Classified ☑

[ chapter 18 ]

"Uncle Thomas, please," I begged.

"I said no." He continued wiping down workout equipment without another glance in my direction. "It's not that I don't want you to go, but the roads are supposed to be bad."

He moved away from the equipment and headed to the storage closet that held all of the cleaning supplies for the gym. I followed, still trying to convince him.

"You're the one that told me I should get out more. Your exact words to me were 'be a normal teenager.' Please let me go. We'll be careful." I wanted to go on that camping trip and I wouldn't give up without a fight.

Thomas let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "Go train with Joseph. I'm done discussing this." He stared me down, not budging for a single second.

I slouched all the way over to the mat Joseph was on. He was currently warming up, probably waiting for me.

His brows narrowed when he saw me, clearly seeing that I was upset about something. "What's wrong with you?" he asked me, bringing an arm across his chest while pulling it back with his other arm.

Kicking my shoes off, I clicked my tongue. "Thomas doesn't want me to go camping this weekend with some friends from school."

Joseph placed his hands on his hips, giving me a lazy grin. "I mean, he has a good reason to not want you to go. The roads are unpredictable right now."

I knew they both just wanted me to be safe, but how often would a chance like this come up. "Can't you just talk to him?"

His eyes flickered with an emotion I couldn't read. He straightened himself and waved me onto the mat. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you!" I skipped onto the mat and hugged Joseph.

He shifted as my body collied with his and he stood there like he didn't know what to do. Finally, he placed his arms around my shoulders and hugged me back.

I didn't miss the way Thomas' gaze softened when he saw us.

*****

"I can't believe your Uncle said yes," Cole said from his spot in the driver's seat. He turned on the car's lights as the sun started to set.

We'd gotten a late start to the day since Shelly's parents took some convincing as well. Though, she hadn't told us until we arrived to pick her up that we needed to convince them. Then after a late lunch setting us back another hour, we were still on the road. We had maybe another hour left until we reached the campsite.

"I know," I answered. "It's really thanks to Joseph, he's the one who convinced him."

Cole mashed his lips at the mention of Joseph's name. Even though they had unintentionally hung out together the other night, it seemed he didn't quite know how to perceive Joseph.

"Can we stop at the next gas station?" Shelly blurted out in the seat next to me. Her legs were squeezed together as her cheeks held a bubble of air.

Another reason this trip was taking so long was because Shelly had to pee every single hour.

Cole glanced at the dashboard and nodded his head. "Yeah, probably best. I'll fill up on gas while we're there."

About ten minutes later, Cole turned the car into a gas station, parking it by a pump. As I got out, I saw the dashboard reading and the gas gauge was between a fourth and half full.

Before I could think any longer about it, Shelly shoved me from behind, pushing me out the door.

"Shelly!" She laughed and skipped towards the convenience store. "Y'all want anything?" I asked the guys, walking backwards.