wanderlust (edited)

Chapter Eight: (Picture of Mickey) Coconut Water and Motels

Chapter Eight

Coconut Water and Motels
(Picture of Mickey to the Side)

"It's a bad idea."

"Sade, I'm already gone."

"Then you tell that jerk to turn around and take you home."

"Sade, you don't understand. I want to do this."

"Bullshit! You're agreeing too quickly. You barely know him!"

"Sade—"

"Don't 'Sade' me! Tara, you're not even nineteen. I don't think this is a good idea at all. And I don't care if you 'want to go,' because for all you know he could be a friggin serial killer, and you just decide that it's fine to go on a cross-country road trip with him?! God, Tara, that's insane. When I suggested you spice up your life, I didn't mean this! I meant get a tattoo or an extra piercing – ride a motorcycle, even!"

"Sadie, this is my life, and I'm doing what I want with it. I want to get away from Queensland. Do you even know how hard it is to live up to Paige, Elaine, Liam, and Kara? It's impossible. Everyone expects too much of me. You need to understand my situation. If I leave, everything will be better. No one will judge me or expect things of me because of my siblings anymore. This is a whole new beginning for me, Sadie!"

"That's not true. You could've at least said good-bye to me."

"Sade—"

"Bye, Tara."

I sigh, and slip my phone back into my pocket. James glances over to me, and pats my hand, "Don't worry, this'll be great, Tara. Just you see."

As if I wasn't already convinced enough, we passed a sign:

"WELCOME TO GEORGIA
STATE OF ADVENTURE"

I took that big blue hunk of metal as a sign that this would definitely be an adventure I would never forget.

"Look, a Wal-Mart!" I point to a chain of stores on the side of the road proudly, "and there's a Motel 6 close by."

"Awesome," James turns on his blinker and gets of I-85 onto a less popular road.

We'd been driving for over nine hours, and were both ready for a break. It was about 10 at night, and James had been yawning ever since we hit North Carolina. We'd been staying on the same road, only stopping for some fast food every little bit.

James pulled his truck into a spot and, we both hop out, stretching out our muscles and yawning as we head into the store.

"So, what do we need?" I ask, stretching out my back.

"Just some snacks, I guess. We still have six hours to go, and we'll keep the car in Baltimore. I know a guy. We can take the ferry across and stay at Josie's apartment." James explains, running a hand through his dark messy hair.

"Kay, sounds good." I say, "I'll go grab some drinks. Want anything special?"

"See if they have any coconut water," He replies before disappearing to grab some food.

My eyebrows raise in surprise. James Braxton drinks coconut water? I kind of want to laugh, but I'd probably hurt his feelings if he heard me.

So, with coconut water in mind, I make my way over to the beverages section. I grab a few water bottles, a few Gatorades, and some coconut water, along with a Red Bull in case James wanted it. After throwing everything in a little blue Wal-Mart basket, I stifle a yawn.