▶️ You've Got the Heat - Luster

A G A T H A   T H R O W S   A        F I T

After our run with Gary, the Pogues dropped me off at my house. They knew my Mom wanted me home before she came from her late shift. I walked down the dirt path we call our driveway and up onto the front porch of our house. Music can be heard from inside along with my brother's yelling. I opened the door and entered the house to see my brother and his friend, Noah, playing an intense game of Uno.

"Did you guys already eat supper?" I asked, walking past the two and ruffling my brother's hair. "You doing okay?"

"Not yet, been too busy trying to win. And I'm fine, just some minor stomach pain." Lucas informed me, fisting his hand and bumping it against mine.

"Dude, you have five more cards than me." Noah scoffed.

"Lucas." I sent him a stern look, worry blossoming in my chest.

"Honestly, I'm fine Nina." Lucas sent me a soft smile.

"If you say so. You want to stay for dinner, Noah?" I questioned and started to rummage through the fridge.

"Sure." Noah sent me an appreciative nod.

"Ha! Draw four." Lucas slapped two Draw Two cards on the coffee table. He glanced over his shoulder to look at me momentarily. "Oh, Mom left a note or something for you on the counter. She wanted you to do all of that stuff. Chores I think."

"Shit."  Noah groaned out, drawing four cards from the stack. "I'm still one card less than you."

"Alright." I closed the fridge to look for the note.

The two young teenagers continued to play the game as I searched for the note. A crumpled white paper laid on the counter next to the oven. I grabbed it and quickly read over it. My brows furrowed when I read "hurricane" and " tomorrow night".

"Woah, there's a hurricane coming tomorrow?" I snapped my attention to the boys.

"Yeah, hurricane Agatha. She had to come at the beginning of summer, huh?" Noah sadly shook his head.

"Shit, Luke, she wants us to prepare for it." I placed the note down and started to get all the candles out of the cupboard above the stove. The boys stopped their game and looked at me. "Are you guys really hungry or can you wait an hour?"

"Well..." Lucas' stomach grumbled loudly from the living room. I let out an anxious sigh. He stood up and walked towards me. "Hey, Noah and I can start preparing for the hurricane while you make supper. We'll do the stuff we know we can do and not mess up, okay?"

"Yeah. It's no problem. I finished preparing for the hurricane earlier today with my dad. It will quicken things up for you guys." Noah added.

"You sure? I don't want to force you..." I told him in uncertainty.

"You're already cooking for me. I can at least work for it." Noah waves a hand in dismal.

"Okay...if you say so. Once I'm done cooking, I'll let you guys know when it's time for a break. I might multi-task, too." I said, biting my lower lip.

"Just don't burn down the house. We kinda need a shelter from the hurricane." Lucas teased, nudging my arm.

"Shut up." I chuckled out.

"We'll start outside and put away any loose stuff." Lucas told me before the two started to make their way towards the front door.

"You guys want migas con frijoles?" I asked.

"Don't know what that is, but sure!" Noah gave me a thumbs up.

"It's just eggs and fried tortilla strips cooked together with beans as the side." Lucas informed him.

"Oh!" Noah dragged out as the two went outside.

I shook my head at the two and started to get out the ingredients to cook. Placing a medium sized pan on the stove, I poured some vegetable oil and turned on the heat to low for now. I started to go into rooms and grab buckets that could be used to store water. Knowing that the hurricane is coming, God only knows how long the water and electricity will be out. I went into the bathroom and grabbed some bleach.

I poured some in each of the buckets, ended up getting three medium sized and two large storage boxes, to disinfect it. I placed them in the shower and turned the shower head on. As I let that slowly fill with water, I made sure to wash my hands. I made my way back to the kitchen to finish cooking. For about 20 minutes, I kept going back and forth. I finally finished cooking.

I called out the boys' names to come and eat. As I waited, I went to go give a final rinse to the containers in the shower before filling them with water to store. Lucas called my name from the kitchen. When I entered the room, the two teenage boys were serving themselves.

"Thanks, Nina." Noah told me with a smile.

