❝ I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now
I just wanna know you, know you, know you ❞
I groaned as my eyes were suddenly bombarded with rays of sunlight.
"Rise and shine, Cassie, we have a big day ahead of us!" My mother seemed to shout. I don't think she understood the idea of a peaceful morning. Or peace in general.
"Mom," I groaned, rolling over and pulling my blankets up to my chin, trying to warm up my body. I always slept with the fan on, no matter what. It was nice at night, but I usually regretted it by morning.
"Come on honey!" She chirped happily. "We're going into town today!"
"How does that make it a big day?" I murmured as I dragged myself out of bed.
My mother narrowed her eyes at me, not appreciating my early morning attitude. She mentioned something about making breakfast before she walking out my bedroom door and heading downstairs.
I sighed, walking over to a small box placed near my bathroom. I took most of the bottles and moved them into my cabinets and shower.
After, I went back to the large box that held most of my clothes and dug through it, pulling out a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a maroon sweater along with a black bra and matching panties.
Boxes were placed all over my room, and the rest of the house looked the same way. I hadn't unpacked at all yesterday, and my mother had been too distracted by the Jacobson's to do any unpacking herself.
Grabbing the clothes I had picked out, I headed into the bathroom and started up the shower.
Once the water had warmed up, I stepped under the stream and closed my eyes. Moving was stressful enough, and my mother's antics didn't make it any easier.
And then there was Luke Jacobson, a whole different story.
After washing my hair and body and shaving, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel tightly around my body. But before I could get dressed, there was a banging on my bathroom door.
I let out a groan, turning to open the door. "Mom, it's been like fifteen minutes, I can get dressed on my own. I'll–oh my god!" I screamed, clutching the towel close to my chest.
Outside my door, was not, in fact, my mother.
"Well, I'm not your mom, but I can help you get dressed." Luke suggested from the doorway to my bathroom, a large smirk spread across his face as his eyes took in my towel-clad body.
I slammed the door in his face and turned the lock. "Go away, Luke."
I double-checked to make sure the door was locked before dropping my towel and slipping on my underwear.
"Your mother sent me up to check on you." He answered, his voice muffled through the door.
"Why are you even here?" I jumped around, trying to pull my skinny jeans onto my still damp legs, which wasn't an easy task.
"I had to drop my mom off because her car isn't running and I thought I'd say hello. Although, this wasn't quite what I expected."
I could hear the smirk in his voice despite not being able to see him. Pulling my sweater over my head, I opened the bathroom door and faced him.
He was leaning on the wall next to the door, and just like I had predicted, a smirk was plastered on his lips.
Now that I wasn't screaming or standing in a towel, I had more time to study him. Today, he was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt with the logo of some rodeo, his feet clad in working boots.
Ignoring him, I bent down to rummage through the small box before pulling out a brush and going back into the bathroom, leaving the door open. As I pulled the brush through my hair, Luke stuck his head into the bathroom, his arms holding on to either side of the door frame.
We spent a few minutes in silence as I brushed my hair as he watched me.
"Didn't your mama ever teach you that staring is rude?" I asked without moving my eyes from the mirror.
I heard him chuckle and he took a step into the bathroom, standing behind me. "My mama taught me a lot of things, but that doesn't mean I listened."
He leaned forward to reach for something on the counter in front of me, and I could feel his breath on my neck.
"What the hell is this for?" He asked, holding up a bottle of some sort of hair cream.
"It's for my hair so it doesn't get frizzy."
I finished brushing my hair out so it was free of tangles and turned towards Luke.
I went to grab the hair product from his hands when he moved away, holding the bottle above his head. I jumped up and down, but there was no way I would be able to grab it.
"You asshole!" I yelled. "I need that for my hair!"
He looked at me with a goofy smile on his face, the same one he always had when he was younger and he did something bad.
"I don't think you need it," he breathed out. His hand reached up and grabbed a lock of my blonde hair. "I quite like the frizz."
I slapped his hand away and glared at him, grabbing the bottle of hair cream out of his hand before pouring some into my hands. "Well, I don't."
After I finished with my hair and Luke had rinsed out the cream he put into his, I walked out of my room and headed downstairs, Luke following closely behind me.
Walking into the kitchen, I spotted my mother along with Mrs. Jacobson. They were both sitting at the table, talking over some coffee.
"Oh Cassie, there you are! What took you so long?" My mother exclaimed, looking over at me.
I sighed. "Mom, it took me like, fifteen minutes. Plus, Luke was no help."
Mrs. Jacobson laughed. "Now Luke, don't go bothering Cassie. Just because she's back doesn't mean you need to annoy her to death."
I chuckled at Luke while our mothers stood up.
"Cassie," my mother started, nodding towards Mrs. Jacobson, "Marie is going to come downtown with us while Luke runs some errands!"
I clapped my hands together in front of me. "Let's get going then!"
Shopping with Mrs. Jacobson and my mother was not nearly as enjoyable as I thought it would have been.
If they weren't forcing me to try on clothes and outfits they had found in the various boutiques, they were the ones trying clothes on. It was definitely not fun to watch two mothers walk around in clothes that were meant for teenagers.
I let out a groan, mumbling something about going to get a drink before walking out of the store.
I didn't remember a lot about Brookville from when we live here before, especially downtown, but I did know there was a little coffee shop only a block or so down the road.
As I walked, I admired the atmosphere of the small town. The trees everywhere made the air feel fresher and there wasn't nearly as much hustle and bustle as there was in the city.
