Dedicated to @ChrystalMichelleTurn for her constant support on ILWMW and now this. Thank you! <3
Hi everyone, here's chapter 2! So chapter 1 hasn't had many reads but I'm hoping that maybe this'll pick up as it goes on. For those that have supported it though, thank you! It's because of you that I've decided to post the next chapter. Enjoy! <3
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The next morning my alarm sounds at 4am and I swear it sounds like a foghorn. I think we only managed an hour, 2 hours maximum, of sleep. I turn over to switch the alarm off, switch the light on, punch Nancy’s arm and pull myself out of bed before I can fall back to sleep again. Yes there’s still 2 hours until the taxi arrives but I haven’t even packed yet. Yes I’m that disorganised.
Nancy groans and covers her head with a pillow.
“Get up.” I demand snatching the pillow away and hitting her with it.
She sits up and shields her eyes from the light. “Remind me again why we stayed up so late?”
“Because we’re idiots.”
She grunts and flops back down on the bed.
“You go shower first.” I say. “That way I can pack.”
“I don’t want to get out of bed.”
Grabbing the glass of water from my bedside cupboard I aim it above her and let the tiniest bit dribble onto her face. She screams, wipes it away and jumps out of bed all in a matter of seconds..
“You cow, Emily!”
I giggle. “It got you out of bed.”
Grunting again she disappears into the bathroom. I pull my suitcase from the top of my wardrobe and start throwing clothes in. Half an hour later I feel satisfied that I’ve got everything I need and start to zip up my case.
Nancy reappears in my room and asks, “Why are you packing everything in a case?”
“Why not?”
“We’re going to be touring, Em. Are you really going to want to lug a suitcase around with you all the time?”
I stop zipping up my case and glare at her. “You only tell me this now?”
“I thought it was common logic.”
“Not at four thirty in the morning. What should I use then?”
“A backpack? What about the one from school?”
Gesturing to my suitcase I say, “Do you really think I can fit all of that in my backpack? I don’t think so.”
“Well do you have a hiking backpack?”
“No -”
Trailing off my mind wanders to Simon. He did a lot of hiking a few years ago and I remember he had one of those backpacks.
“Simon might.” I quickly continue. “I’ll go sneak into his room.”
Creeping down the stairs and to his room, I open the door a crack and peek inside. The last thing I want is to walk in on him and Dani doing anything... intimate. I don’t think I can handle that sort of thing at this time of the morning. When I’m certain I’ve got the all clear I quietly creep in. Yes it is very unlikely even they would be doing anything like that at this ungodly hour, but anything was possible.
I go straight to his wardrobe and feel across the top for anything resembling a backpack. My hand hits something which then lands on the floor with a loud crash. Crap! I hold my breath and wait for any movement but nothing happens. Dammit I just wish it wasn’t so dark! Slowly I creep along the length of the wardrobe again and continue to feel along the top. Suddenly my hand comes in contact with what feels like a backpack so I yank it down in one swift motion. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, there are other things on top of it. As soon as I remove the offending bag, there is a sudden downpour of items. Who on earth has so much junk on top of their wardrobe? Oh yeah, of course Simon has.
Suddenly the light comes. I spin around and feel like I’ve been caught in headlights.
There’s a sudden shriek from Dani and Simon jumps out of bed. As my eyes adjust to the light I notice Dani sitting up with the covers pulled up over her chest. Looking a little to my left there is Simon standing in front of me holding a baseball bat. Naked.
I gasp and quickly turn away. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”
“Emily!” Simon drops the bat and I can hear him quickly changing. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
Wow he’s really angry. Well I guess I would be too if someone decided to walk in on me naked at 4:30 in the morning. But hey, how was I supposed to know they were going to be naked?
Because they’re a newly engaged couple, Emily.
Oh shut up.
“I, uh, I needed your hiking backpack.” I explain still keeping my back turned. “For the, uh, trip. I was trying not to wake you!”
I risk turning around and Simon has changed and is standing there with his hands on his hips. He doesn’t look at all happy. Looking past him I see Dani has changed and is trying not to giggle. Well at least she’s seeing the funny side of it.
“Well you didn’t do a very good job of that, did you?” Simon accuses. “Have you got what you wanted?”
I shrug and nod. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing it.”
“It’s too late now if I did.” He looks at his watch and rolls his eyes. “Do you even know what time it is?”
“No, why don’t you tell me?”
Simon opens his mouth to respond but then realises I’m being sarcastic.