"No problem. You guys cleaned up most of the yard?" I reached for a plate to serve myself.

"Yeah." Lucas grabbed a forkful of migas and took a bite. "They're saying its going to be a category one, so it shouldn't be that bad."

"Still, we need to bunker down. Category one still leaves damage. I'm not even sure if we have any plywood to border the windows. I'll have to call Papi about that either tonight or in the morning." I uttered before I started to eat.

"We just used duct tape. Plywood was hella expensive at the store." Noah rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, what did you guys do today? Did the rest of the crew hang out with you?" I asked.

"Nora and Mike we're here until the sun started to set. Their parents wanted them to finish helping out setting up their houses for the storm." Lucas told me. "How about you guys? Any mischief today?"

"Always." I smirked and sent him a wink.

"What you guys do this time?" Lucas raised a brow.

"You know, the usual. Pinky?" I placed my elbow on the kitchen table and held out my pinky towards him.

"Pinky." My younger brother locked his pinky around mine. We turned our hands to form a Shaka and shook it before letting go. "Now, spill."

"Noah, don't snitch." I warned him.

"Scouts honor." He crossed his heart and held a hand in the air. "I won't tell my mom or dad. Even my Uncle Gary."

"Pretty sure your Uncle Gary already knows." I chuckled out.

"Then I'll hear a different version from him about his favorite pricks." Noah shrugged with a laugh.

"Aw, we're his favorite?" I placed a hand on my chest with fake adoration. "He hates our guts. Crashed that new house their building in Figure Eight before we were caught. The usual."

"Nothing exciting?" Lucas cupped his chin and looked at me with expectancy.

"We were slow today and I really need to start working out. I guess skipping gym almost every day doesn't help."

There was a knock at our door. Noah quickly finished eating off his plate. He stood up and placed the dishes in the sink.

"That's probably my parents. Thank you for dinner Nina. I always love it when you make Mexican food." Noah dent us a wave before heading out of the house. "See ya later, Luke."

"He so has a crush on you." Lucas let out a groan.

"Shut up, it's adorable." I nudged him as I stood up from my seat. "Just like you have a crush on Kie."

"Hey! That's different!" Lucas quickly defended himself. I let out of hum with a knowing smile. "It is! Really. It's-its not like a real crush. She's just really really pretty."

"Whatever you say!" I teased and started to wash the dishes. "Can you go shut off the water in the shower? I'm pretty sure they're all full by now."

"Fine." Lucas sighed out. "I hate hurricane season."

"Me, too." I sighed, staring out the kitchen window to see the waves reflecting the moonlight.

🌊

It was the next morning when I woke up to the sunlight streaming through my window.  Mom had arrived pretty late from her shift since she had to close. I had to leave her a note of what Lucas and I have already prepared for tonight and that we need to call Papi to see if we still had plywood. With a groan, I peeled off my comforter and sat up in my bed. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes trying my best to hold back a yawn only to fail.

I slowly did my morning routine. Slipping on my converse, I tied the laces. A soft voice was coming from the kitchen. I tied my hair into a high ponytail and opened my sun painted door.

"I know, I know." I hear my mother speak. "We'll find a way to bring in more money. You-you can find a job here once you come back. The hurricane is coming tonight and I'm sure the ferry will open in a day or two afterwards."

I stopped in my tracks, placing a hand on the wall. My heart started to beat harder against my chest. Did Papi loose his job?

"Look, we have some money stashed away. It's enough to cover for medical and the basics. I can pick up extra hours, okay? Lucas has a check up in August. We have time."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Shit. This is going to affect Lucas' ulcerative colitis. The doctors have him on a strict diet, his medications, and they're currently monitoring his ulcer. If it's bigger and causing him more problems, he's going to have to go into surgery.

"Okay. I'll let you tell the kids. They're helping out here at the house. We'll find something to protect the windows. Tell your Mom hi from us." Mom nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yeah, love you too."

I took a deep breath in and let her have a moment to herself. She didn't need to know that I heard what had happened. Mom wiped her cheeks to rid any stray tears and stood up. Taking that as a cue, I stepped into the house.

