The Road Trip

Chapter 3 - Convincing the Stubborn

Chapter 3

Convincing the Stubborn

My jaw must have dropped a mile. Luke Daniels just spoke to me. With his mouth. His voice. Without signing. Sure, it was rough and a little hard to understand, but he had spoken. I was in a state of disbelief. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would ever get to hear Luke's voice. It's just not something you think about when the person has used sign language their whole life. He had been too self-conscious to ever talk out loud.

"D-did you just...talk?" I stuttered, still staring at him with wide eyes. My mind just couldn't comprehend it. He nodded, looking me over carefully. "Wh-how?" It just didn't make sense! Someone who had been deaf their whole life just all of a sudden speaking? How did he know how?! I know that’s a horrible thought, but come on, we were all thinking it. He had been deaf since the day he was born.

'I've been in speech therapy for a year now.' He said, switching back to signing. Speech therapy?! My eyes must of been the size of tennis balls because he quickly continued. 'Don't be mad because I didn't tell you! I didn't tell anyone. Except for my parents.' I blinked at him, running a tongue over my teeth. This was a lot to process.

'Why?' I said after a moment of silence. That was, in truth, my only question. His whole life he had never been discontent with just signing. Never had he possessed the urge to talk. And now I find out he's been in speech therapy for a year? I had thought we were close, and all of a sudden I was questioning our friendship.

Luke looked down as if embarrassed, '...My mom thought it would be a good idea...' He signed, his expression turning into a scowl. 'She forced me to take the class.' I gasped, not quite sure if I believed it. Paisley had always been understanding about her deaf child. Both of Luke's parents had been supportive. Sure, it wasn’t what they wanted for their son, but it’s not like they could change it.

'Luke?' I reached out and grabbed his hand, earning his gaze once more. 'I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?! I could've talked her out of it.' He shook his head, forcing a small smile. But it didn't fool me. It wasn't a real Luke smile. It didn't reach his eyes, it was obvious he was still upset.

'Nothing would've changed her mind, Addie. It's better just to leave it because it's already done.' I nodded slowly, not wanting to upset him and yet not quite accepting it as the truth. Luke had a habit of forcing things out of his mind when something bad or something he didn't like happened. He didn’t confront it, instead, he buried it. 'Besides, maybe I’ll get a girlfriend out of it.’

I did a double take. Luke actually thought he didn't have a girlfriend because he was deaf?! That was a ton of crap! Every time we went out the teenage girls would stare at him, and they all knew about his disability. He was hot, even I, someone who was practically his sister, knew that. So why, then, was Luke under that impression?

'You know that has nothing to do with it, Luke!' I signed furiously, 'The only reason you don't have a girlfriend is because you've never tried to get one!' It was true. Whenever girls tried, he ignored their lame attempts at flirting. He was the only one to blame for his lack of romantic experience.

'You think so?' He looked up at me from under his long eyelashes, looking a bit sheepish. He should be scared, too! He knows how angry I can get.

'I know so.' I sighed, throwing my hands in the air. After a few seconds, when I was calm enough, I continued. 'Any girl would be crazy not to date you.' He gave me a smile, the usual sparkle returning to his eyes.

'Any girl?' I nodded for reassurance. 'Thanks, Addie.' He wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug, which I returned. We were always giving each other bear hugs or wrestling on the ground. It was kind of our thing.

'You all are still coming to dinner tonight, right?' I asked when we pulled away. My family and the Daniels always had dinner together on birthdays and holidays. Ever since I was a baby it had been our tradition. Whatever my family did, the Daniels tagged along.

'Of course! Wouldn't miss it. You know we always-' I must've jumped a mile in the air as a loud car horn blast vibrated through the air. Spinning around, I saw my Mother pulling into our driveway. That was her not so subtle signal that meant she wanted me to go home.

