The Time Capsule
Chapter Ten
James
I step on the gas a little more, ignoring the shouts against it. I can’t believe she won’t forgive me. After all I’ve done to be nice to her, to try and fix things. But still, she won’t forgive me. I guess I just screwed up beyond fixing.
“hey James, could we stop at the gas station? I need to freshen up a bit before meeting my parents.” Amber asks. I can hear the fear in her voice from how angry I’ve been acting. I’m sure she didn’t know how I’d respond.
I nod and slow down, pulling off to the next stop. Amber heads to the restroom while I decide to grab a snack.
“Selena, you want anything?” I ask, ignoring Greg who was too engrossed in his phone to know what was going on. She shakes her head no without uttering a word.
As I pay for the bags of chips I bought, I inform Amber about Greg. She is, oddly enough, the one on this trip that’s most adamant about not working.
When I come back to the car, Selena is sitting in the front passenger seat while Amber is in the back arguing with Greg. This will definitely be an interesting rest of the trip. I toss each of them a bag of chips that I bought, pretty sure that they too would be hungry. It had, after all, been awhile since we last ate. Amber and Greg pause for a moment to thank me and Selena just sits there staring at the bag. She glances up at me and I quickly look away. I tried to ignore her from then on, really I did. But there’s something about a person staring at you that makes you as curious as can be.
“what?” I finally ask, breaking the silence between us.
“This whole thing of bringing back memories is getting old James.”
I toss her a bag of chips and suddenly I had this whole plan to bring back a memory that I don’t know about. Yes, that makes total sense. “what memories?”
“oh god, you don’t remember, do you?”
“about Bugles? No, I don’t remember.” I tell her honestly.
“we watched The Duplex and afterwards went out on a mission to find a bag of Bugles. When we finally found one we went to the oak tree and hung out for the night. It was ten that we shared our first kiss James…” she trails off as tears form in her eyes.
“whoa, whoa. Calm down Selena. First off, don’t get so upset over a simple kiss. And second, that wasn’t our first kiss.” I try to reassure her but of course, I fail at that.
“yes, it was.” She insists, tears still rolling down her cheeks.
I shake my head, “no, we were five. There’s even a picture to prove it.”
Selena scoffs, something that I don’t think I’ve ever heard from her. “Like you remember.”
“I do!” I’m quick to defend. I glance her way for a moment and notice disbelief on her face. “you don’t believe me, do you?”
“of course not, you’re James Watson, you practically invented lying.” I grit my teeth together, holding back from saying something I know I’d regret. I hate this, really, I do. She’s been nothing but rude to me these past couple of days while I’m here practically begging for her to forgive me. I guess I deserve it, after the way I treated her. But still, comments like that seriously hurt. I press on the gas to go a little faster since the roads were completely empty. I have always loved speed. “what, finally speechless?” Selena asks.
That’s when I lose it. I slam on the breaks making us all jerk forward. “we were five. At the carnival. You didn’t want to go on some ride because it was too fucking childish for you. and my mom made me stay with you for some reason. My dad said something, my mom laughed, and then they kissed. You said some shit about true loves kiss and how you could tell by the kiss if you were meant to be. You, yes you little miss perfect, wanted to check me off the list to make sure I wasn’t your stupid soul mate. Okay? So yes, our first kiss was when we were five and your mother decided to take a picture of it. Happy now!?”
The car was silent after my story, or any other words ranting. They were all staring at me, though I just looked straight ahead. My knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel so tight but I don’t care. The pain helps me forget about that day. Not only was it our first kiss, it was also one of the last happy memories I have of my family.
“if we were five, that means your-” Greg started but then stopped, probably not wanting to piss me off anymore, “oh. That’s why you’re mad.”
I just nod, trying to calm myself down some. “It’s one of the last times I remember them happy,” I admit quietly, but I know they all heard.
It was quiet for another moment before Selena speaks up, “James I’m-”
I cut her off, turning to face her. I knew what she was going to say, and didn’t want to hear it. Especially not now. “Don’t you dare say it unless you know why Selena. You know more than anyone what that word means to me.”
I start the car again and drive straight to Ambers house. Selena kept quiet for the ride. The only noise came from the banter between Amber and Greg. Guess some relationships can just start where they left off…well I guess mine did with Selena too. Where we left off though, isn’t the best place to start.
