"About time."

Saffron huffed, her arms folded across her shoulder. In my opinion, she could have been thanking me because it seemed like she and that kid-- Rivers were having a somewhat heartfelt conversation. Then again, I was judging based on their proximity. His knees were touching hers by the time I drove beside the bus stop. Chuckling at her attitude, I decided to shrug it off. Amelia had left me in a mighty good mood.

"I thought you'd forget about me."

She sassed, pouting her reddish lips as Rivers stood up to walk towards us. "Hey, man." He was nervous, the chuckle gave it away. Grinning (it probably resembled a boyish one), I nodded my head at him. "It's Everest, kid. Make sure to keep a good distance, okay?" His eyes slightly widened before nodding, staring back and forth at Saffron and me.

"Everest. I could say the same for that Melia chick. Your smile is about to rip your face." Saffron said with a scoff at the end. I was a bit surprised she remembered her name -- at least a portion of it.

"It's Amelia."

She wasn't listening, the girl was too busy blushing over what Rivers whispered in her ear. The audacity of the bunch. "Bye," Saffron muttered softly, engulfing him in a hug. I kept my gaze on him, true to God I didn't want to come off as possessive, but he made it so hard. His hands hovered over her waist, eyes nervously reaching mine. Shaking my head, I shrugged it off before entering the car. Perhaps they deserved a bit of privacy.

With a goofy smile on her face, Saffron closed the car, sighing as she pressed into the seat. "Did he tell you how much he loves you?" I teased, giving her a sideways glance. Saffron gaped, her cheeks darkening. "Stop it!" She huffed, sticking out her tongue.

"I guess not."

The engine roared back to life, my foot pressing the accelerator. "So, Amelia. Huh?" I heard her say, her tone cooing. The sound of her name caused the side of my lips to edge. Her little reactions made my chest contract. At first, I was worried, but now I kind of liked how my body reacted to her. "What about her?" I hummed, not giving my little sister the satisfaction of being flustered.

"Have you told her how much you love her?"

I chuckle.

"Love is quite the word there, Saff. But no, we're just friends."

She arched her eyebrows suspiciously. "For now." There was no use hiding my intentions from her, knowing Saff, she'd be hellbent on doing some digging which would involve meddling into my life. A gasp left her lips. "So you do like her." I shrugged. She could put two and two together anyway.

"That's weird, a punch of thirty-year-olds crushing on each other." Her assumption had me laughing. "Who said she's 30?" I teased, smirking at her shocked expression. "Older or younger?" She was a rather inquisitive girl.

"You'll find out when it works out."

"Everest!"

"Saffron!" I mocked, enjoying how much she craved such a trivial piece of information. It wasn't her age that made me interested, far from it. If anything, it was what made me a bit cautious. She peered at me for a while, her lips pouting to give a more innocent expression. From my peripheral vision, I saw her lean in, blinking her eyes at me.

"That may work on Rivers, but not me."

Saffron huffed, pressing her back against the seat. "Whatever."

We reached the house in another thirty minutes, after she got inside the house, I reversed out of the neighbourhood. There was still time left until the sun would set completely for darkness to take over.

Humming, I tap my fingers on the steering wheel, eyeing the possible places Amelia could get a job. From what she said, she didn't want a crowded area. The options were limited in such a small town but I hoped to find somewhere suitable. After minutes of driving, a scene makes me halt.

It was a woman, she was bent over a car which had an open lid, sweating buckets might I add. From what I could see, her car was screwed and she tried rattling a few screws. Her buttoned-up shirt was rolled up, eyes focused on the engine of the car. Pursing my lips, I look around. There was no one willing to help. Did she need help?

Hesitantly, I parked near her, coming out of the car. "Hey," I called out, walking towards her. The woman glared my way, her arms going to protective cross over her chest. "I'm not interested." She seethed, her brown waves blew towards her face but she refused to pry them away because her eyes were fixated on mine.

"Need some help?"