“C’mon, Si don’t be mad.” I say with a slight giggle. “I’m sorry I woke you both up. It’s not entirely my fault, though. How on earth can you have so many things on top of your wardrobe?”
He smiles slightly but it quickly disappears. “Why does that matter at this ungodly hour? Now if you don’t mind, I would like to try and get some more sleep. In peace.”
I embrace him tightly. “You don’t even want to say goodbye to your favourite little sister?”
Wrapping his arms around me I hear him sigh. “You are so hard to hate, Em.”
Giggling slightly I pull away and pretend to look hurt. “You mean you’ve actually tried?”
“Well when you walk in on us starkers what do you expect?”
I can’t help but laugh at this. “I said I’m sorry. Are you mad?”
He smiles slightly and pulls my hair. “Not anymore. I am serious though, I want to sleep some more.”
I embrace him once more and hold him tight. I know I’m only going to be away for a few weeks but it feels like an eternity. I have never been away for such a long time and I know I’m going to miss him terribly.
“I’ll see you in a few weeks, bro. I’ll miss you.”
“No you won’t. You’ll be with your bestie and lover boy.”
“Perhaps but I’ll still miss you.”
I can hear him smile then he says, “I’ll miss you too. Make sure you send me a postcard, ok?”
I pull away and nod. “I will.” I quickly embrace Dani. “I’ll see you when I get back, Dani. Enjoy the wedding plans.”
She smiles brightly. “By the time you get back I should be looking at dresses. I want you to be my bridesmaid.”
I shriek excitedly and hug her again. “That’s so exciting! Thank you! Well don’t do too much while I’m away, I want to help!”
Simon clears his throat and I look over at him only to see him tapping his foot impatiently. I roll my eyes and head toward the door with the backpack in hand.
“Bye bro.” As I close the door I call, “By the way, nice package!”
“Emily!”
I run up the stairs giggling before he can run out and attack me. I can hear Dani laughing hysterically and even Simon is laughing now. Well suddenly our relationship as brother and sister has gone up a level. I’ve seen his bits. I can’t help but shudder at the thought. That’s just embarrassing!
Walking back into my room I see Nancy curled up on my bed. She’s fallen asleep again. God she’s hopeless in the morning. Grabbing a pillow, I whack her.
“Hey!” She cries covering her head. “Why did you do that?”
“Because you’re not supposed to be sleeping.”
“Why does it matter? I’m ready.”
“But I’m not. C’mon I need your help. I gotta shower so you can transfer my stuff from my case to this backpack.”
Nancy groans and pulls herself up from the bed. “You owe me, Em.”
I poke my tongue out at her and disappear into the bathroom. Setting the shower to colder than normal, I step underneath it and gasp. It’s freezing! I need something to wake me up though so I endure it. The worst part is when I have to put my head under the water to wash my hair. It feels like someone has buried my head in a freezer. My whole body is covered in goose bumps and I’m shivering. I suddenly feel wide awake though.
It’s less than 5 minutes later when I step out of the shower. That was probably my quickest shower yet! Still, I feel awake enough to get through the next few hours. Hopefully I will sleep on the plane. Although the truth is, I’ve never flown before so I have no idea how I’ll go sleeping. I’m petrified at the thought of flying for the first time. Being so many thousands of feet in the air boggles my mind. What if the plane drops from the sky? I involuntarily shiver at the thought. They’re the sort of thoughts I’m certain I shouldn’t be thinking.
By the time I leave the bathroom it’s 5:30am. My god, did I just spend a whole hour in the bathroom? What had I been doing? Ok so my shower only took 5 minutes. Did it really take 55 minutes to pack my bathroom things and get ready? Geez I dawdle so much! Nancy’s going to freak.
As soon as I enter my room I find Nancy sitting on my bed with a coffee. She looks up at me and narrows her eyes.
“What took you so long?”
I shrug and sit down at my dresser where a coffee awaits me. Even when she’s annoyed she still thinks of me.
“Sorry.” I say. “I was getting ready.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Well thanks to me I’ve packed all your gear into the backpack. You just need to get your passport and cash together.”
I nod and smile gratefully. “Thanks, Nan you’re a lifesaver as always.”
Suddenly I realise I have no idea where my passport is.
“Oh no.” I groan.
Nancy’s eyes widened. “What?”
You see the thing is my parents have this obsession about us always having a valid passport. Even though neither Simon nor I have ever gone overseas, they just thought it was necessary. Obviously it worked to my advantage in this circumstance as it meant I didn’t have to go through the process of getting one. However, the problem is, I have no idea where they keep it. I mean, I’ve never had a need for it so why would I care before now where it’s kept? I didn’t even stop to think that I need it to travel.
