new chapterrr(: alright, so i know this story is coming kind of slow but it'll speed up with time. Since the main character is an OC, i'm taking some time to develop her as a character... get it? thanks for reading!
NORA
"If this were really a party" I sighed "I would leave"
"Me too…" Adam groans. Andrew grunts.
We were sitting in the Torres' living room. I sat on the floor and Adam was hanging upside down of the couch, his head in my lap. Drew sat next to me and Elijah and Clare were on the other side of the couch all cuddlin.
"Do you have ice cream?" I ask, looking down at Adam.
"No. Mom's on a diet" he rolls his eyes.
"Oh" I say. There's an awkward pause. "Well, I kinda want ice cream"
"Get some ice cream then, lady" Andrew laughs.
"Do you need to be rude?" Clare cuts in. I hadn't heard her say much of anything all night so this little snap surprised me. I look at her.
"What's with you two?" I deadpan, looking away. Adam sits up and puts his mouth by my ear.
"Clare is Alli's best friend" he whispers and then leans back down. My eyes widen and I smirk.
"The Alli?" I gasp, not watching my volume… Clare and Andrew both turn and glare at me. I laugh and put my hands up in surrender. Adam nods. "I'm with Clare on this one" I laugh "And I know you don't want to hear what I have to say on the subject, Andrew. Ya fucked up" I raise an eyebrow at him and he looks down, ashamed. I push Adams head off me and get up, ruffling Andrews's hair as I walk past him. "Still love ya, little man" I joke.
"Where you goin?" Adam calls after me.
"I'm getting ice cream?" I say like it should be obvious. I grab my keys out of the kitchen and go back to the TV room to see whose coming. Adams already walking out the door so I look to the others.
"Oh, nothing for me. Gotta shape up" Andrew says, patting his stomach.
I scoff. "Okay. Whatever, broseph"
Clare conspicuously says something into Elijah's ear. I raise an eyebrow. They both stand up and I laugh.
"We're comin" Elijah grins.
"Whatever" I sigh and follow Adam out the door. "I don't wanna DRIVE" I groan into the night.
Adam appears at my side "I'll drive" he jokes, wiggling his eyebrows. I stare forward and throw the keys at him. "Oh. Uh… I was only kidding, Nora. I- I don't drive yet. You know that" he stutters, eyes wide. I laugh and clap him on the back.
"Too late. You offered"
"Oh my god" he says. Clare and Elijah finally meet up with us, and when Adam gets into the driver seat, Elijah shoots me a confused look. I smirk.
"Adam offered to drive" I say brightly.
"The hell I did" he mumbles.
"Adam, you have a license?" Clare asks.
"Absolutely not" he glares at me. I laugh.
"Is this… safe?" Clare asks nervously, looking at me.
"Probably not" I giggle.
"But… what if-?" Clare starts but I cut her off.
"Stop asking questions, short stick" I snap. "You know, Clare, if you wait to do everything till you're sure its right, you'll probably never do much of anything" I say softer. She looks down.
"Now start the car" I look at Adam. He puts in the key and my car rumbles to life. "Okay, foot on the break. Turn signals are on your left. Drive on the right side of the road and don't hit anything" I laugh. Adam looks at me with wide eyes. His back is stiff as a board and his knuckles are turning white from holding the steering wheel so hard. I sigh "And for the love of god, man, relax" His shoulders slump but he doesn't loosen his grip. Elijah and I both laugh. "Okay, now put it in drive and go"
He does and as soon as we start moving. As we start moving, I turn on my music. Ah, Killer Queen… excellent. I turn it up.
Adam drives alright… really slow and kinda jerky, but alright. Clare sat in the back with nervous, shifting eyes and Elijah sat next to her looking between the three of us and laughing every few seconds. In a couple minutes, we pull into a McDonalds and into the drive through.
I get us all ice cream, except Clare who declines my offer, and after a small plea from Adam, I switch places with him. Boo.
"Why don't we watch a movie or something?" Clare asks, sitting on the couch.
"Yeah, you know, or we could watch paint dry" Adam laughs. She rolls her eyes.
"No, she's right" I say. "I brought a movie" I smile mischievously.
"Oh lord" Adam sighs.
"What…" Elijah questions, looking suspiciously between us.
I run upstairs and grab Pulp Fiction. When I get back, everyone is situated on the long couch. I chuck the case at Adam.
"Ah, not this again. You should probably seek help for your John Travolta addiction" he says "This movie is gonna give Clare nightmares" he giggles.
"Nah, a little bit of guns, blood, and drugs never hurt nobody" I defend.
"Actually" Elijah cuts in "I believe those things have killed lotsa people" he laughs.
"What movie is it?" Clare's innocent voice rings out. Adam hands her the case. "Never heard of it" she says, squinting at the cover.
"Perfect!" I exclaim. "Fresh meat"
Eli looks at the case and laughs. "I think Adam's right. She won't sleep for weeks" Clare narrows her eyes at him.
"Shut up, Elijah" I laugh "She'll be fine"
"Why can't you just call him Eli?" Clare asks. It sounds kind of angry but she automatically blushes and looks down.
