Ayla Bowen
As I walked up the driveway I saw the front curtains flutter. Auto had been waiting for me. I walked in and left my shoes by the front door. As I was closing the door I looked up at Auto and froze. The look on his face was hilarious. I started cracking up and almost slammed the door shut.
"What are you doing!?" I asked still trying to breathe again. Auto didn't even crack a smile; he must have worked on this for a while.
"Your late." He said in a deep voice trying to sound authoritive and uspet. I glanced around the corner so I could see the time on the microwave.
"No, I'm not." I smiled and walked over to sit in the chair across from him, pulling my knees up to my chest.
"Wait, what time did I tell you to be home?" Auto whispered in his normal voice. I smiled and pushed back a curtain so I could see the moon just slightly starting to rise.
"You told me to be home at eleven. It's not even nine yet." I turned my head to look at him and it seemed like he was studying me. I sighed and stared back at him, doing my very best to keep a straight face. His face relaxed after a few seconds and he leaned back against the armrest on the couch. His eyebrows creased together again and he never broke his stare.
"What?" I asked annoyed. I really wasn't in the mood for whatever game he had planned right now. He himself sighed and came and sat on the floor in front of me. "What's wrong?" he tilted his head to one side like Kylee does when she's curious. His green eyes were staring up at me and he reminded me so much of dad right now, that I had to look away from him.
"Michael thinks I'm using him. To get over Dad." I rested my chin on me knees and waited, I knew he would have something to say. We always go: 'let-me-give-you-a-whole-butt-load-of-advice' on each other when something is wrong with one of us.
"Well did you tell him your not using him and tell him otherwise?"
"How do you know I'm really not using him?" I challenged. He gave me the 'did-you-really-just-ask-me-that-question-you-stupid-idiot' look and continued after he was satisfied I knew what that look was for.
"Because you wouldn't be this stressed or sad or whatever about it otherwise. Talk little girl." He said pointing to me and glaring. I was about to protest about the 'little girl' part but diecided against it and shut my mouth when I saw the look on his face. I took a deep breath and told him about our conversation and him taking me to the spot by the lake. When I was finished, he stood up and walked into the kitchen. I followed after him, surprised that he didn't say anything yet.
"I don't really know what to say. Just prove it to him I guess. Let him know that he means a lot to you." I nodded and grabbed the water out of his hand. He gave me a look and took another one out of the fridge. "You don't think I didn't already do that?" Auto looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. "Knowing him, no. You didn't. He needs more then what you told him. He's liked you for a while Ayla. Iv'e just been to blind to see that he is actually better for you then Alex was. I mean I liked Alex, but whenever I thought of how Michael liked you, I saw you two together better then you and Alex. And now that Alex is out of the picture, who knows?" I smiled at him and headed towards the stairs.
"Thanks." I said over my shoulder, walking up the stairs.
"Ayla wait." I walked back into the kitchen and he pulled me closer to him, gripping my elbow. He spoke low, and serious. I hadn't heard him talk like this since he told me what happened to our father. "You need to go talk to mom. Otherwise I'm afraid she'll lock herself up again. I know your pissed at her and so am I but we have to fix things now so they can be better if you plan on going with Jaycee and Conner in a few weeks." He looked at me sternly and let go of my elbow, grabbing his water bottle and started walking down the hall towards the garage.
"Where are you going?" I said following him out of the kitchen but not any further. Why was he in such a bad mood all of the sudden? He grabbed my keys out of the dish on the vanity and pulled open the door to the garage. "And why are you taking my car?" Auto turned around and looked at me- a cold, hard look in his eyes.
"I'm going to Conner's. I don't want to be here when you and Mom start going off on each other. And I'm not taking your car. Just your keys, so you can't go anywhere but here, because I know you won't take Mom's car and I have my keys. So, your screwed. Now Go. Talk. To. Her." With that he pulled the door shut behind him and I stood there in the hallway until I heard his car start outside and pull out of the driveway. There was no one to call, since Jaycee was at work and I was sure Auto had already told everyone else not to communicate with me until he gave them the all clear. I cursed Auto under my breath and headed up the staris and took the first left and the top, slightly knocking on the doorway. She was lying on her bed watching t.v., and she turned half way to see who was there. When she realized who it was she sat up and muted the t.v.
"What's up?" I was guessing that was the okay and walked into her room, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Not much. Just got home from hanging out with Michael." I shifted to get more comfortable and she slightly smiled at me.
"Flint?" I nodded and she smiled bigger. Oh great. Boy talk with the mother. "Is he going to be around more in the future? He seems like a nice kid. Just hopefully not another Alex." A pang went throught my chest when she said this. I don't know why it affected me so much when she said something about Alex and not so much when everyone else did. Maybe because she was the one I came crying to ready to kill myself when he left. That was the only time I let my mother hold me while I cried for hours while she tried comforting me, shooing away anyone else that tried talking to me. She understood the most then. The same thing happened to her when she was fifteen, except her boyfriend broke up with her and then wrecked his car for regretting it, killing himself. Somehow talking about boys was the one way my mother and I actually understood each other. "Ayla?"
I realized I had gotten lost in my thoughts and was staring at the section of bed in front of me. "Yeah, I hope he will be. I'm pretty sure he is going to be though." I smiled and looked at her, she was smiling back at me, with gentle, loving eyes. The way she always used to look at me when we weren't arrguing about something. "Mom?"
