𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓

chapter 25

after the bonfire ended, dean had dragged me along to get ice cream with him. he told me we needed to make the last night in california memorable.

though we ended up staying out until nearly midnight, talking about everything. we hadn't even realized the time until a police officer asked what we were doing out so late.

as i woke up the next morning, i realized today was the day. i was leaving all of my friends and him.

the guy who i felt as if he understood me the most, knew how to make me smile at any moment, and was basically my other half. i hadn't even thought about this day to come.

i packed up the few last things that were scattered around my room. i checked the few drawers to make sure everything was out; i did not feel like leaving something behind in a state thousands of miles away.

i held my hockey bag in one hand, my suitcase in the other, and a backpack was on my back. i looked at the room that had sheltered me the last month and a small smile rose onto my face.

as i opened my door, i could hear everyone talking downstairs. a sigh of relief fell out of my mouth, knowing i didn't miss our bus or better yet, the plane.

i made my way down the elevator and soon over to where dean was standing. fulton, who was standing next to him, nudged him on the shoulder and pointed towards me. a toothy grin enveloped on his face as i made my way towards him.

he gave me a side hug as i came up to him. dean, fulton, and i stood together and talked as we waited for our bus to arrive.

russ came up to me just as he was leaving to walk home, a couple blocks down the street. "thank you mymy for becoming a great friend of mine."

a small chuckle came out of my mouth. "hey, anytime russ. it was great meeting you." we hugged just before he left and then our bus arrived.

everyone was quite talkative, but it was for a good reason. we were splitting our ways and heading back home.

we stood in the airport, each of us waiting for our flight to be called. dwayne was the first one and he was heading back to texas.

"it was nice meeting y'all. i hope we can all see each other again sometime soon and play some puck. thanks for everything, coach. yee haw!"

we all chuckled at his words as he walked off with his bags. i didn't want to leave at all. i was going to miss everyone too much, especially who i was sitting next to.

more and more of my teammates left and soon it was only julie, adam, charlie, fulton, dean, luis, and i waiting for our flights.

next the plane for illinois was called. i was taking the flight with dean where we would land in chicago. then we would take a cab to his place and he would get dropped off. then i was taking a cab back to indiana.

i walked up to coach bombay and gave him a hug. he was shocked at first, but then hugged me back. for some reason, i felt like crying suddenly.

not only did coach bombay teach me more about hockey, he proved to all of us why he was a coach. he was kind, compassionate, funny, and most of all a great leader.

"without you, none of us could've done all of this," i whispered into his ear. he pulled away from the hug and shook his head.

"oh please. if i weren't here, i knew that you would've taken my spot and led your team." a smile formed onto both of our faces.

i said goodbye to the rest of my teammates and got onto the flight with dean. we dropped our luggage off and took our seats.

i barely could have slept the night before because so many things were running through my mind. i already wanted to take a nap as i rested my head on dean's shoulder.

he took my hand into his and interlocked our fingers together. i smiled as i looked at our hands. never would i have thought i would fly home with someone i was falling in love with.

we talked for a few minutes before the plane was about to take off. he rested back in his chair as our hands were still together.

"get some rest mymy. i'll wake you when we're home." my stomach was filled with butterflies at what he said.

my mind raced with multiple thoughts as the plane took flight. but soon enough, my eyes were enveloped by darkness and my mind went blank from its thoughts.