I shrug. "Probably the same reason I can't just call Andrew… Drew" I laugh.
Clare looks away from me and up at Elijah. "You don't cringe when she says it" she points out "You always cringe"
There's a bit of an awkward silence… I make a point to look at anything but them.
"Well!" Adam bursts. He gets up and puts the movie in. I sit in the space between Adam and Elijah (closer to Adam… for obvious reasons) and we watch the movie in silence.
And not even the comfortable, I'm-really-enjoying-this-movie kind of silence. The painful kind. Sigh.
The next morning, I was up before anyone else. No surprise there… I don't sleep right. I hop over Adam's dormant body and weave through the two sleeping figures on the floor. I'd slept in his bed (because nobody else would, so what the hell? I mean, I'm not sleeping in Andrew's room. That kid snores like a large mammal fighting for its poor life)
Last night had, eventually, gotten less awkward. We'd all done a bunch of lame sleepover stuff and it had seemed comfortable but I sensed some serious fakey-cakey-ness between Clare and Elijah… Ah, what can ya do?
I walked down into the kitchen and made some coffee. I was sitting on the counter, sippin and thinking, when I heard movement upstairs. I opened my eyes when the footsteps moved into the kitchen.
"Oh. Hey, Audra" I smiled.
Adam and Andrews' mom tends to come off as callous and rude sometimes… but, I think she's alright. Just really protective of her kids. Okay, way overprotective. But you get my point. She's as nice to me as everyone else in this family, so I can't complain.
"Nora" she acknowledges "You made coffee" she smiles. I laugh and nod. "So" she says after a moment. "I'm guessing you instigated this little co-ed slumber party?" she raises am eyebrow.
"Kinda" I laugh. "Don't be mad… I'm always here anyways! And Clare was the only other girl. Audra, she's laterally a saint. She wears a purity ring. Nothing happened" I promised.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not angry, Nora"
"Good" I smile. She makes a cup of coffee and sits down at the table. I sit across from her and we talk for a while.
Adam is the next one up and he joins us. No coffee for him, he was born naturally caffeinated. When Elijah and Clare wake up, Adam's mom goes back upstairs.
"So… What are your plans for today, Nora?" Adam asks me.
"Oh, uh… what day is it?" I say, resting my head on the table.
"I think it's Saturday" Elijah laughs.
"Definitely Saturday" Adam agrees.
"I'm gonna visit Grego" I mumble. I look up to see that Adam is looking at me all pleading like. I laugh "Of course, you can come" I say to him.
"Chyeah" he says with a laugh.
"You guys can come too… if you want to" I say hesitantly, looking at Clare and Elijah. I don't think they'll want to go, but I don't want to be rude. Actually, I wouldn't mind introducing him to Elijah at all… it's Clare who makes me anxious. I don't have a problem with her but I'm about 87 percent sure that she wants me dead…
"I have to go home" Clare says quickly. I rest my case… Adam raises an eyebrow in her direction. "My… uh- mom… is coming today" she says. Nice save.
She and Elijah share a look.
"Oh!" I gasp. "Adam, go get ready. We have to drive Clare home"
"Oh no. That's okay" Clare says modestly.
"Yeah, I was just gonna walk her home" Elijah adds.
"Oh boo. What kind of a person do you think I am?" I laugh. "Of course I won't make you guys walk. I brought Clare here. I'll take her home. Duh"
Clare smiles. "Thank you, Nora"
"No prob" I say. I look at Adam "Seriously. Go."
"Nora" he groans "I don't need to get ready"
"Whatever. At least go wet your hair in the sink or something… you have bed head" I laugh.
He rolls his eyes and goes to leave. "I swear I feel like your mother sometimes. I can only imagine…" I say. He sticks his tongue out at me.
Adam didn't take long. We were all ready and in my car in a matter of minutes. I drove Clare home and Adam and I waited as Elijah walked Clare to her door.
"They're not very coupley" I comment. "They didn't kiss or anything the whole night. It was weird… are they our age?" I joke.
Adam laughs "Yeah… I don't know. They've had some problems… I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the tension"
"Problems? Problems like what…" I say. Curiosity killed the cat…
"Oh, well it's been non-stop drama every since they met!" Adam says, turning to face me. "Eli is just exactly what he seems: that dark boy with the twisted past. They work but they don't. Eli needs somebody who needs him, you know? Clare really doesn't-"
I cut him off when I see Elijah approaching the car. "Change the subject!" I say dramatically.
He whips his head around and then looks back at me.
"Uh, man who stands on toilet, high on pot" he says as Elijah gets in.
"Never fry bacon when you're naked" I reply, starting the car.
"What… do you want me to write you a check for ten freaking cents?" Adam mutters, turning back to the front as start to drive.
"It's hard to look bad-ass when you're wearing a turtle neck. I've only met like 6 people who can pull it off"
"At the tone, please record you message… Oh! Hey Eli" Adam acknowledges. Smooth. I roll my eyes.
