Bubble Gum Kisses
CHAPTER 6

**Kapittel 6** ***Vanessa***

**"Take your time!"**

"Yeah!" I shouted back. I halted my steps when I reached the car and pressed a button on the key that caused the vehicle to make a small sound and the child lock to unlock. I opened the door and carefully placed Zach, who was busy playing with his saliva, on his signature booster seat. When I ensured that he was securely strapped, I sat down on my throne, a.k.a the driver's seat, and inserted the key in the ignition.

The whole car was filled with my younger brother's laughter when I turned the ignition on. I turned to face him and saw him look at me with the most amused expression I've ever seen. "Fasten your seatbelts, big boy," I said before hitting my eyes on the road and stepping on the gas pedal with much force, driving off.

Softly humming, I looked at the car's stereo before switching it on and turning to my favorite radio station, Fresh Grooves FM. I've been a recent fan of their weekly top 20 tracks. Their staff usually chooses songs carefully, whether the song was famous or underrated. They had been a contributor to some artists' fame.

Thankfully, they were still playing their top 20 track. They were on Johnny Stimson's Gimme Gimme. Instantly hooked on the beat, I began moving my body slightly while going along with the song. I was lost in my own world.

All the melancholy strapped within my chest yesterday vanished like thin air. Every little thing heavy that was hanging onto me was gone. I was in bliss. I wanted this to go on like forever.

"Gimme gimme gimme that loving. Want you to lemme lemme lemme lemme lemme get a cherry on top.

I've got this feeling in my chest a thump a thump thumpin'," I sang and banged my head negligibly.

"How are you doing there, big b- oh my god!" I gasped in horror, and my dopamine-induced happiness became lost in the adrenaline rush when I saw what Zach was doing. He was munching on the seatbelt! I mentally facepalmed. Dang it, I forgot to bring the pacifier!

Panicking, I tried to reach an arm out to him. He was holding on to the thing tightly with his chubby, saliva-stained hands and was gnawing in his mouth like it was some kind of delicious candy. "Baby, baby. Stop that. Stop munching the seatbelt!"

I turned to face him and busied myself reaching for the seatbelt and Zach that I had forgotten about facing the road. The little critter was adamant about nibbling on the stupid thing, and I couldn't reach him! "Zach, hand it over," I said and stretched on my seat as my arm went closer to him. Just a bit more. A bit more...

"Gotcha!" I celebrated in delight when I finally caught the belt and threw it aside. All innocent and gullible, my younger brother thought his candy was taken away and wailed, much to my aggravation. Now the relaxing and fun atmosphere I created earlier was gone.

"All right, all right. I'm sorry, baby. Shh," I tried to shush him down, but it caused him to cry harder. Oh God, what should I do?

"Hey! Stop the car! Stop the car!" I heard someone shout echo in my ears from nowhere.

"What?!" I shouted and faced the front. "Oh my God!" like it was out of instinct, my leg automatically pressed on the brake pedal.

The car was actually approaching a pedestrian lane, and on the side was a fire hydrant with a dog peeing on it! I shut my eyes and hit the breaks harder while shrieking, hoping that the vehicle would stop sooner.

"What the heck, are you crazy?!" I heard the same voice echo once again, and I turned my head to the left side, seeing a guy's figure from the other side of the road was approaching the car. "I was shouting for you to stop, didn't you hear me?! Why didn't you stop sooner?!" he asked as he came over.

I shrunk in my seat. So much for getting my driver's license on the first try. It wasn't my first time driving, but I believed I had been an excellent one since neither my friends nor mom complained about it whenever I took the wheel. Anyway, I had been inattentive the whole time. I was too busy panicking about Zach and the seatbelt that I forgot to park. It was like I was at my wit's end- actually, I was at my wit's end.

If it hadn't been for the person approaching right now, I would still be driving without looking at the road, and we could've hit somewhere without me knowing it. If it did happen, there would be casualties that'd bring mom trouble. Zach too, he might have been hurt if I hadn't stopped, and an accident actually happened. And if he did, I would never forgive myse-

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

I gasped in surprise when someone snapped their fingers on my face. I popped out of reverie and realized I was face-to-face with a guy's tan face. He was looking at me with his eyes full of concern, his nose huffing since he ran all the way here from the other side, and his lips slightly ajar as he panted vehemently, his lips releasing a minty scent.

"I... I'm sorry. I was tending my younger brother. He was getting a bit messy," I apologized and pointed at my younger brother, who was suddenly quiet. He followed my thumb, and his gaze softened when he laid eyes on my brother. "Anyway, is the pupper okay? I almost had a heart attack." I unlocked the door, and the guy made his cue to step back as I exited the car.

I walked to the bumper to see if I did hit the dog or not. Much to my relief, the dog was okay. The cutie had its eyes gleaming, tongue out, and tail wagging at the car in excitement. Thank goodness. I wouldn't bear it if the car didn't stop on time and hit the poor baby.

"Thankfully, he's fine," the guy behind me said, and I turned to face him. "You stopped on time," he added before striding past me and picking it up.

"Thank God," I said and sighed with full relief. It was my first time driving recklessly, and the consequences would have been harsh if it weren't for this guy. "Are you his dad?" I asked, thinking that I needed to compensate him. I almost hit his dog, of course. I needed to make up for that mistake. Hopefully, he wouldn't ask much, though. I only had the money mom gave me earlier. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

"No." He shook his head, which rendered me confused. "I'm just hired to take him on walks. I've been telling his owner that his leash was a bit old and needed to be replaced. He never listened to me. Now, look at what happened." He shook his head again. He was acting like a parent finally seeing the consequences after a few warnings were given to their child.

"I... I can bring you guys to the nearest store to buy him one!" I retorted nervously. What the hell, Vanessa. Why would you offer a stranger a ride?! Surely, I made a mistake, but I shouldn't have gone that far!

He raised his hand and shook his head again. "No need. Thankfully I bought one beforehand since I knew this would happen someday," he said and fished out a brand new leash from his pocket. What a resourceful guy! "Also, you wouldn't be likely to want on having a stranger in your brand new Cruze that has your little brother inside. Also..."

He began to look around, then said, "Thankfully, there aren't cameras in this area too, or you'll be sued. This little guy's owner's a bit of a scrooge. He'd sue anyone that did him even the slightest wrongness against him for compensation money," he said, turning the dog on his other arm and carrying it like a baby, then scratched its stomach. My heart almost melted at how the pupper closed its eyes and shook its legs, looking relaxed and happy. Once again, I made another sigh of relief. "Anyways, thank you. If it hadn't for you, the worst could have happened."

"No problem. The worst-case scenario didn't happen anyway." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you sure there isn't anything that you want? I mean, you almost had the dog you're hired for a walk to get into an accident," I said, crossing my fingers from behind that there should be at least a small favor he'd ask. I'd feel guilty if I wouldn't do anything to compensate for my wrongdoing. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I told you, it's cool. Supremo didn't get the slightest scratch and doesn't look bothered at all. You're apology's good." He looked over behind me. "Also, I think you should get going. Your little brother's nibbling the seatbelt."

**

Thank you for reading Bubble Gum Kisses! To keep up with my works, future works, and endless frustrations on Twitter: https://twitter.org/RiosMorpheus**