'I've got to go, I'll see you later.' I gave him one last smile before flying off the porch and sprinting over to the car. If I kept my Mom waiting, she wouldn't be very happy. Hell hath no fury. "Hey, Mom." She smiled at me as she got out of the car, placing her sunglasses on top of her fluffy, red hair.

"Hey, Sweetie. Help me with the groceries?" Yeah...She worded it as a question, but it was more like an order. I sighed, nodding and heading to the trunk. There actually weren't that many bags; ten at the most. I grabbed four and quickly made my way up to the side door, dodging the porch furniture on the way. The door, much to my dismay, was locked.

Holding four heavy bags for an extended period of time is hard work. Sighing, I set the bags on my porch swing and started fishing in my pockets for the keys. I came up empty handed and let out a long, frustrated groan. I swear I would lose my head if it wasn't attached.

"Mom, do you have the keys?" I asked, poking my head around the corner of the house. She was talking to Paisley, not even grabbing any bags. Startled, she turned around. Her eyes got wide before she nodded, saying something to Paisley and heading over to me.

"Of course, I do. What happened to yours?" She asked, handing me her key ring. I grasped them and shoved them into the lock.

"I probably left them upstairs," I muttered, pushing open the door and grabbing my bags. "Here." I shoved them into my mother's arms and started running to the car to get more. As expected, there were six left. So, me being the i***t I am, I grabbed all six - three on each arm. This presented a problem. I could barely lift my arms above my hips and somehow I had to close the trunk of my mom's black van.

Huffing, I forced one arm above my head. The bags all fell down to my shoulder, jamming into my side roughly. I could hear the cans clinking together and I prayed to God nothing was breakable. When I had my arm extend, I discovered, much to my annoyance, I was two inches too short. My fingers brushed the plastic handle, but I couldn't grasp it.

I frowned; this was more difficult than it should be. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself onto my tippy-toes. I wobbled, the force of the bags pulling me backward. My arms flailed around in the air, attempting to regain my balance. It was no use, my feet flew upwards, sending me towards the hard cement.

I screamed as I hit the ground, expecting some bruises, pain, and some shattered glass from the plastic bags connected to my arms. Nothing of the sort happened. The only thing, in fact, that happened was I landed on something hard but squishy, and a groan escaped someone's throat a second later. My eyes widened. Of, my god.

Swiftly, I freed my arms from the bags and turned around. Trent glared at me, pushing himself off of the ground, which I had crushed him onto. He had my dance bag in one hand, and in the other, he had his swim bag. I looked back up at his angry face, noticing the way his wet hair dripped water onto his cheeks.

"Smooth, Addie." He huffed, pushing himself to his feet, "I was trying to return your dance bag, which I saw in your front yard, and your way of thanking me was flattening me like a pancake." I blinked at him, still a little shocked he was actually attempting to help me. The world must be coming to an end. "You're okay, right?" I shook my head but quickly nodded. I was alright.

“Yeah, I'm fine. You're okay too, right?" He nodded, extending a hand to help me up. I raised an eyebrow but took it, again surprised. Normally, if I fell he would laugh and push me back over after I got up. This time, he didn't push me back down. He took a step closer, to where our chests were almost touching, and draped my purple dance bag strap over my head.

I sucked in a shaky breath, uncomfortable with his closeness. That's twice in one day he made physical contact with me. What had him in such a weird mood? I thought he hated me.

"Let's get this stuff into your mom." He said with a smirk, winking at me. I rolled my eyes, realizing that Jerk Trent was back. Before I could protest, he picked up all six grocery bags and was walking towards my house.

“I can help," I called, running to catch back up with him. Not only did I know for a fact that those bags were heavy, but I didn’t enjoy being treated like a damsel in distress. I was fully capable of carrying in my own groceries. He just shook his head, deciding not to reply.

We were back to the whole, no talking unless necessary thing. Seriously, I think Trent was bipolar.

"Hey, Rocky." Trent smiled, setting the bags on the kitchen island. My mom turned around from her frying pan, glancing in between us. Then she glanced at the groceries, raising an eyebrow.

