The Unexpected Road

Ch.5 Packing Up

Skyler's POV

Charlotte woke me up because we were down the street from my house. When we pulled up in the driveway I forgot the last couple of days for a second and thought Mom, Dad and I were just coming home from the store. Then it all came back in a rush. I got kind of sad. I just want to get my stuff and get out. I don't have any interest in being in this house longer than I have to. It has too many memories that I can't handle right now. I unlocked the door and walked straight to my room without looking up and acknowledging any other parts of the house. When I got in my my room I grabbed my suit case and duffel bag to hold all of my clothes. After I was done. Charlotte came in my room with some empty boxes she found in the garage that dad saved. It was time to pack the rest of my things that weren't clothes.

Charlotte's POV

I asked Skyler if she wanted me to help her pack but she said it was fine. I left her to finish and went to find Jake. I finally found him in my old bedroom. He was looking at all my fan art and letters that I had pinned all over my bedroom walls. I didn't take them with me because I wanted them to always be here when I came back. Now I don't know if I ever will come back. "Wow Charlie it looks like you tried to hang up every single one." Jake said amazed. "I did. This is every single picture or letter I ever got before I moved to California. Anytime I was ever feeling down I would just come look at my walls and always feel better." I said feeling very thankful for all of my supporters. I've been getting tweets all day asking if I'm okay but I'm not ready for social media yet. Plus I don't want to say anything until I talk to Skye first. I decided to pack up all of the fan mail in a box to take with me back home. Jake helped me unpin everything and put it in the box carefully. After finishing we taped the box shut and went to Skyler's room to see if she was done packing. "Are you all packed Skye?" I asked while walking into her room. "I guess." She said disappointed. "What's wrong Skye?" I asked concerned. "I can't find Mr.Bear." She answered with watery eyes. "Did you search every inch of your room?" She nodded. "I'm sorry Skye." "It's okay, I just haven't ever parted ways with it and it's one of my favorite things mom and dad have ever given me." I nodded showing that I understood. I looked over my shoulder to find that Jake disappeared. He probably just wanted to leave me and Skyler alone for a bit. I pulled her into a hug and kissed her head. Jake came back in and we all grabbed boxes to put in the car. After we were done packing up the car we went to get dinner then drove back to the hotel.

Skyler's POV

When we got to the hotel room Jake immediately passed out on the bed. Charlotte came and sat cross legged on the bed with me. "So Skyler we never had that talk from last night that we were supposed to have this morning. Are you ready to talk now?" Charlotte asked. I nodded and said, "Last night I couldn't sleep and I just started thinking about all of the great memories Mom, Dad, you and I had, Like surprise food nights. It just made me sad because I realized we are never going to all be together or have those amazing nights again." I explained. "I understand, but Skyler don't you see? You're thinking of all the good memories and making it sad when you should be thinking of the good memories, like surprise food nights and be grateful that you have those memories with them in the first place. I know it's hard and I haven't quite figured out how to yet but instead of being sad that we can't make more memories with them, we need to be happy that we made the ones we did in the time they were with us." She replied. "I didn't even try to think of it that way. Thanks Charlie. How do you always know what to say?" I asked amazed. "I don't, I just kind of come up with it as I go." She said giggling, "but just because Mom and Dad aren't here anymore doesn't mean we can't still have surprise food nights, they just won't be the same." She assured me. I squealed with excitement. "I love you Charlie." "I love you too Skye." We laid down and went to sleep.

*Next Day*

Jake's POV

I woke up early the next morning so I could surprise Skyler. Both the girls didn't know it but when I heard Skye talking about how she couldn't find Mr.Bear I remembered seeing him when Charlotte and I were in the garage searching for boxes. I recognized it because Charlie told me about him when she was telling me about her sister. While they were talking I grabbed it and put him in the car under my seat so that I could put Skyler in a better mood before going on the plane today. I unplugged her phone from the charger, grabbed the teddy bear and set them on the floor under her bed. Then I rushed to my bed, got under the covers and called Skyler's phone while pretending to be asleep. Luckily she not only had her ringer on but it was all the way up.

Skyler's POV

I woke up to the repeated, annoying sound of my phone ringing. I reached my hand over to the bedside table where I plugged it in to charge last night before going to sleep, but it wasn't there. Once I listened a little closer I could tell that the ringing was coming from under the bed. I must've knocked it off the bedside table at some point in the night. I sprawled out over the edge of my bed wrapping the top half of my body under so that I could reach my phone. When my eyes finally focused on the lit screen I noticed that my phone was wrapped in something. "OH MY GOSH!" I squealed. "What? What's going on? Did we miss our flight?" Charlotte yelled while shooting up from the bed. "It's Mr.Bear!" I shouted. I slipped out of the bed and crawled under so that I could be reunited with him. It may sound stupid that a soon to be Sophomore would be so excited over a stuffed animal but I don't care. This bear means the world to me. It's one of the first presents I could remember receiving from my parents. My mom made it by hand. It had two sides, like two teddy bears stitched together back to back. One was supposed to be my mom and the other was my dad. Both sides have writing on the belly. Mom's saying, "We Will Love You..." Dad's saying, "Forever And Always." "How did it get under there?" Charlotte asked confused. "SURPRISE!" Jake yelled arising from his fake slumber. "You found Mr.Bear Jake?" I asked thankful that I didn't have to leave it behind. "Yeah I found him in the garage yesterday and I wanted to surprise you because I know how much he means to you." He answered with a huge smile on his face. "Well you definitely surprised her Jake." Charlotte said giving him a quick peck. "Thank you Jake. Thank you so much." I said filled with happiness, actual happiness for the first time in the last few days. We each got our stuff together and cleaned up the room. After checking out of the hotel we got in the car and drove straight to the airport. I'm beginning to feel very anxious but I'm going to try and keep it to myself so that it's not a big deal. Immediately after we boarded our plane and took our seats I put my headphones in because music always helps with my anxiety. It's one of my favorite escapes. I'm guessing that Charlotte knew I was feeling anxious because she grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. It didn't do anything or help at all but I smiled so that she would think it made me feel better. After a long 10 minutes of squeezing Mr.Bear for dear life I calmed down. While listening to the music flowing into my ears through my headphones I slowly fell asleep more and more with every word sung until I fell into a deep sleep.