"Yeah, A?" She asked shifting positions and scooting a little closer to me.
"Sorry about earlier. At lunch I mean."
"Don't be. I was expecting to much of you and Auto right off the start. I shouldn't have expected you two to forgive me right away. You saying all of that was actually a kind of wake up call for me. I'm just trying my hardest to get things back in order. It's all going to be different now." She was looking down at her hands, folding them over each other continuously.
"I still shouldn't have said all of that. I was just so mad. Things are going to be different, you're right about that. And we should work as a family to make all this work out so we're not wanting to bite each others neck off all the time." For the first time in a while my mom laughed out loud. I laughed with her, since it had been so long since we laughed together. She stood up and hugged me, practically sqeezing me to death.
"I totally agree with you there." She was still laughing a little and sat back down, this time right next to me. "Here, I have something for you." She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a folded white piece of paper. She klutched it to her chest before turning back around and handed it to me. My name was written on one side, in my fathers handwriting. I gasped slightly and felt my eyes starting to tear up. My mom sat next to me again, putting an arm around my shoulder. "I haven't read it. Just mine. I gave Auto his earlier. I don't know if he's read it yet. That's what I did all day when I was locked in here. I stared at every letter, every word, every inch of space on my letter from him." We both sat there staring at the letter. I sniffed and stood up, klutching the letter to my chest like my mother had just a few minuets ago. So that's why Auto was in such a bad mood. He proabably went over to Conner's to talk about it since he knew I didn't have mine yet.
"Thanks Mom." I smiled, hugging her. She held onto me for a few minuets and finally let me go when I let out a small laugh. She smiled at me, rubbing the sides of my arms. I nodded and started to walk out of the room.
"Read it whenever you want honey." She said after me. I turned around just outside the door, smiled and nodded again. "I love you, goodnight." She said walking towards me so she could close the door.
"I love you too." With that, I headed down the hall to my room. I stood in front of my desk, holding the letter in my hand, staring at the handwriting of my father. I carefully stuck the letter in the pocket of my hoodie that was formally my dads, and left it hanging on the back of my chair. I texted Auto and told him the coast was clear, and he could come home now. I waited until he wrote back and said he was on his way, then lay down on my bed and cried myself to sleep.
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I hit the snooze button until Auto came bursting into my room. He looked around frantically then spotted me hiding under my covers. Auto rushed over to my window and tore the curtains back. "Look at this!" He almost shouted.
"What?" I asked sleepily and slighty irritated from under my comforter.
"Look!" He said exasperated. I threw the covers down over my head and was expecting to be blinded by the morning sun, but instead was opened to an almost pitch black sky outside my window. I got up and stood next to Auto, looking up into the sky. It was completely covered with dark grey and black rain clouds. Or maybe just even clouds.
"Holy shitaki mushroom soup." I whispered under my breath, sitting on my window sill to get a better look. Auto slightly laughed at me and nodded.
"You think its a tornado?" He asked sitting down next to me.
"I don't know. Could be. Is there anything on the news?" Auto shrugged and got up, heading towards the door. I was still sitting on the window sill and he turned toward me when he reached the doorway.
"You coming?" I slowly turned my head toward him, not wanting to take my eyes off of the dark clouds as if lightning were to strike down right in front of our house any minute. "In a minute. I wanna take a shower before this thing gets worse..if that's possible." Auto nodded, skeptical, then dissapeared around the corner. "Oh yeah, by the way. Dan called from work. All lessons and such are cancelled for today because of this!" I heard him shout over his shoulder. Yes! No work today. Just as I walked into the bathroom, my phone started ringing. I ran back into my room, grabbed it off my bedstand, took note that it was Jaycee, and walked back into the bathroom pressing my phone against my ear with my shoulder.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Hey! Um, are you doing anything today? Cause they canceleed work for me today. Did you see the sky?"
"Yeah, it's crazy huh? I don't have to work today either so I'm pretty sure Auto and I are the only ones here. You could come over if you want. Is Conner off?"
"No, I think he's still gotta go to work, which I think is crazy, but whatever. But uh, yeah. I'll be over in an hour or so okay?"
"Alright, sounds good."
"Okay...oh wait!"
"Yeah?"
"You should invite Michael over..." I could sense her smiling as she said this. I half smiled in return, even though she couldn't see it.
"Yeah, maybe. I'll think about it."
"Oh come on! It's obvious he is crazy about you. And you know you like him A."
"Yeah, I know Jay. I do. I just kinda feel a little vulnerable right now..ya know?"
"Ayla. I highly, highly doubt he;d do anything to hurt you. You open up to him so easily! Just give him a chance. Don't block him out. You haven't opened up to a guy like that since Alex."
"That's what I'm afraid of though."
"He's not gonna be another Alex, Ayla. I promise. Iv'e got a good vibe on this one."
I laughed and switched my phone to my other shoulder, turning on the shower. "I'll think about it. Promise."
"Fine. But if not right away, your texting him later. Even if that means me taking your phone and acting like you. Got it?"
"Yea,yea. Demanding much?" She laughed and hung up. I smiled and walked back into my room to throw my phone on my bed. I caught a glimpse of my hoodie hanging on my chair, and quickly shut the door to my room and went to take a shower.