The Girl in the Hoodie

7

[Chapter seven]

We walk up a driveway and my eyes focus on a small homey house.

"It's not much, but it's home, so..." Noah shrugs.

"No, I like it. It looks cozy." And my house isn't any bigger.

"Come on, Nevaeh!" Danny pulls me towards the front door by my hand.

This kid is adorable. He hasn't let go of my hand since we picked him up from school.

He goes to put his hand on the door handle but stops and turns around.

"Did you forget you need a key to get in?" Noah holds up a house key.

"Pfft, no." Danny looks around making me laugh.

Noah unlocks the door and pushes it open.

Danny drags me in behind him.

"Vaeh, do you like Disney movies?"

"Vaeh, do you like Disney movies?"

"Yeah, shortie, I love Disney movies." I smile down at my baby sister. "My favourite's Tangled."

"Flynn Rider is bae!"

I raise an eyebrow at Lucy. "What did you just say?"

"Uhm, nothing..?" She giggles sheepishly, making me laugh.

"--Vaeh? Nevaeh?"

I snap out of my thoughts and look at Danny. "Huh?"

"You alright, Carter?"

I look at Noah who's standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Peachy."

"Be glad you snapped out of whatever you were in because Danny was about to slap you in the face."

I look down at Danny who smiles sheepishly and looks away, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"What do you want to eat?" Noah asks me.

"Do you have--"

"Eggos?" He cuts me off. "Yeah. Max is here all the time and he throws a tantrum if we don't have any."

"Sounds like Max."

"Yup."

"Vaeh, want to watch a Disney movie?" Danny asks me hopefully.

"Sure, kid." I smile. "You pick. I'm going to go talk to your brother."

Danny runs over to the T.V cabinet and starts looking through all of the DVDs in it while I walk into the kitchen.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" Noah questions without even turning around.

"What was what all about?"

"That little 'Imma zone out of the world for a little bit because people are stupid' trance you went into."

"Oh." I mumble. "Not really."

"You sure?" He asks. "I'm here if you need someone to listen...even though I don't want to listen to you rant your little heart out and would probably end up zoning out halfway through...but still. I'm here if you need someone to listen."

My lips quirk up in amusement.

"Look, I've made the decision to trust you--"

"A horrible decision, really." Noah cuts me off.

I roll my eyes. "But I'm not telling you my life story."

"I didn't ask you to tell me your life story." He says just as two more Eggos pop out of the toaster. "I just said I'm here if you need someone to listen to you rant about some shit that's happened in your life."

"Exactly." I mutter below a whisper, hoping he doesn't hear. "My life story."

He puts the waffles on the plate and hands it to me.

"Here. Take this to the living room. Coke or Sprite?"

"Coke." I call over my shoulder as I walk into the living room, setting the stack of Eggos down on the coffee table before walking over and getting comfortable in the recliner.

Noah walks in with two cups of Coke and one cup of Sprite, putting them on the coffee table.

"What're we watching, Danny?" He questions as he sits on the couch next to his brother.

"TANGLED!"

"Danny, you are my new favourite person in the world." I say instantly.