Road Trip

“Next time, I’m driving.”

Gareth rolled his eyes as the rain drummed against the car. “It was one wrong turn, just one wrong turn.”

“You should have looked up directions sooner.” Lucy groaned. “Are we there yet?”

“I told you ten minutes ago: we still have three hours to go,” he sighed. “Why don’t you turn on your music or something?”

“My phone’s dead. Can I charge it?”

“No, we need my phone to find our way back home.”

“What if we turn on the radio?”

“I need to focus on the roads, especially in this heavy rain.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m sorry, do you want to make it home safely or not?”

He heard his younger sister grumble and mentally counted it as a win, until she decided to retaliate. Soon his ears were filled with the humming of a certain song she knew annoyed him!

Gareth tried to count to ten in his head, though it proved to be easier said than done with how loud Lucy was being.

“Just keep the music down.” he caved.

Without hesitation, she went straight to the heavy metal station. To which he immediately turned off.

“Hey!” she protested.

“I said keep the music down. In weather like this, I need to concentrate.” Gareth countered.

Lucy muttered. “Killjoy.”

“You turned it to that station solely to annoy me because you’re bored and you know it.” he stated. “I’ve known you too long to fall for your tricks that easily.”

“Debatable.”

“Is it though?”

Thunder echoed all around them, causing them both to jump.

Lucy pulled her jacked over her head like a blanket.

“We’re perfectly safe in here,” Gareth tried to reassure her. “It just sounds really loud.”

In the back of his mind, he noted how the lightning stretched itself across the whole sky, testing its limits. This, of course, he didn’t mention to his sister.

“We’re halfway home, just hold on a little longer.”

Another chorus of thunder rang out, and Lucy curled up into a ball in her seat.

Gareth sighed. “Are you still hungry? We still have some snacks in the back if you want any.”

His sister gave a muffled, “No, thank you.”

Okay, that didn’t work, he thought. Guess it’s time for Plan B.

“Would you mind grabbing something for me from the glove box pretty quick?” he asked.

After several moments of silence, he wondered if she heard him at all. He was about to repeat himself when the latch popped up and the glove compartment fell open audibly. A single gasp told him she found the surprise he had been saving.

“How did you find this?” Lucy picked up the CD and examined it from all sides.

“I have a friend who’s good at tracking things down on the internet.” Gareth explained. “Originally, I was thinking of giving you that for your birthday, though maybe this is also a good time for it.”

He didn’t glance her way, though he could see her soft smile from the corner of his eye.

Without another word, Lucy put the CD into the console and waited. A few short seconds later, music from their childhood filled the car. Which in turn resulted in their minds pulling up memories they’d otherwise forgotten.

Softly, Lucy began to sing. He soon joined in. Neither of them had taken singing lessons, and it would be a stretch to call their singing good, though that was not what mattered in that moment.

Thankfully, the rain and thunder did let up after a while, much to the siblings’ relief.

The peace was shortly interrupted when Lucy spotted the signs for the upcoming exits.

“Can we get something to eat? Please?”

“We have snacks–” Gareth started, only to have his stomach protest. “Mom’s expecting us to–”

“We don’t have to get out of the car!” she whined. “Just one drive-through, is that too much to ask?”

“Remind me again, how old are you?” he teased.

“As soon as you remind me who the mature one is again.” Lucy shot back.

“One who is mature doesn’t call herself mature.”

“Please? You’ll be my favorite big brother?”

“I’m your only big brother.”

It took a few minutes, though with the combination of his sister and his stomach’s begging, Gareth gave in.

“Remember, only one meal and an extra burger.” he warned. “I’m not paying for three meals today.”

“Yes sir! You’re the best!”

He rolled his eyes as he waited his turn. “You better pick now, while we’re sitting here.”

A struggle to decide, a hasty decision, and an order later, they were back on the road. The scent of greasy fast food was sealed in with them as they moved on.

Gareth sank his teeth into his burger, each favor fighting for dominance. Not the best burger I’ve ever had, but not the worst either. A decent find.

Lucy, on the other hand, consumed her food so fast an observer would mistake her for a blackhole.

“One would think that you didn’t eat on campus,” he said wryly. “If Mom saw that, she’d be worried sick about you and charge right to your dorm and make sure your fridge was stocked before going back.”

“Maybe,” Lucy yawned. “That is a tempting idea.”

Gareth rolled his eyes.

His sister curled up in her seat and quickly drifted asleep.

Note-to-self: On the next road trip, make sure Lucy has plenty to eat and plenty to do.

He reached over to shut off the music yet paused for a moment. Changing his mind, Gareth turned it down a bit.

Only one hour left, he sighed. I can work with that.

Lucy remained curled up under her jacket, out like a light for a good forty minutes before waking back up again. Though done with her nap, it took her a solid ten minutes for her mind to fully function again; just in time to recognize familiar surroundings.

At this point, Gareth had turned his phone off; it would be hard for him to get lost in the neighborhood he grew up in.

Smiles formed on the duos’ faces as their home came into view. Their mother opened the door and ran out to greet them.

Unbuckling, Lucy gave one last comment.

“Next time, I’ll drive.”