Pulling open the door to the coffee shop, I took a deep breathe of the coffee-scented air but cringed at the long line to the counter. It was Saturday, and a lot of high school students were sitting down with friends.
I stopped at the end of the line and pulled out my phone, checking twitter. I hadn't had many friends back home, but I still followed a reasonable number of people.
Once I got to the cash register, I ordered an iced green tea and stood off to the side, waiting for my drink.
I looked over at one of the walls and noticed all the flyers and newspapers up on the wall, and my eyes skimmed over some of the photographs.
Brookville was pretty small, one of those everybody-knows-everybody towns. A lot of the kids and teenagers in these pictures looked familiar, but I couldn't put a name to many of them.
Newspaper headlines consisted mostly of football wins and rodeo champions, some about certain businesses in the town or some high school announcements.
A smile flitted across my face as my eyes landed on a picture of Luke and his little sister, probably from a couple of years ago. He was holding onto her legs as she sat on his shoulders, both of them smiling.
The barista called my name and I was pulled out of my little reverie
"Thanks," I muttered, grabbing the straw and cup. I hit the straw on the counter in an attempt to open the paper wrapper, but instead, I heard a soft crack.
"Shit," I mumbled, opening the straw on looking at the crack in the side of it.
I looked around the small shop for more straws, spotting the cart by the door. I walked over to and tossed my straw in the garbage before grabbing a new straw. I tried being more careful and peeled away the paper rather than trying to force the straw out. Finally, I pushed it into my drink and took a sip.
I was finally able to head out of the crowded shop and back to my mother.
By the time I got back to the boutique, my mother and Mrs. Jacobson were at the counter paying for their picks.
"Hey mom," I said, walking up to her and leaning against the counter.
She smiled at me. "Hey Cass, I was just going to call you. Marie and I were pretty much finished here. Are you ready to head back?"
I let out a breath in relief, nodding my head. I don't think I could handle one more store. With that, the three of us walked out of the small shop, the bell on the door tinkling as it shut behind us. My mother loaded their new bags in the trunk with the others and we headed home.
As we drove, I looked out the window at the scenery around us. It was a lot more refreshing than yesterday, probably because I was in a better mood now than I had been then.
Soon enough, the car pulled up to the small house. Mrs. Jacobson let us out at the driveway, promised she'd be over tomorrow, and sped off down the road. According to my mother, the Jacobson's lived a couple miles down the road, our house being near the edge of their property.
"I'll just be in my room unpacking, just let me know if you need anything," my mom said, once we were finally inside.
"Actually," I said, my words halting her steps. "I was thinking of going for a run around the area, check out the property."
"Okay, just make sure to bring your phone and don't be out too long." She continued her way up the stairs until she disappeared into her room.
Not wasting any time, I sprinted up the stairs into my room. I changed out of the jeans and sweater into some running leggings and a shirt from an old track meet.
I grabbed my blue ear buds and headed down stairs, slipping on my Nike's and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
The door slammed as I shut it behind me before locking it and slipping the key into the small pocket in my leggings. Sliding, in one of my headphones, I took off down the driveway.
Running had always been a good stress reliever for me. At first, I never understood why anybody would ever want to run. I mean, in middle school, I was always that kid panting after having to run the mile, but once high school started and I was switching schools every year, I found that I could literally run away from my problems.
Now, I welcomed the burn in my throat as my feet slapped against the asphalt of the road.
It wasn't long until I came up to the Jacobson's house. It was a lot larger than ours, but they also had three times the people living there.
The Jacobson family consisted of Jack and Marie Jacobson and their four children. Noah was the oldest; from what I could remember, he was about 25 and had moved away somewhere for school. Next was Marissa, who must have been 21 by now. I thought she had gone to Santa Barbara to become a journalist, but I wasn't sure.
Then there was Luke who was, well, Luke. My favorite Jacobson had to be the youngest, Sophia, who was nine now. Although she was quite a bit younger than all her siblings and might not have been planned, she was still a sweetheart.
The house was wide but only one story which seemed common in Brookville. It looked like a stereotypical country house with a large yard and a tall barn in the backyard. I knew from experience that there were countless farm animals in the back fields, and a small smile came to my face as I remembered the countless afternoons Luke and I had spent here.
I stopped to take a sip of my water before continuing my run down the road.
The atmosphere of the country was absolutely captivating. The air just felt so much freeing and everything was calm. The only sound was the birds cawing in the distance and the music playing in my ears.
However, the calm didn't las long as I saw a blue truck coming up on the road. I moved to the opposite side and continued running, but as it got closer I recognized the smirking boy behind the wheel.
The truck rolled to a stop a few feet in front of me and I slowed my pace, walking up to the passenger window.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Cassie Rella," Luke drawled in an extra heavy country accent. I rolled my eyes.
"Well, if it isn't Mister Lucas Jacobson," I replied back, crossing my arms over my chest.
He nodded his head the way I came from. "You do realize you live that way, right? This road will take you to the middle of nowhere."
"Well where did you come from?" I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that he was in town earlier.
He grinned at me. "The middle of nowhere." I scoffed, about to call his bluff when he spoke again. "You might want to be careful, there are plenty of rats out here."
My eyes widened. I could handle clowns, or heights, or snakes, but the one thing that completely freaked me out were rats. "There are not, you're just messing with me," I retorted, but still looked around nervously.
"You'll just have to see for yourself." With a smirk, Luke had pressed on the gas pedal and drove off down the road, leaving me to glance around for rodents before jogging after his car and back towards my house.
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