"Morning Mom." I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, morning baby." Mom gave me a fake smile. "We're going to have to duct tape the windows. I'm going to make a quick run to the store and stock up on non-perishable foods."

"Okay. You have work today?" I asked, opening the fridge to see what to make everyone for breakfast.

"Yeah, long shift today with the hurricane coming. Everyone waits last minute to stock up." She let out a chuckle.

"Like us?" I smiled at her.

"Yeah, like us. Is John B staying at his house for the hurricane?" Mom questioned. "He knows he is always welcomed to stay here. Same with the others. I rather them stay here and be safe then out there doing God knows what."

"I'll remind him. He's a bit thick headed." I chuckled out and took out the carton of eggs. Looks like it's another morning of eggs for breakfast.

"Oh, can you drop off some of this food at his house? I know he isn't really getting nutritional food and Lord knows how that house is in the inside with nothing but teenagers staying there." Mom pointed towards the three bags of food on the counter.

"Yeah, I'll drop it off. He has his appointment with the DCS today." I informed her as I started to make breakfast.

"He does know he can just stay with us. We wouldn't mind being his guardian." Mom grabbed her purse off the table. I looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm not stupid Nina. I know his uncle isn't even in the state."

"Right." I cleared my throat.

"Just behave and tell your friends to stay indoors tonight. We don't need them being hurt and putting themselves in danger, okay?" Mom started to head for the door with her keys in her hands. "And make sure Luke takes his meds."

"Yup, will do." I sent her a nod. Mom sent me a smile and walked out of the house. "They're so going to do something stupid today."

🌊

I pushed my foot off the asphalt road. The bags were in both of my hands as I rode my longboard down the road towards John B's house. It was past noon. The wind from the incoming storm blew my hair wildly behind me. Cool humid air clung to my skin.

I leaned my body slightly to the right to take the road that leads to John B's private road. Once I hit his property, I stopped my board and hopped off. I switched the bags to one hand and kicked my board up. I easily caught it and started to walk down the dirt road.

"Nina?" John B called out from his front porch.

He had swimming trunks on paired with an unbuttoned shirt. His board was placed on a table as he seemed to be waxing it. John B was hovered over it with a rag in his hand.

"I brought some goods." I held up the bags.

"What type of goods?" John B smirked.

"The healthy kind sent from my dear mother." I started to walk up the porch steps.

"Then it's the best kind." John B held open the porch door. "Tell her I say thanks."

"Will do." I handed the bags to him.

"Did you hear about the hurricane? It's going to be crazy." John B quickly set the bags inside.

"Yeah and my mom asked me to tell you that you are more than welcomed to stay at our place for the night until the hurricane is over with or when you want."

"I would, but JJ is going to crash here with me. Plus, I don't want to bother you guys. You all already do so much for me." John B frowned.

"You're basically a Marín by association. You're family, dude." I nudged him with a smile. "We were literally raised together with our dad's being best friends since high school. You're stuck with us forever."

"I think I want to back out now." John B joked.

"Funny." I rolled my eyes. "Well, I got to finish preparing for the storm. If you see the rest of the crew send them my love and for them not to do anything stupid. Mama Marín's orders."

"Can't go against those." John B laughed.

"No you can't. But seriously, be safe. And I hope you aren't planning on surfing the surge." I eyed the surf board.

"What? No. I'm not that stupid." John B's voice raised a pitch.

"Sure." I snorted and rolled my eyes. "I have to go check on Lucas. Mom's scared he isn't taking his meds. He seems to be in more pain than usual. He's trying not to show it though. Either he isn't taking them or the ulcer is getting worse."

"I'm sure he's fine. He's a tough guy." John B reassured me. "You better go then."

"Alright, bye." I sent him a wave and started to make my way towards the main road.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning around 9 with JJ and the crew. You know what storms usually bring out." John B called out.

"It's going to be a hella of a time to fish." I grinned at him.

Okay, but I'm loving Lucas' and Nina's  relationship.

Favorite summer activity?

Camping, hanging at the beach, riding my bike and longboard, basically anything outdoors.