Page 94 of Poetry of Flowers

“Yesterday, I had told Nash what happened to my money, and he somehow managed to rent a car in my name at the airport. I already checked, and it’s only an eighteen-hour drive, and we are in Chicago, folks. Perfect timing for a certain someone’s seventeenth birthday tomorrow.” Kayden laid his arm around my shoulders, and I felt myself blush a little.

Somehow, I hadn’t really realized I would turn seventeen already tomorrow. I mean, I knew it, but it still seemed so far away because I didn’t want it to happen.

At the beginning of this week, there was nothing I had wanted more than to run away from this day, but by the time we got to Billings, I was actually excited about it because I get to spend my birthday with my friends.

* * *

We tooka taxi to the airport and Kayden went in with Theo to get the keys to the car Nash had rented for us. It felt like ages since I had last talked to him. If I remembered right, it was in June. He got an apartment with Violett near their university, so they didn’t visit home frequently.

“How was your first kiss, little cousin?” Autumn asked me, resting her face on her hands. Four teenagers going inside to rent a car was too much, so we waited outside on a bench with our bags.

“It was perfect, I had never pictured myself kissing Kayden, but he was the perfect first kiss.” I smiled as I thought back to last night.

Autumn took my hands in hers and squeezed them gently.

“I missed seeing you happy, Tillie. You deserve this so much; you have no idea how happy I’m for you.” She pulled me into an embrace, before she continued, “I know I can be annoying sometimes because I cope with humor, but I need you to know that you can always tell me everything. I will leave the sarcastic comments at home, I promise- sometimes.” She laughed and lay her head on my shoulder.

Squeezing her hand back, I lay my head on hers.

“You don’t need to change yourself; I love you the way you are, Autumn, with the sarcastic comments and everything.” I sucked in air as I thought for a moment. “You know, if something is going on at home again you can tell me too, I adore our sleepovers.” She chuckled but shook her head when we sat back up straight.

“I love you, Tillie.”

“I love you too, Autumn.”

The guys came back out. Kayden was grinning while he searched the parking lot for a specific car.

We were a little scared they wouldn’t hand out the car because Nash rented it, but apparently luck was completely on our side this week.

“He knew what he was doing.” He shook his head laughing, as he placed a kiss on my cheek in passing.

“Happy Birthday from Nash.” He grinned and showed me the keys, there was the brand of the car: a Jeep!

“Nash rented a Jeep for you?” I asked him, smiling, they were my favorites, since Kayden was gifted one for his birthday, and we had all kinds of memories in that car.

“A Grand Cherokee, the shop manager, had a message for me from my brother.I know Sally’s parked at home, so this was the best I could do.”

I had told him that the car needed a name, and he let me decide. So, we named her Sally for the car in the Disney movieCars, Remy’s favorite.

“Remind me to tell Nash how much I love him when I see him again.” I was happy because this last ride at the age of sixteen would feel like home.

“As long as you don’t love him more than me.”

“Are we going to cross a lake or a river?” I didn’t like that I was still scared of lakes, but even now that everything was going well, the fear was still there.

“I saw a few on the map, but I will try to avoid them, and I promise that even if we have to cross one, I’ll drive safely.” His eyes softened, and he grabbed the bags from the bench, his guitar thrown over his back.

He unlocked the car and threw our stuff into the trunk.

“I’ll stop at a fast-food restaurant, and we can get breakfast or better still lunch there, it’s pretty late already,” Kayden told the others who got into the back seat.

I took Kayden’s hand before he could walk over to the driver’s side and waited for him to look at me.

“Take the road with the lakes,” I told him.

“Tillie, we really don’t have to-.”

“I trust you, Kayden,” I cut him off and he nodded.

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