Patiently Waiting For Jared Holmes | on-going

XII

Chapter 12.

"Where the hell are you taking me, exactly?" I ask the tall boy walking next to me.

I have to practically jog to keep up with his long strides. His legs come up to the middle of my stomach, for Christ's sake.

It's not exactly the warmest weather we've had this year, but it's not butt freezing either, so I contemplate taking off my flannel.

I spot Jared's truck and secretly wonder when he decided to turn up because it definitely wasn't there when Katie and I parked in the spot next to him.

Shit. Katie.

I'm going to have to text her and tell her that I don't need a ride home, but then she's going to ask why and who I'm getting a ride with, and then she'll question about why I'm not in our final class which happens to be gym, which we have together. My stomach cramps at the thought.

She'd have an actual heart attack if she knew I were hanging out with her brother.

I really didn't think this through before I agreed.

Jared unlocks his truck before we're even near it. "Somewhere."

I can't help but roll my eyes. "Wow, captain obvious. Are you always this unforthcoming when you kidnap teen girls from school?"

Jared grunts as he opens the passenger door for me. "You're such a fucking loser. Get in."

I don't take offence to what he says, I've been called worse. Besides, the small grin curling one side of his mouth helps a little.

I climb into his truck, using his arm for support much to his amusement, because he seems to think that just because he's a giant, so is everybody else. When we're both inside, he backs out of the parking lot and heads into town.

"Just so you know," I reach forward to grab the aux and plug it in to my phone. "If my parents find out I skipped last period I'm so blaming you."

Jared tries to bat my hand away from the wire whilst still driving. He hates using the thing and it's actually not his, it's Lexi's which means she was in his truck this morning. Jared prefers the old cassette tape player that his dad put in for him when he got it. His grandpa left his truck to him when he died, and Jared loved the thing. But when it broke down last summer and Jared was forced to get a new one, he didn't want to part with it.

I huff and finally relent, unplugging it from my phone and opening the glove compartment instead which is where he keeps his cassettes.

"No girly shit - and you can't blame me. You were planning on skipping anyway." He points out.

"Technicalities." I mutter, distracted. I'm trying to read the smudged handwriting on one of the tapes but I can't make it out. It looks like someone wet their finger and tried to erase it. Gross.

"Who the heck is Loui?" I ask out loud. In the entire years I've known the Holmes siblings, I've never heard them mention a Loui.

Jared frowns as he turns down another side street. "How should I know?"

I pick up the tape and show it to him. "Uh because you have a mix tape dedicated to him?"