Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Thirty Five

—

"All we do is drive,
All we do is think about the feelings that we hide"
Drive | Halsey

—

Lilla
[Wednesday, July 28, 2018]

"Lilla, Sweetheart, when is Jason getting here?"

The sound of my mom's voice caused my eyelids to easily flutter awake, and the first noise I made was an exhausted groan.

"Mmm, 10 I think?" I sling my arm over to check my phone, which shows me that it is almost nine. "Fuck, Mom, why didn't you wake me earlier?" Rushing out of bed, I fumble around to make sure that I'm fully packed and then make my way to the kitchen for breakfast.

"And how is this my fault when you could have set an alarm? I didn't know when Jason was coming."

Pushing the lever down on the toaster, now filled with halves of a bagel, I turn to my mom.

"Right. Sorry. My fault."

With a pointed look at me, she moves into the pantry and swiftly returns with a jar of peanut butter. Smiling, I thank her, and slather the peanut butter on the now warm and toasted bagel, then placing it on a napkin.

"I'm gonna eat this while I'm getting ready. Tell me if Jason gets here early for some stupid reason!"

Miraculously avoiding dropping the bagel on the carpet, I rest the napkin on my bathroom counter. Next order of business: What to wear on the car ride. Rummaging through my closet and rows of dresser drawers results in some black cotton leggings, a soft grey long sleeve, and my beloved oversized jean jacket. I pace back to the bathroom, where I brush my teeth, wash my face, and adorn my eyes in light makeup, finally getting dressed afterwards.

My finishing touch is a quick high-ponytail and looping some extra hair ties around my wrist. As expected, I get bombarded with concerned questions from my mother as I jog down the stairs, the duffel bag bouncing in my hand with each step.

"Do you have warm clothes?"

"Yes, of course."

"Toothbrush?"

"Yes."

"Hair brush?"

"Yes."

"Enough underwear? Socks?"

"Mom," I give her a pointed look. "Half of my underwear drawer is in the bottom of this bag. That feels like enough to me."

"Me too. I just want to make sure you aren't forgetting anything. Its a three hour drive; you can't just turn around if you forget something."

"Even I'm not that high maintenance, Mom. If I forget something, I can just suffer. Simple as that." I pull my phone out of the pocket of the jacket, and click the on button. 9:51 AM. "Jason should be here soon," I say to no one in particular.

"Put your stuff by the door. While you're waiting, pack snacks for the car ride."

Happily dropping the bag stuffed full of my overpacking tendencies, I make my way to the kitchen and pull out a plastic bag. In it, I put a box of crackers, bottles of water, and a couple of wrapped up cookies.

My phone lights up: Jason.

Jace: Here!

"He's here," I announce. My mom ushers my me rapidly to the front door, almost eager to get rid of me, and sends me off with a kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun, and come home in one piece!" The second my duffel bag and I are past the threshold, the front door it shut behind me.

Love you too, Mom.

My saltiness fades at the sight of Jason in the driveway, waving at me through the windshield. As I approached his truck, he gets out and comes around to take my bag.

"I have more muscle than it looks, you know. I can carry my own bag."

"Yes, but what kind of future fake boyfriend would I be if I didn't carry it for you?"

"...Touché."

We give each other a wide smile, and proceed to get in our designated seats of the car. He starts backing out of the driveway, and that's when I notice his bag in the back.

"That's... All you're bringing?"

"You make it sound like my I packed my stuff in a grocery bag."

"Well I've seen grocery bags bigger than... that," I reply, eyeing the small carry on with a hint of disgust. Jason only chuckles next to me.

"Your concern is cute, but I promise you that I packed enough." Sending him a suspicious look, I fail to restrain my smile. He returns it, then quickly brings his focus back to driving.

After a few minutes of gazing out my window, I realize that while silent car rides are fine, car rides with music are infinitely better, and that this is the perfect opportunity to learn what music Jason likes.

"You've got an aux cord for your phone in here, right?"

"Of course." He opens the center console and blindly digs around for his phone, finding success after a few short seconds. It's already connected to the car, so he unlocks it and hands it to me. When I go to take it from him, our fingers brush together. "Shit, Lil! Your hands are freezing."

I shake as I laugh, combing through the music on his phone.

"It's not that bad."

"I think Antarctica would be warmer."

"You're ridiculous."

"Water turns to ice the second it touches your hands."

"Jason."

"How have you not thought of using these powers to stop the glaciers from melting?"

Looking away, my eyes roll at his exaggeration, and I bring my focus back to his phone.

"Oh my God." I pause for dramatic effect, and wait for anticipation to build. "You like Panic! At The Disco?"

"The cult I sold my soul to? Love them."

"Shit," I curse as I scroll through his Panic! library. "You've got everything."

"Take your pick."

Smiling, I click on the Death of a Bachelor playlist. Victorious starts blasting through the speakers instantly, and we both start mouthing the words.

"Now, I gotta get your hands warm," Jason comments, removing a hand from the steering wheel and grabbing my left hand to tug onto his leg.

We stay like that the whole drive there.

—

After checking and double checking that we got the directions right, the end of our long drive wraps up when its determined that we have arrived at Vincent's house.

A few cars are already in the driveway, including an eerily familiar baby blue Volkswagen.

"Fuck." I whisper to myself, eager to get out of the car and confirm my suspicions.

"...What?"

"That's Bianca's car."