“I have no idea where my passport is.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
I shake my head. “Mum and Dad put them away somewhere. We never had a need for them.”
Nancy smiles good naturedly and shakes her head. “Emily, you really are a nightmare to travel with! Perhaps you should go and wake your parents up?”
“Perhaps I should.” Suddenly I think back to my encounter with Simon and shudder. The last thing I want is to see my parents in their birthday suits.
“What’s wrong?” Nancy asks.
“Nothing, I’ll go and wake them up.”
I’m not about to tell Nancy about that incident. Simon would murder me! I approach my parent’s door and am just about to knock when it opens, making me jump back in fright.
Dad walks out and smiles at me. “Good morning.”
I hold a hand over my heart. “Dad you scared me! What are you doing up?”
“We weren’t going to let you go without saying goodbye.”
“Oh, well that’s nice. Listen, do you know where my passport is? Mum kept them safe.”
“You will have to ask your mother. She always controls those sorts of things.”
That’s so typical.
“Is she awake?”
“She’s just changing, she’ll be out in a minute.”
Perfect timing. I can’t handle another nude encounter! Noticing the time is almost 5:40am I’m starting to feel slightly panicked. What if Mum doesn’t know where they are either? I really should have organised this last night but I just didn’t think about it. All the travel details were organised for me so why would I think about anything?
A couple of minutes later Mum emerges from the room. I pounce on her immediately.
“Mum! Where’s my passport?”
She smiles at me, shakes her head and hands it over. “You really need to start thinking like a traveller, Emily.”
Relief floods through me. “I’m still learning but I’m sure I’ll get there. Thank you so much, Mum!”
She hands me an envelope. “Here is a copy of your passport for safe keeping and also a copy of your birth certificate and drivers licence. These are always good to have on you in case you lose anything and need to prove your identity.”
Hugging Mum tightly I say, “You think of everything, Mum. Thank you. Now I need to finish getting ready.”
I run back upstairs and into my room where Nancy is sitting patiently. I hold my passport up and she smiles from relief. After that little scare I just hope nothing else goes wrong today. I’m so nervous just thinking about the upcoming trip, it’s all so new to me.
Finally it reaches 5:55am and Nancy says, “Right I think we’re ready. So one more time, have you got your passport and foreign money?”
“Check to both.”
“Good, now let’s go.”
As we trudge downstairs I feel like my legs are about to give way. Is it normal to get this nervous about travelling? We say goodbye to my parents and it’s a teary one for Nancy. My parents have known her as long as I have and she’s practically become family. It just reminds me that these next few weeks are my last with Nancy and I instantly feel like I want to cry. I’m not going to though because I want to make the most of what time we have together.
“Don’t forget to send us a postcard!” Mum calls from the door as we head down the path.
I roll my eyes. Seriously, what is it about postcards? Why can’t I just take lots of pictures and show them when I get home? Isn’t it the same to keep in contact via email? Something tells me it’s not that simple so I decide to just nod in agreement and let it drop. Even if I am spending my entire holiday writing postcards at least I’ll be keeping the peace.
We wave one last time to my parents and they go inside. At that moment the taxi pulls up out the front of Sam’s place. He’s nowhere in sight and I’m about to go and bang on his door when I see him come out. He smiles, waves at us then locks his door. As he approaches us something tells me I should feel a beat of excitement at seeing him and knowing we’re holidaying together but I don’t. Is this weird? Is it just because of nerves? It does feel a little strange that we’re travelling together so early on in our relationship. I mean, I’m happy to do this stuff with him but I didn’t think it would happen for a long time. It’s all so sudden and I feel a little unsettled.
Stop overanalysing, Emily!
Dammit! It’s true, I am overanalysing. Again! I’m obviously just overtired so I’ll just dismiss those thoughts. We’re going to have a wonderful time together. Who says we have to be going out a certain amount of time to do this?
No one, we can do whatever we like.
Nope all it is, is my nerves and tiredness making me over think things. We’re going to have a wonderful holiday together and it’s just going to bring us even closer as a couple.
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So there you have it! The holiday is about to commence. Is Emily overanalysing or will there be more to it? ;)
Thanks in advance for your support. Even if this doesn't do well, it's a bit of fun to write and knowing I may have one or two readers who actually enjoy it makes me want to continue. Anyway, as always please tell me what you think so I know to continue.
Thanks! <3