Summer Seduction

1. stranger danger

chapter one: stranger danger

I slid into the backseat of my family's Volkswagen Atlas, crammed in between loose bags that did not fit in the trunk. My brother sat to the left of me with a wide grin. His expression did not match my irritated one. My dreaded summer was just beginning, and I already wanted to curl up in a ball and complain.

"Buckle up," my dad ordered from the driver's seat. As I did so, my mom reached over her armrest to turn on the radio. Immediately, the familiar beats of the song "Ric Flair Drip," flooded through the car. Ryan must've driven last.

"I'm tryin' fuck you and your bestie, yeah," Ryan began to rap loudly. I groaned and slouched down in my seat. It was 5 in the morning, the sun was hardly up, yet Ryan still managed to get on my nerves. I was not a morning person.

My mom switched the channel to one of her songs and I thanked her in my mind, even though her taste in music was not good. There was just no way that I could put up with Ryan's loud, rapping mouth this early. It's at the point where my mom does not even scold my brother for his language. She knows that no matter how hard she tries, she will not be able to control his cussing.

I slipped my hand into my backpack that was lying by my feet and grabbed my AirPods and connected them to my phone. Music filled my ears as I laid my head against the window. This was about to be a long car ride, so thankfully my phone was fully charged. Last year it died halfway through the drive and I wanted to scream.

I closed my eyes as my dad pulled onto the parkway, and since I hardly slept last night, I just about passed out.

........

"Kendall," someone said. I rolled my head over, hoping that the person saying my name would go away. I silently prayed that when I opened my eyes, that I would be in my bed. "Kendall, wake up." I groaned and squeezed my eyes tighter.

"Wake the fuck up!" A manlier voice shouted as they shook me. My head bobbed from side to side and I quickly opened my eyes to see Ryan shaking me roughly. His light brown hair spilled across his forehead, just reaching the tips of his dark eyelashes. He had a major bedhead.

To my demise, I was not in my bed. Instead, I was in the backseat of our car which was now located in Florida.

"Ryan, what the hell?" I mumbled as he began to stop shaking me, noticing that I had woken up.

"We're here," he informed me as if it was not already obvious.

I groaned in response. If only I could just sleep the summer away. Or better yet, take the next flight home. Or I could just steal the car. I had brought my license just in case if I needed to escape from my family for a little while.

"Help unload the car, Kendall," my dad requested from where he was standing outside. I slowly made my way out of the car and towards the trunk.

"Please wipe that annoying look off your face, Kendall," my mother begged. "The least you could do was pretend that you want to be here."

"I've been pretending for the past 17 years. Might as well stop now when no one seems to care that I don't want to spend my summers like this anymore," I inserted. I felt a bit of relief as I got that off my chest. However, I did feel guilty for not fully wanting to be here. Trust me, I loved my family with all of my heart, but it had come to a point in my life where I was sick and tired of leaving my hometown for the summer. My friends always came to school with memories that never included me. I despised feeling like I was missing out.