𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎

Chapter 20 ~ Seattle

Mayella

I don't know what came over me when I told Reece no. I had wanted him for so long, so why did I say no? Maybe it was because we had just become friends and I didn't want to ruin it yet. What if we didn't work out? I don't even want to think of my life without him.

The holidays are over and we are getting ready to start school back up again. I'm a little upset because I only have a couple weeks left with Amara until she moves.

"Mayella?" Dad calls out to me and I look up to him. Him and mom are sitting on the loveseat couch. She is sitting in his lap sideways while he has his arm around her. I want my marriage to be like that.

A love that makes you still feel young even when your kids are old and you're old and gray. I always smile when I see them happy together. I know a lot of people cringe seeing their parents so in love, I did once too. But as I grew up, I learned that a love like that is a special gift.

"What's up?" I answer back. "I asked you what you think about joining Eli and Fay on their trip to Seattle. You know, the one they take for their birthdays every year? They asked us to join them." I smile at the thought of going to Seattle.

Mom and dad never took me. Well they did when I was younger, but that was like ten years ago. I wasn't really in the right mindset to think about all the things that mom and dad lived for. How Seattle brought the iconic friend group together, the school they all attended, the places they went.

It may not sound exciting, but trust me. If it's how they describe it, I wanna go. Usually this trip lasts a week. Which is good since the senior trip is coming up in April. "Yeah, sounds like fun!" I say and dad nods.

" Okay, sounds good, we are leaving around seven in the morning on Saturday." Mom smiles and goes back to the tv.

🎀

And that brings us to now. Me dragging my feet through the airport at eight thirty in the morning in my hoodie and sweats. I swear my suitcase is weighing more than when I packed it. I had to wake up a little earlier because we had to get a start on the road.

I was promised coffee which I have yet to receive. We are supposed to meet up with the others at the gate. We still have about two hours before we have to step foot on the plane.

I'm dragging my feet behind mom and dad going through security. I'm so tired, my glasses won't even allow me to see. Finally after an hour and a half of trying to get to our gate, we made it. I plop down in a seat and close my eyes.

I'm almost passed out when I heard mom talking. I opened one eye to see the others standing in front of us. Fay and Eli look excited to be up at this time, Rory and Grey look like they want to commit murder, and Reece is trying to keep a smile while holding coffee.

I'm greeted with a hug by Fay and the kids as we are now all sitting. I'm about to close my eyes when I feel a tap on my shoulder. Reece is holding out a cup of coffee for me to take. I give him a small smile before taking it and chugging it. He laughs at me eagerness and plops down into the seat next to me.

I start sipping on my coffee when I look at Reece who is taking pictures of me. "What are you doing?" I ask in the most tired and annoyed voice. He just puts his phone away and smiles. I roll my eyes and put my coffee down on the floor next to me.

I start feeling more tired and find my head struggling to stay up. I groan as I shift to get more comfortable but it doesn't work at all. As I'm about to rest my head on my own shoulder, I feel a hand bringing me to an embrace.

I don't realize, but once I do, I see that Reece has my head placed on his lap. I start to protest but he doesn't listen. He rubs his hand over my hair and tells me to sleep. I'm stubborn so I try to keep my eyes closed but when he starts to scratch my head, then I fall into a deep sleep.

🎀

"I can't feel my legs or my body." I groan as I plop down onto the hotel bed. We landed around two hours ago and we had a hard time finding a decent hotel around the area. We got all checked in, mom and dad paid for me to have my own room because they know how much I hate sharing with them.

I'm feeling a bit better since I slept on the plane and had a couple cups of coffee. We are meeting up with everyone for dinner in a little bit, we just have to wait for Willow and Maddox to make their way down here. They live more up in Seattle while we are only a little ways in, but still pretty close to everything.

I put on some makeup and changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a black sweater. I saw mom texted me and told me that Willow and Maddox are close so we are going to wait for them outside the hotel. I make sure my room is locked before I head down to the lobby.

I step into the elevator and when it's about to close, a hand comes in and Reece steps through the door. He gives me a smile as he stands next to me. We stand in a comfortable silence as the elevator goes down.

"Excited?" His voice speaks up, I look at him and nod while giving a tight smile. We finally get down to the lobby and step out. I see Willow standing with mom and dad so I go over to her and give her a nice big hug.

"Ready to see Seattle, mom and dad's version of Paris?" I laugh and nod my head, my arm still wrapped around her neck, we walk and get into separate cars and head to the restaurant.

As we drive, I can't help but admire the city, it's so beautiful, no wonder mom and dad love it so much. I may or may not have overheard that when dad and Eli retire, there is a chance that they would want to move back here.

I would love that, since I plan to go to college here. Let's see what Seattle has to offer.

A/N

I know I said that my books can be read as stand alone, but there are so many crossovers that are in these books that its almost necessary to read them all in order.