Peyton Ackley - The Beginning of Change

Chapter 12 - One Last Surf

The morning sun shone through my partially open curtains. Even though I close them every night I always wake up with them open a crack, Gabe comes in and pulls them apart because he knows it wakes me soon after. It was nice to have the morning sun shining on my face again, it was a little thing I missed from home that I hadn't gotten in London.

I was about to get up but a small figure climbed onto my bed and shimmied under the blankets next to me. "Good morning Bubba," I whispered to the brown-haired boy. His bed hair was shaggy and didn't quite sit right but it gave everyone a laugh in the morning.

"Hi Mumma," he mumbled in reply laying his head on my chest as I held him tight.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked him but he didn't seem to want to respond. "I was planning on going for a surf with Noah," I continued which immediately piqued Gabe's attention.

"Noah?" he questioned excitedly to which I nodded. "Yes," he yelled jumping up to stand and bounce across the bed.

Noah was my best friend, Miles had seen the photo of him on my wallpaper and it just made me realise all the more what I was leaving behind. Noah wasn't just everything to me, he was everything to Gabe too. Gabe didn't have a father obviously, but the male figures in his life were Spencer... and Noah. Noah treated him like a son if I'm being honest. The guy shows up for every event at school, his birthdays, and even taught him how to tie his shoelaces. I could never thank Noah for everything he's done for me and Gabe, I can only hope that he is still involved in our lives no matter where we live.

I could hear people moving in the living room so I grabbed Gabe off the bed and headed out to see Spence and Ally. Ally was your stereotypical beach girl, she was tan, skinny and had curly blonde hair. She was everything envisioned for beach life, honestly don't know how she ended up with my brother. He had curly brown hair, slightly tanned skin and was at the point of skinny where you could start to see muscle. Either way, they were the perfect match for one another.

"I see you've been for a swim," I said to Ally as I entered the kitchen. Her hair was extra curly from the salt and was slightly dripping down her back.

"Yeah it's great out there, you should think about getting a swim or surf in before heading home," she replied.

"Don't worry, Noah, Gabe and I are going to go for a surf today so Gabe can see him before we leave for London," I said with a smile.

"Mumma?" Gabe asked to get my attention.

"Yes, my boy."

"What's it like in London?" he asked.

"Well, it's a bit different from here. Right now it's summer here and winter there, so it's going to be cold when we get off the plane. There's also a lot more rain and wind, so less beaches and sun. It's not bad though, there's a lot of soccer. We can go to some matches when we get over and we'll have to get you an Arsenal jersey."

Gabe shrugged a bit as he listened to my response, clearly not sure whether he actually wanted to go. I really needed him to want to go, it would make the move so much easier, but I obviously can't force him into anything.

"Why don't you go pick out your favourite pair of board shorts to wear today?" I suggested and he ran off to his room. I knew exactly which pair he would want to wear, but I also knew they had been packed by Ally giving us some extra time.

"Spencer, Ally, what do I do? How can I make him want to move?" I asked them.

"You can't make him want to move," replied Ally. "You need to let him get comfortable with the idea, let him decide he wants to move, there's no point in forcing it on him."