"Are you a mechanic?" Goodness, what was with the sharp replies and pointed stare? I was tempted to turn and drive off. Thining my lips, I inhaled the sigh. "No, but I could get you to one. I have a tow line out back." I offered, staring at the woman contemplate. With sweat beads on her head, she huffed, clearly frustrated.

"My boyfriend works at a mechanic shop about thirty minutes away. I just don't want to bother him."

"You'd rather be stuck on the road?" She glared at me again, not appreciating my answer. It was then I noticed her green iris, the way it shone contrasted how dim Amelia's were. I had almost forgotten why I went on this drive in the first place.

"He's busy."

"Okay then, suit yourself." If she was damned on being this way, who was I to insist? I turned my heels, making it back into my car.

"Wait! About that towline..."

Holding in my smirk, I turned back towards her with folded arms. The once pointed stare was averted, her pink lips folding in a pout. "Could you help drag the car to his shop?" Staring over at the car, I sighed, nodding.

"Sure, let's get it done quick."

Rolling up my sleeves, I took out the towline, beginning to hook it to her car and mine. She made sure to stand a few feet away, her arms still across her chest. She seemed mighty conservative for someone so young -- at least she looked young.

"Why are you helping me?" I heard once both cars were attached. How could I answer that? I didn't know why I was helping her. "I guess I'm just in a good mood."

"I don't know your name." Her words were straight to the point, I liked that.

"It's Everest."

The lady nodded, looking towards my chest before staring up at me. "Army?" This made me chuckle, nodding my head, I got into the car, signifying that she did too. I'd hate for it to get dark before I could search for places to take Amelia to.

"What gave it away?"

The lady shrugged, pulling the seatbelt over her chest. As the brown strands got in her way, she huffed, taking the ruffle from her wrist to tame it. "Your necklace."

Sometimes I didn't realize I had it on; the silver pendant was a part of me now. "I didn't get your name."

"My name is Ramona." Observing her faint dialect and light brown skin, she was far from caucasian, perhaps she was a Spaniard. "So, about that boyfriend of yours, where's his shop?" Ramona shifted to the edge of her seat, slowly telling me the address of the mechanic shop.

Thankfully, the drive wasn't so long; along the way, Ramona seemed to loosen up. She was taking a leave from work as an elementary school teacher, as I suspected, she was from Spain. The boyfriend she kept reminding me about talked her ear off about getting her car checked but she was too busy to do so. Until now.

When she felt more comfortable, I realized how much of a talker she was. Her slight accent making a humorous emphasis in some of her words.

"Is this it?" I asked when we pulled up to a mechanic shop, the entrance was a garage, some men gathered around sipping beer. It seemed like a comfortable environment, with the sun setting, they relaxed outside in their overalls. A quick thought passed my mind: were they hiring?

"Yes! Thanks a lot Everest." She huffed, unlocking the seatbelt quickly. From the sight of a towed car, some of the men stood from their seat, a dark skinned one moving closer as if recognizing the vehicle.

"Ramona?!" The man uttered in disbelief, dropping the can of beer before enveloping the slim girl in his arms. She groaned, hugging him back. I guess that was the famous boyfriend. Chuckling at the two, I got down as well, unhooking her car from the towline.

"You should have called!" I zoned out from their conversation, concentrating on unhooking the towline from my own car and wrapping it back up. "Thanks, man." I heard the same voice say after a while, bringing me from my thoughts. With a thin lipped smile, I nodded, glancing over at the man.

His dreadlocks dropped to his face, his build similar to mine. The way his hazel iris beamed through his dark skin was intriguing, I felt like I knew him. "Yeah, you're welcome." I continued to stare at him, wondering why he looked familiar. When he grinned, his cheeks went up, giving his intimaditng countenance a lift. That was when it clicked, he had a significant resemblance to my Ameila (I knew she wasn't mine yet but I preferred to use that pronoun with her). Sue me.

"I'm Everest by the way." I tested, stretching out my hand. He took it instantly with a nod, his grip firm.

"Call me Abel, man."