What You're Not | ✔

37. Playing House

The sound of Betsy mixed in with the music of the Emo Forever playlist on Spotify and heavy rain filled my room as I fed the red fabric into the sewing machine, neatly hemming the dress.

It was Thanksgiving break and I planned to use that time wisely. The Fashion Parade—a name chosen by Kimber after being inspired by Principal Morrison—was happening soon and there were still a few things to get done clothing wise.

"Loren." Mom let out a frustrated sigh behind me. I almost didn't hear her over the noise. "We're supposed to be leaving soon. You're not even dressed!"

"I am," I retorted, eyeing my handiwork on the dress.

"You're in your pajamas."

Getting up from my desk I grabbed a hanger from the closet to hang the dress on.

"We're just going to Grandma's," I pointed out, hanging the dress with the other garments that I had stashed away in my closet.

Holidays were very relaxed in our family. No one really got dressed up, especially on holidays where the main focus was food. What's the point of putting on your best clothes if you were just going to end up with potato salad on your jeans or running into a sticky toddler? It was possible I might've been over dressed in my joggers.

"Get dressed," she demanded before walking away. Over her shoulder she added, "We leave in a hour."

Withholding a groan, I filed through the bottoms in my closet until I found a pair of black skinny jeans. Just as I began to pull off my pants there was a knock at my window, causing me to quickly reverse the action.

I whipped around to see Miles already sliding my window open.

"Why?" I demanded through gritted teeth. My heart was going a mile per minute.

"I called," he said, once he had his feet safely planted on my bedroom floor. How could he be afraid of a Ferris wheels, but be able to scale the side of my house? "I texted, I knocked, I rang the doorbell."

Between my music, Betsy, the storm and Mom running around frantically trying to get everything ready for the trip it was completely possible that we missed all of that.

That still didn't explain why he was desperate to reach me or why he chose to scare the crap out of me by climbing through the window.

"Again," I said, trying to get my heart rate under control, "Why?"

He pulled out his phone, swiping his fingers across the screen a few times before holding it out for me to see. It was a news article about a mud-slide that happened on the only highway out of town.

"Oh," I muttered, the tension in my body relaxing a bit. Then my lips quirked up into a smile. "So, you were worried about me?"

"Yeah," he agreed, looking bashful. "I mean, the thought of you buried under mud definitely rose my anxiety levels."

I didn't know why such a simple act of kindness left me with such a feeling of warmth. Maybe it was just nice to know he cared so much. I moved in to kiss him, but realized he was dripping wet. Grabbing a blanket from my bed, I wrapped him in it.

"You did see the car still sitting in the driveway, right?" I asked him. "You didn't have to climb up the side of the house. In the rain, no less"

"I just needed to see you. With my own eyes," he said. There was a red tint to his cheeks as he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. The rare, shy version of him shining through. "I sound like a crazy person."

A smile crept across my face as I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "No, it's sweet."

He smiled down at me, making my heart fluttered. Then he leaned in to kiss me, stopping before our lips made contact.