Numb ~ Dreamnotfound

Chapter 17

I woke up before my alarm went off for the first time in years. I got out of bed with ease. I didn't try and catch a few more minutes of sleep, or put a pillow over my head to ignore the sound of my painfully loud alarm. Instead, I got right up and got ready for school, slipping a Metallica t-shirt over my head, which had been one of my brother's, and putting on a pair of black shorts. Although I had time, I wasn't in the mood for breakfast, so I brushed my teeth and looked up in the mirror and smiled. The dark circles that had previously been under my eyes from my lack of sleep had now lightened up and were less noticeable.

I turned the faucet on and let my hand sit under the cool water for a moment before smoothing my hair down, letting it fluff up at the front and around my ears. The scars on my arm were barely noticeable as well, even though there had not been too many to begin with.

A conversation between my parents echoed from the kitchen up the stairs, so I was extra careful to be quiet on the way back to my room. I still had a bit of time before I had to leave, so I scrolled through my phone to see that George and Nick had both texted me.

George:
Good morning :]

Me:
Good morning :) I am gonna pick you up first today so be ready

I smiled to myself and opened up Nick's message.

Nick:
I have still not recovered btw

I let out a small laugh and shut my phone off, shoving it in my shorts pocket. I put my backpack over my shoulder and headed downstairs, an eagerness to see George making me go a bit faster than I normally would.

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining down onto me, but it wasn't too hot. Birds sang their morning songs from the trees that were scattered throughout my front yard.

Vague memories of Jack and I chasing after squirrels and listening to the birds flooded my mind. I couldn't help but smile at the sweet and innocent moments we had together. The outdoors was our escape from the reality withheld in the walls of our house, and we took that to our advantage. Countless hours of running around and making up new games, Nick joined us, bringing his own ideas, however most of them involved him being our "king", which we were not too fond of.

I kept the music on in the car, drumming my hands against the steering wheel to the happy beat of the song. I rolled the window down to let my left arm rest on the opening.

The ride to George's seemed to take longer than normal, the houses on either side seeming to stretch on forever. Maybe it was because I was enjoying the ride, or maybe I was just excited to see him.

Excited to see his smile, excited to hear him laugh, excited to hear his voice, I was excited for it all. The familiar first beats of a song echoed throughout the car as I absentmindedly turned into George's neighborhood. The volume knob was cranked to almost max, I stopped myself from turning it up all the way, since it was a quiet neighborhood at seven in the morning.

George was sitting with his legs crossed on his front porch. I didn't realize what he was doing until I pulled into his driveway however. He was dragging his finger along the glass door and watching his cat try and catch it from inside the house. The smile on his face as he watched the small gray bundle of fur made my own smile grow larger.

He stood up and brushed his black shorts off before waving at his mom and cat in the doorway. He was wearing a teal shirt with a pocket on the front.

"Hi there." He said as he sat down in the front seat. His cheeks were slightly flushed pink and his smile only grew bigger from the porch.

"Nick isn't gonna like that." I smiled, putting the car in reverse.

"Oh well. Ironic that this song is playing." He folded his hands on his lap and nodded his head towards the radio.