"I've told you guys that I think you're… all kinds of strange, right?" Elijah says. Adam laughs. "So… What did you think of Clare?" he asks.
"She seemed alright… kinda hot and cold" I reply.
"Tell me about it" Elijah mutters. I give him a questioning look but he doesn't say anything.
"Okay" I drawl out. "Am I taking you home too?"
"Actually, I'd like to come with you guys… if that's alright" Elijah says, sounding nervous.
"Alright" I smile "Cool"
ELI
As the elevator slowed to a halt and the metallic doors slid open, Adam was practically half-way down the hall. I let him go and stayed back with Nora.
"So" I begin "Greg is your…"
"Brother" She finishes for me. "He's my older brother" We round the hall and see Adam waiting at the door. "Why'd you run here if you were just gonna wait anyway?"
Adam shrugs and enters. "Hey, G" he beams "Long time no see. I keep telling Nora to let me tag along more but she keeps saying no"
I look at the man Adam's talking to. Lying on the hospital bed was a man, probably around age 22 or 23. He looked shockingly like Nora, but with lighter hair and sharper countenance. The next thing I noticed was his closed eyes.
He was unconscious.
I feel a wave of shock run through me, having expected Nora's mysterious brother to be at least coherent. Especially after hearing Adam talk to him like that… He continued
"Between you and me, I think she's afraid that you'll like me better than her and want to trade" Adam smirks, shooting a wink at Nora. "Anyways, dude, I found this band the other day that I think you'll be into. I gave Nora a CD to play in here or whatever" he was talking animatedly, using his hands and all, even though the conversation was one-sided.
Throughout this encounter, Nora had been leaning in the doorway with a small smile playing on her lips. When she turned to me her face became apprehensive and she looked down. I stood up and walked over to her.
"What happened to him?" I asked as softly as I could manage.
When she looked up at me, her expression was entirely blank. For some reason, fear surged through me.
She didn't answer for a while.
"We're friends, right?" she said after a moment.
I roll my eyes and nod. "Of course"
"And you're good? Like… I don't know. Don't answer that. I'm not making sense" she said with a laugh. "Adam told me you're trustworthy. He said you'd understand? And he wouldn't have let me bring you if he didn't think you were good" She's looking at me, but it's like she is rambling to herself.
"Nora?"
"It's my fault" she blurts and the covers her mouth with her hand nervously. "Last year I was- uh… I was at a party with my friend, Haley. This typical high school party. It was totally lame and I wanted to leave but she was… busy" Nora scowled. "I could have driven myself home but I was… I was high and didn't want to risk it" her voice tightens.
I closed my eyes briefly and felt a familiar pang in my chest. "Nora, you don't have to-"
"Shh!" she cut me off "I didn't wanna risk it, so I called Greg. He always said that if I was stuck he would help me, no questions asked"
NORA
Flashback
"Nora-Nora-bo-Bora!" my brothers' voice rang out. I got up from my seat on the porch and walked to the car. I fumbled with the door handle for a few seconds before Grego finally reaches over and opened the door for me. I got in, giggling.
"Hey, bub" I say, sinking into my seat.
"Jesus, Nora, you smell like skank weed and regret. And you LOOK like you just got beat up" he laughed and put the car in drive. "Seatbelt" he adds as an after-thought.
"I didn't get into a fight!" I insist. "Although, I have been known to have problems with my conflict-resolution skills"
"You just have a hard head, sis" he chortled.
"My head is fine. People don't like me" I say "It's because I'm black isn't it?" I chuckle.
"Honey, you're white"
"Oh… so it's because I'm white"
He laughs. "You have downs"
"I'm your favorite sister"
"My only sister"
"Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet" I quote.
"Cheese" he says in a funk-de-fied voice.
"And your sister, after all, is the only other person in the world who understands how fucked up you parents made you" I laugh.
"You sound like me" he says.
"Exactly!" I exclaim "And anyways, you better listen because me talking like YOU is like… a sign of the apocalypse… and if the end of the world is near, then good deeds could earn you credibility on Judgment Day"
"Alright, you're officially not making sense" Greg laughs.
"Sorry!" I drawl out.
"Music, yeah?" he asks.
"For sure" I agree, looking out my window.
Greg shuffles in his seat and reaches behind us to get a CD. I look back towards him.
"GREG!" I shout.
But by the time I see the headlights, it's too late. In a flash of screeching light and sound, the truck plowed into the driver side door. Right into my brother.
End
"I walked away. And he's here… They don't know what wrong with him. He should be fine by now. The bones and cuts healed, but he won't wake up" I explain. My voice is dead. I won't feel it.
Elijah doesn't say anything for a few minutes. I can hear Adam chatting to Greg in the background.
"I do" he finally says.
"You… do?" I question.
"I get it" he says. His voice is tight.
I give him a small smile and reach out to touch his shoulder. He looks up at me and, for a moment, nothing happens.
"So" I say "You wanna meet him?"
okay! heres greg -à .com/media/rm3079832576/nm2473719 I don't have any pictures yet for Nora because I haven't found anybody that seems… her? Anyways… REVIEW