiled in return, "Maybe we can take you back to your mum's when the week is up and spend a few days there? I'd like to meet your mum..."

"You would?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to meet Dex's family for a while; that's why I was excited to meet you."

"You were excited to meet me?" She generally looked confused.

"Yeah." I looked to Dex, hinting at him to come over to us, "Dex!"

He slowly made his way over, "What's up, ladies?"

"Cass and I think we should take her back to your mum's when the week is up; it would be nice for you to see her again, and I would get to meet her."

"You want to do that?" He looked to Cassandra.

She nodded, "Yeah, I think it would be cool!"

"Okay then." He smiled, "I guess that's what we're doing on Friday then."

For the rest of the day, we decided it was best we went back to the apartment; we had a movie night in, having take out for tea. We were watching some sort of rom-com (blerh) at the request of Cass, and it was during this that Dex turned to me when I giggled at one of the characters getting hurt.

"How do you make kooky look so captivating?" He smirked, leaning in for a kiss.

"Thank you?" I raised an eyebrow, a little confused, yet flattered by his comment.

He started singing, in the tune of You're Welcome, from the Disney movie Moana, "What can I say, except you're welcome!"

"You're a massive dork, bro." Cass smirked, giggling.

"Heh, what can I say." He shrugged with a smirk, "I know it."