Page 1 of Fireworks

Chapter One

May

*****

Nate

Twenty years ago, my parents made the best decision of their life. They needed someone to watch their energetic two years old. After a dozen interviews, she was losing hope that anyone would be good enough to care for me. Then in walked Evie Hanover. A mother herself to a two-year-old little trouble maker, Asher. They hired her on the spot. Having Asher around was like having the brother I always wanted. I loved Evie. She was like a second mom to me.

It wasn’t until that fateful July 4th, almost eighteen years ago, that everything changed. The dynamic of our everyday lives that I loved would never be the same. Katie Hanover came barrelling into our lives, causing our parents’ hearts to melt over her adorable dimples and little baby cooing. Asher and I, however, did not share the same sentiments about this new member of our family unit.

At first, it was just the annoyance of her needing Evie’s constant attention. That slowly turned into her taking our toys and shutting off our video games mid-game. She tried her hardest through the years to keep up with us, but she wanted to read books and play with dolls and that wasn’t what we were looking to do. Luckily, as much as she was like an annoying little sister, her mom brought her home at the end of each day and I got peace and quiet.

It was no surprise that Asher and I only got closer the older we got. Even after I no longer needed a nanny, our parents stayed close. We became one big happy family. I would spend a lot of my afternoons over at Ashers’ and they permanently set a place setting at their table for me.

We spent holidays together and there wasn’t a memory I had that didn’t include the Hanover family. Our parents had started a tradition for Katie’s birthday; we would barbecue and have cake before heading off to the annual county fair together. The largest and most spectacular firework show we’d ever seen would cap the night off.

Everyone around knew of Summit Creek for its spectacular fireworks display. Our parents had found a secluded area on the top of a hill where we would all lay our blankets out on. Lying on our backs, we would watch as the lights sparkled in the darkness above us. Katie usually laid beside me, silently watching in awe.

When Asher and I both applied to the same colleges, we waited with bated breath for our acceptance letters. We both threw our fists in the air when we found out the next four years of our lives would continue our adventures together.

We had gone through a lot together; their family was my family. I would do nothing to jeopardize the friendship I had with Asher. He was my brother, and that bond would always come before any girl.

“Man, can you believe it?”

Asher’s booming voice broke me from my reminiscing about our past. He stood, the graduation gown pulled behind his hands. His unbuttoned shirt and fitted white undershirt tightly hugged his body, illustrating just how many times a week he had been hitting the gym. Looking back at his reflection in the mirror, he placed his graduation cap on his head, adjusting it until it looked just right.

The last four years of our lives had gone by in a whirlwind, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be making the single most important decision of my life. It wasn’t easy figuring out what to major in at first, but I quickly settled on psychology. My mother was ecstatic that it would lead to a safe job in an office for the rest of my life.

I was at the crossroads of deciding if I should go to grad school to become a licensed psychologist or do what I really wanted, to become a pilot.No one knew I had been taking the steps already to get my license. My mother would never approve and, knowing her, she would enlist Asher’s parents to talk me out of it as well. So, I kept this indulgence to myself.

There was nothing like the rush of flying a plane. The weightless control you had being in the cockpit was unreal. Everything below seemed so insignificant when you were up there. I could see why my dad loved it so much.

“We better get going. Our moms will kill us if we don’t walk across that stage. They already planned it out. They're going to watch you walk, then race to get to my ceremony. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure my mom is more excited about your diploma than mine.”

Asher’s voice yet again broke the silence that had taken over the room. We both laughed, knowing our moms had a never-ending love for the both of us, but wouldn’t hesitate to cause a scene in front of the entire campus if we were late.

“I might actually miss this place.” I looked around our apartment. It held so many memories. Asher took two steps forwards before turning to me. “Nah, I can’t wait to get as far from here as I can.”

Walking across the stage, I could hear Evie and my mom screaming and clapping. Shaking my head, I smirked, knowing how proud they were. I hoped they showed just as much enthusiasm when Asher crossed the stage. Next to them, Katie sat unfazed by her surroundings. With her nose buried deep in a book, she wasn’t even paying attention to the ceremony.

For the past few years, the image of her burned into my mind was one of her fully engulfed in whatever she had picked up that day to read. Today was no different. Her book proved to be more interesting than the graduation she was attending. She kept her head down as I joined them to walk over to Asher’s ceremony.

Evie's voice was sweet yet firm as she spoke.

“Katie, can you put the book down for two minutes and at least tell him congratulations? You know you would expect him to do the same for you.”

Her eyes strayed from her book, meeting mine for a moment before sliding back down.

“I don’t think he’s ever read a book willingly, so expecting him to put one down is an unrealistic comparison.”

Evie glared at her daughter. Katie must have felt it despite still being deeply invested in that book. Begrudgingly, she closed it, forcing out a smile. It looked more like a smirk. Then sherolled her eyes.

“Congratulations Nathan.”

Marching ahead of us, her nose fell right back into the fantasy world she was reading. She knew I hated being called Nathan, but she also knew I wouldn’t ream her out for it in front of our parents.

Katie Hanover drove me insane.