the lasting days of september had finally stretched their hands and reached into the following month.
october.
claire looked at her phone screen, still dazed from a night of deep sleep. october 1 was written just under the time. a small part of her leapt at the sight of it. october was her favourite month. even though her family had long since stopped going to the cabin, the memories of this month always remained.
claire wished she could stay in bed all morning and dream of it. but unfortunately, she had school. she groaned and raised herself into a sitting position. time to get up.
claire got ready for school, and when she was finished, she pounded on her brother's door to make sure that he was up, too.
"luke, you up?" she called.
she heard a muffled grunt in response, clearly spoken into his pillow.
"i'm serious, luke! there is no way i'm gonna be late again 'cause of you!"
"i'm up." luke replied in a sleepy voice that did not sound very 'up'.
claire rolled her eyes and went down to the kitchen. her parents had both left for work already. they were both doctors, usually with early morning shifts. claire practically felt like she was luke's mom sometimes; always driving him to school and making sure he was up in the mornings. she didn't mind it though. she secretly liked hanging out with her 16-year-old brother.
just 15 minutes later, luke came down the stairs, now changed and ready. it was usually in the mornings that his limp was more noticeable; his left leg dragged just slightly behind his right one.
it had taken her years to be able to look at it without being shaken with guilt. it still occurred every once in a while, but she was more used to it now.
claire shook her head as she watched him trot down. she wished she could be ready after just 15 minutes of being awake.
"here's your breakfast, then we're leaving, okay?."
"okay, thanks claire."
they ate together quickly and once they were finished, claire grabbed the keys to her car and opened the front door.
"can i drive?" luke asked enthusiastically.
"no way. you got your full license a week ago, luke. if you crash my car, you'll be so dead."
"implying that the crash will kill me? or you will?"
"both."
"don't think that's how it works, but okay." he looked up at his older sister and pushed out his bottom lip. "please clairey? i'll be so careful. i never get to drive, and this'll be such good practice. please?"
claire huffed. she knew she would end up giving in in the end. "fine, but only if you never call me 'clairey' ever again."
"thanks clairey, you're the best!" luke hopped up, snatched the keys from her hand, and jogged out to the car before she could even process what happened.
"luke." she grumbled under her breath, grabbed her bag, and walked out the front door.
* * *
the front door flung open and a much more tired version of luke and claire walked through it. school had just ended and they were both spent.
claire flopped down onto the couch. "mom will be home in 30 minutes. can you get dinner started?"
"i did it last time and i'm tired, so you can." he said stubbornly.
"luke."
"claire."
"i do everything else around here, can't you just do it?" claire asked, pulling out her phone. a text message caught her by surprise.
"you? everything? no, it's me that-"
but claire had stopped listening. the little argument no longer seemed important. she reread the text a dozen times, almost sure that she was hallucinating.
because the message was from jess.
and she hadn't spoken to her in over four years.
"claire? are you even listening to me?"
"luke . . ." she said. "i just got a text message from jess."
the fight in him dissipated immediately. it took even him a moment to realize who she meant. "what? jess jacobs? you're lying."
"no, i'm not. come look at this."
unknown number
hey claire! it's been a while, huh?
this is jess! you still remember me, right?
anyways, i'm texting you out of nowhere
because i wanna see you guys again. you
remember the cabin, right? who could forget it?
well, as you know, it's october now, so it's officially been four years since we were last out there. and, well, i wanna go back.
our parents have owned it all this time. we
never really went there, though. they just rented it
out to people to make a bit of extra money.
karl and i have been talking a lot about this,
and we wanted to invite the two of you to the
cabin for october 14-21. it would be just like
old times. we would love to see you guys again.
just let me know what you think! hope to see
you guys soon.
luke stared in disbelief just like claire had.
a text from jess? neither of them ever would've thought this would happen.
"so?" claire started. "what do you think?"
"totally." luke said with no hesitation.
"what? you really want to go back there?" claire couldn't help but glance at his leg as she said it.
"don't you?"
the truth was, she really did. of course she wanted to go back. she dreamt about it all the time. but it's been so long . . . and the incident . . . she hoped it wouldn't be too much to handle.
but the thought of seeing jess and, more specifically, karl again made her chest swell with hope.
"of course i wanna go back there. karl and jess were our best friends. but what about . . ." another glance at luke's leg.
"you know i don't care about that, claire. you saw how much i fought with mom and dad to let us go back there."
"i know." everything luke said was true, yet she was still worried.
"please claire? this might be our only chance to see them again. and, you know, maybe even go back to how things were."
an impossible thought, yet she still longed for it.
"you sure?"
"i'm sure."
claire responded.
unknown number
hey jess, thanks for the text. that sounds like a great idea!
luke and i are in.
CITEȘTI
autumn |KARL JACOBS X FEMALE OC|
Fanfiction"she realized something with a sudden clarity as she lay there. claire was falling for karl all over again." in which: claire had known karl jacobs and his family for as long as she could remember. they saw each other all the time, but it was at the...
