Chapter Twenty Seven-1

"I hate this car. When I first got this car, I was so happy, but now I hate it." "That's because you've been practically living in this car for two days and, lets face it, we both desperately need a shower and food that didn't come from a drive thru." It was 12:23 AM and Lizzie and Everett were at a stoplight, only 20 minutes away from home. They were tired. They were hungry. They were sore. But despite all the downsides on the return trip, the two were still happy and really enjoyed the vacation they had. The trip overall seemed to be a great success. A ton had been accomplished and Lizzie and Everett really enjoyed themselves. The goodbye's had been harder than they thought, though, especially between Everett and Mandy. When Lizzie went to get them some drinks from the machine down the hall from Mandy's room, Mandy made Everett promise to take care of Lizzie and finally ask her out officially. "You two are good together," was her simple explanation for her demands. But, hey - Everett was more than happy to comply with the orders. It was more a matter of timing. The two hadn't discussed yet what exactly went down back in Flagstaff several days prior. They knew an undeniable attraction existed between them now, one both were okay with -  more than okay, really. For Everett, it set his insides on fire to know that Lizzie cared for him in such a way. They had things they needed to discuss, to be sure. But for now, they were happy and satisfied and if their hands sat linked over the console for most of the way back from Flagstaff, well - that was their business. "Just a few more minutes - we'll be back to our own beds and we can just pass out," Everett continued, dropping farther down in his seat. His words were becoming slurred and it came as no shock how tired he was. "Yeah," came Lizzie's eloquent response. Her eyes were sagging as she drove down the road, closing in on their destination. "You should probably call Jesse and let him know how close we are. Maybe make sure he can help you get all your bags inside and stuff." Everett nodded sleepily, making no move to get his phone out and instead slipping back to his sleepy state. With a fond smile, Lizzie rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone instead. She tapped Jesse's name on the screen, waiting for the man on the other end to pick up. Lizzie took the time to notice how long the seconds felt when you were waiting for someone to answer their stupid phone, even more so when it was late and you were tired. And then suddenly, "Please tell me you're close. I'm not sure I can drink another cup of coffee to stay awake for you guys," came Jesse's pleading voice from the other side of the line in place of a greeting. "Well, hello to you too, sunshine," Lizzie teased, taking a quick sip of her coffee now that Jesse mentioned it. "Don't toy with me, Baldwin," he practically growled. Even though they both knew she was playing around, it really was too late and they were both so tired. "Seriously, are you almost home?" "Yeah, nearly there," Lizzie assured through the receiver. Her left index finger flipped the trigger for the blinker and turned the corner as soon as the coast was clear. "I'm like, ten minutes away at this point." Jesse seemed to bleed relief through the phone. "Okay, great. I'll get moving then. The light will be on and the door will be unlocked." The line went dead and Lizzie grinned, chucking her phone into the center console. Everett moved around a little, the small line of drool on his face getting rubbed off onto his shirt. "Ev," she cooed, poking him in the shoulder repeatedly. She continued this until he roused, groaning. "Why do you hate me?" Everett moaned, scooting around in his seat. "Oh, we both know I don't." Lizzie prodded him once more for good measure. "And we're almost home. Wake up, peasant." Everett cracked one eyelid, arms crossed over his chest. "Really?" Lizzie nodded, saying, "So close." Within just a few minutes, Everett and Lizzie were sitting in front of his house. Jesse poked his head the front door and Everett gathered his sweater and phone into his hands before exiting his side of the vehicle. Lizzie followed suit, unlocking the back doors. "You guys made it back safe," Jesse exclaimed quietly so as to not wake the neighbors. He pulled Lizzie in a hug and squeezed her tight. "Not like anything bad would have happened between when I called and here," Lizzie sighed dramatically. But nevertheless, she hugged Jesse back with just as much enthusiasm and exhaled. These North boys were going to be the death of her. "I never thought I'd be so excited to see my brother," Jesse laughed, letting go of Lizzie in favor of Everett. The latter had a rather large grin on his face as he and his brother hugged. "I think mom has been having withdrawals. She just sort of stares at your spot at the table and sighs wistfully." "She did remember I was coming back, didn't she?" Everett joked. He didn't wait for a reply, just shook his head fondly before letting go and turning to the car. "I think I got all my bags, but hey double check, would you, Jesse?" Jesse dutifully bounded around the bags that Everett already pulled from the car and started to dig around. With Jesse busy, Everett held out his hand in a silent request and Lizzie complied easily. With two steps, the two were in a hug and halfway asleep just from that. "We still need to talk about what happened  back in Flagstaff," Lizzie murmured sleepily.