I step on the gas a little more, ignoring the shouts against it. I can’t believe she won’t forgive me. After all I’ve done to be nice to her, to try and fix things. But still, she won’t forgive me. I guess I just screwed up beyond fixing.
“hey James, could we stop at the gas station? I need to freshen up a bit before meeting my parents.” Amber asks. I can hear the fear in her voice from how angry I’ve been acting. I’m sure she didn’t know how I’d respond.
I nod and slow down, pulling off to the next stop. Amber heads to the restroom while I decide to grab a snack.
“Selena, you want anything?” I ask, ignoring Greg who was too engrossed in his phone to know what was going on. She shakes her head no without uttering a word.
As I pay for the bags of chips I bought, I inform Amber about Greg. She is, oddly enough, the one on this trip that’s most adamant about not working.
When I come back to the car, Selena is sitting in the front passenger seat while Amber is in the back arguing with Greg. This will definitely be an interesting rest of the trip. I toss each of them a bag of chips that I bought, pretty sure that they too would be hungry. It had, after all, been awhile since we last ate. Amber and Greg pause for a moment to thank me and Selena just sits there staring at the bag. She glances up at me and I quickly look away. I tried to ignore her from then on, really I did. But there’s something about a person staring at you that makes you as curious as can be.
“what?” I finally ask, breaking the silence between us.
“This whole thing of bringing back memories is getting old James.”
I toss her a bag of chips and suddenly I had this whole plan to bring back a memory that I don’t know about. Yes, that makes total sense. “what memories?”
“oh god, you don’t remember, do you?”
“about Bugles? No, I don’t remember.” I tell her honestly.
“we watched The Duplex and afterwards went out on a mission to find a bag of Bugles. When we finally found one we went to the oak tree and hung out for the night. It was ten that we shared our first kiss James…” she trails off as tears form in her eyes.
“whoa, whoa. Calm down Selena. First off, don’t get so upset over a simple kiss. And second, that wasn’t our first kiss.” I try to reassure her but of course, I fail at that.
“yes, it was.” She insists, tears still rolling down her cheeks.
I shake my head, “no, we were five. There’s even a picture to prove it.”
Selena scoffs, something that I don’t think I’ve ever heard from her. “Like you remember.”
“I do!” I’m quick to defend. I glance her way for a moment and notice disbelief on her face. “you don’t believe me, do you?”
“of course not, you’re James Watson, you practically invented lying.” I grit my teeth together, holding back from saying something I know I’d regret. I hate this, really, I do. She’s been nothing but rude to me these past couple of days while I’m here practically begging for her to forgive me. I guess I deserve it, after the way I treated her. But still, comments like that seriously hurt. I press on the gas to go a little faster since the roads were completely empty. I have always loved speed. “what, finally speechless?” Selena asks.
That’s when I lose it. I slam on the breaks making us all jerk forward. “we were five. At the carnival. You didn’t want to go on some ride because it was too fucking childish for you. and my mom made me stay with you for some reason. My dad said something, my mom laughed, and then they kissed. You said some shit about true loves kiss and how you could tell by the kiss if you were meant to be. You, yes you little miss perfect, wanted to check me off the list to make sure I wasn’t your stupid soul mate. Okay? So yes, our first kiss was when we were five and your mother decided to take a picture of it. Happy now!?”
The car was silent after my story, or any other words ranting. They were all staring at me, though I just looked straight ahead. My knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel so tight but I don’t care. The pain helps me forget about that day. Not only was it our first kiss, it was also one of the last happy memories I have of my family.
“if we were five, that means your-” Greg started but then stopped, probably not wanting to piss me off anymore, “oh. That’s why you’re mad.”
I just nod, trying to calm myself down some. “It’s one of the last times I remember them happy,” I admit quietly, but I know they all heard.
It was quiet for another moment before Selena speaks up, “James I’m-”
I cut her off, turning to face her. I knew what she was going to say, and didn’t want to hear it. Especially not now. “Don’t you dare say it unless you know why Selena. You know more than anyone what that word means to me.”
I start the car again and drive straight to Ambers house. Selena kept quiet for the ride. The only noise came from the banter between Amber and Greg. Guess some relationships can just start where they left off…well I guess mine did with Selena too. Where we left off though, isn’t the best place to start.
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