"Did Addie make you help her?" She asked suspiciously, glaring at me. I held my hands up in surrender, feeling a little annoyed. Sure, I had made Trent do some, erm, stuff before, but I wouldn't ask him to help me. He would just laugh in my face.

"No ma'am,” He chuckled, glancing at me, "She had some troubles with the bags, so I decided to give her a hand." My mother's face lit up immediately, making me grimace. She had always been a little too fond of Trent. Her and Paisley would chat about how me and Trent would grow up and get married so they could be 'sisters.'

First of all, that was a total teenage dream. But to be fair, they were teenagers at heart. Second of all, just because Trent was only a week older than me, did not mean I would date him. I would rather go for Luke and have a very inappropriate relationship. Last of all, Trent would never in a million years date me.

"That's so thoughtful of you, Trent!" She gushed, "We have some leftover birthday cake, would you like some?" I gasped, giving her an appalled look. I hadn't even had any of my cake! "Don't worry, Addie. There is plenty for you, too." I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. He had his own cake a week ago, and did he share with me? I don't think so.

"Actually, I have to get home. Mom needs me to watch Alex while she takes Luke to his spe.." He shot me an alarmed glance, "To his doctor's appointment...." He said lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. My eyes widened. He had almost let the cat out of the bag. My mom did not need to know about Luke's speech therapy, she would only bug him about it. "Got to go!" And then he ran out of my house faster than a rabbit with its tail on fire.

"What was that about?" She asked, shooting me a questioning look. I gulped, quickly grabbing a bag and putting the cans in the cupboard. I was a horrible liar.

“Who knows, it's Trent." I laughed nervously, setting the pasta on the shelf. My mom didn't say anything else, so hopefully, she would just let it go. Thankfully, a moment of silence followed.

"Hey, we're leaving in an hour and a half, so you better go get ready." Mom said, glancing at the clock. I nodded, grabbing my dance bag and heading up the back stairs. I always preferred using those because it led straight down to the kitchen and honestly, what teenage girl didn’t love her refrigerator? My room was the first door you came to when you got to the top.

I flopped down on my bed, fishing my iPhone from my bag. I had two texts, one from my Dad and one from Holden. With a sigh, I clicked on the one from Dad.

Hey honey, I hope you're having a good birthday so far! I'm held up at work, so I won't be able to make dinner. If I get out on time, I'll meet you guys at the restaurant. So sorry! Love you.

I sighed, frowning. He missed a lot of dinners, so I wasn't overly upset. It was only natural.

I understand, love you too.

I hurriedly clicked on the one from Holden, eager to see his text. I had butterflies.

Sorry, my parents have me on lockdown. We'll make up for it on Saturday. *wink wink*

I blushed, laughing at his text. My parents, although going on the trip, had allowed us to get a hotel room. Alone. They all did, however, have a connecting door. Maybe not their smartest move, but hey, I wasn’t going to question it.

Totally fine, can't wait till Saturday. ;)

I tossed my phone aside and ran into the bathroom. Only an hour and twenty minutes left. After a quick shower, I put my hair in a towel, slipped into my purple robe, and sat down at my vanity. Then I applied a thin layer of foundation and eyeshadow, going a little darker on my eyeliner and mascara than I normally would. It was my birthday, I deserved to look nice.

Blow drying my hair took ten minutes, and another fifteen to curl it into perfect waves. At that point, I had five minutes before I had to be downstairs. I guess my shower wasn't as 'quick' as I had thought. Running, I grabbed my dress from my closet and quickly slipped into it. It was a plain, purple sundress that clung to my upper torso, but flared out near my hips and stopped near my knees.

"Addison, time to go!" My Moms' voice echoed up the stairs. Right on time.

"I'll be right down!" I yelled back, slipping on my black heels and applying a thin coat of pink lipstick. Well, dinner with the Daniels. I had survived worse, right?