The Unknown (Transformers Book 1)

Chapter 9: That's Her Squishy

Tapping my finger against the armrest my elbow leaned on, I stared out the window. Familiar houses flew by in a blur as we drove through the neighborhood. In front of us, the yellow and black Camaro led everyone back to our house while Jazz, Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide trailed close behind. Tall street lamps lit up the dark road and sidewalks.

"I can feel that, little lady." Jazz muses. My eyes instinctively flick to the rearview mirror, fingers flexing above the center console before neatly folding my hand in my lap. Chocolate eyes stare back at me, along with smudges of dirt that runs across my forehead. Brooke looks similar to me, except her long hair is pulled back into a bun and her blue eyes watch me with a raised brow.

"Sorry," I say boredly, turning my gaze from my scowling sister to the window. The two-hour drive back to our house has done an impressive job of draining my adrenaline and returning me to my usual quiet self.

"Nah, it's all good." He replies cooly. "So you two are sisters, right?"

"Unfortunately, my mother was diagnosed with her when I was four." I quip, receiving a punch in the shoulder by Brooke. I smile, rubbing my shoulder while Jazz snorts.

"So you're a doctor?" He guesses.

I lift my chin proudly, sitting back in the cushioned seat, giving a smug look to my sister. "Why yes... Yes, I am." My expression grows curious, looking to the mirror again. "What makes you think so?"

"I used to have a friend who said that same thing about her sister." He replies.

Brooke shifts in her seat. "You guys have siblings on Cybertron?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty uncommon and all of them are twins."

"Oh, thanks by the way." Brooke gestures a hand casually, suddenly thinking of something. "For driving us back home. Sam and Mikaela have been growing more confident in their public affections, and Optimus doesn't exactly seem to be the most talkative bot in the group."

"No." Jazz says through a chuckle. "No, he isn't. But he's a super nice bot, you just gotta get to know him, ya know?"

Brooke hums, nodding in agreement. Her blue eyes find me, brows raising. "Hey, why don't you talk more?"

I shrug, turning my head from the window to her. "I've overdone my socializing for the week. I'm drained."

"Their giant robots!" She waves a wild hand like I'm absolutely crazy for getting bored with new aliens from a giant metal world.  "How can you be exhausted from talking to them?"

"Hey, now." I almost scoff at the smile in Jazz's voice, staring at the back of the yellow and black Camaro in front of us, as he pulls off into the back road that leads to our house. Slowly, we pull to a stop. "Leave her alone, some people just don't have the capacity to converse with others like us two."

The doors beside us open and I get out with a sigh, slamming the door shut behind me. "Oh my god, you guys are SO funny," I reply flatly while the two titter. My eyes flick to the red and blue semi parked behind Jazz as Optimus' engine shuts off.

"Okay, you guys gotta stay here," Sam urges, rushing around Bee's hood with Mikaela close behind. His eyes land on me and he paces over, taking my wrist and dragging me into our backyard. I grimace, wanting to pull away from his drenched grasp. "You gotta stay here and you're gonna watch them." He tells Mikaela who nods. "Five minutes, alright?"

Brooke jogs behind us while Sam marches across Ron's grass. My lips purse, gently guiding him onto Ron's stone path so neither of us get yelled at. But it's already too late.