Heart Attack

8

Lennox

"Are you sure?" He asked for the third time.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Jesse." I said as I slipped into the passenger seat. "Since I don't know what you planned, it would be easier for you to drive."

"But it's your car." He said, stepping in slowly. His knees touched the steering wheel, and he pulled the handle to shuffle the seat back.

"Just drive, Abbott."

"Fine. But don't look at the GPS. I still don't know my way around here."

I chuckled. "I won't look, I promise."

"Good." He smiled and started the car. The music was softly playing as we drove out of the garage.

"Are you happy with the essay?" I asked, tilting my head to him. He smiled softly.

"I am. Maybe it needs a tweak here or there, but I think it's my best work yet."

"Where did the inspiration come from?" His cheeks flushed. Interesting. He remained quiet. "Please tell me." I pouted. "I won't laugh, I promise."

"That face -" he gestured to my pout. "May work on others but not on -" I blinked up at him innocently with my big blue eyes. "Fuck, it works on me too." I grinned. "You were my inspiration."

"W-what?" I choked.

"I knew what I wanted to write about by the time you fell asleep. I may have looked around your room. I didn't snoop." He added quickly. "But I looked at your pictures on the wall."

"Alright." I said. I didn't mind him snooping around, what I said before was true. Everything dirty or important was locked away.

When we stopped at a red light, he looked at me with a grin. "You lied to me."

"When?"

"In the car, when we drove here." I frowned not following. "You said you didn't know about Geography, but the pictures on your wall say different."

"Oh." I glanced back forward. "The light is green."

He focussed back on the road, and we drove in silence for a bit. We stopped at a large parking lot, and we made our way to a building I haven't been before. Jesse was walking close to me. He didn't touch me, but I could feel the swish of his hand pass mine.

I looked to the ground when I said. "My mother studied Geography when she went to university. She was this free, hippie save the earth type. She started with beach clean ups, recycling, and so on. When her father passed when she was in her last year of college, she inherited his money. She founded Watson's Clean-Team. It's been one of the most successful ecological companies in Europe. Dad took over when she died. But that meant Bryn and I grew up with saving the world in our minds. Knowing each small thing can have a large impact."

"You must be proud of her."

"I am." I felt tears burn in my eyes. I still didn't look at him. "I wish I could be more like her. That she could be proud of me."

"Hey." He stopped me and tilted my head with his finger under my chin. "I haven't known you for that long. But I already know she would be proud of you. You are smart and kind. You're an amazing sister to Bryn and Jake. Your whole house is filled with ecological products. You volunteer to clean beaches and the ocean. There is no way she wouldn't be proud of you."

Tears were falling down my cheeks now and Jesse enveloped me in a tight hug. His firm arms wrapped around me, and I just fell apart. My head buried in his chest. But Jesse held on and didn't say anything. His hand stroked my hair softly until I calmed down.