ғʀᴏᴍ ᴘᴏʀᴛʟᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟ.ᴀ. » ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ sᴇᴀᴠᴇʏ

Chapter Seventeen

Saturday, July 21, 2018

A soft knock on the Porter's front door draws me off the couch in the living room to the entryway.

"I'll get mom and dad," Blaire says, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

I open the door quietly; it's only five in the morning after all. Daniel, Jonah, and Corbyn are standing there, looking tired, but excited.

"Good morning," Corbyn says, grinning. I return the greeting.

"We can take your luggage to the car," Jonah offers.

I hand a suitcase to both Corbyn and Jonah, thanking them. They make their way down the stairs of the front porch to load them in the back of the car.

"I'll wait out here," Daniel says, reaching behind me for the door handle. He pulls the door closed, allowing the Porters and I our privacy. I slowly turn to say goodbye to the only family I've ever had.

I move into Kimber's arms first. She was and is my mother when my own is not. She is my rock and confidant.

"Oh, Kai," she says, hugging me tightly, "you have no idea how proud I am of you. I'm going to miss you being in our home, sweetheart. I don't care how many miles separate us, if you need anything, you call us, okay?" She pulls away to look at my face and I nod.

"Thank you. For everything," I say.

I move to Hal, who also pulls me into a hug. He is the only father I've ever had, my protector.

"We'll miss having you around, kid," he says. The side of my mouth threatens to pull into a smile as the name he's been calling me since we met reaches my ears.

"I'll miss you too. Thank you," I repeat.

My eyes halt on the stairs for a moment as I step away from him, thinking of Asher and Liv still asleep up there. I said my goodbyes to them last night, Asher giving me a rare smile and Liv telling me she'll miss me as a sister, not just as Blaire's best friend.

I stand in front of Blaire, biting the inside of my cheek, trying not to tear up. She grabs my hands, silently encouraging me to speak.

"I hate goodbyes," I whisper.

"I know," she says, hugging me. "But this isn't a goodbye. This is just the next chapter of your life. God has amazing things in store for you, Kai."

Minutes later, Kimber is guiding me towards the door, not wanting the boys and I to miss our flight. I turn back as I'm about to exit, Blaire by my side, and manage to smile a little at Kim and Hal before moving to the porch.

"Ready?" Daniel asks gently when I step out of the house, swinging my carryon over my shoulder. I nod after taking a deep breath.

Daniel's focus shifts from me to Blaire- who's still standing in the open doorway- when she calls for his attention.

"Hey," she says. "Take care of her."

"I will."

***

An hour and a half later, the boys and I have arrived at the airport and made our way through all of the security processes.

I'm currently walking quite a distance behind the boys as we make our way to the gate, casting the illusion that I'm not with them.

The first night the boys arrived in Portland, I was worried about what the fans would think of me, a girl of no real importance, moving in to live with them for an unknown amount of time. We agreed that keeping me away from the public is the best option, at least for the time being.

Just as I'm thinking about this, two girls who look a little younger than me approach the boys, wide-eyed and excited. The band fully embraces them, taking pictures and giving them hugs.

Though I pass them as nothing more than another stranger, I catch Daniel's eye. He knows me. I am not a stranger to him.

And that makes me smile. I continue walking towards the boarding gate, figuring I'll just meet them there.

***

I reach with all my might, but my short height of 5'2" lets me down. I rest back on my heels, looking up at the compartment above the airplane seats in defeat.

Deciding to try once more, I balance on the very tips of my feet and try to push my backpack into the space above. Daniel's laugh pulls me from my task.

"Need help there, shorty?" he says, chuckling.

I look at him, pretending to be annoyed with what he called me. He grins and gently pulls my bag from my hands.

"Thanks," I say.

"Sure thing, shorty."

"That's my name now?" I say, unimpressed with the lack of originality.

He shrugs, laughing lightly, before motioning to the seat next to the window that looks out onto the misty runway.

"That's all yours," he says. I turn to him, trying to conceal my eagerness.

"You're giving me the window seat?"

He laughs as I thank him again and move. He plops down next to me with a content sigh as Jack sits on his other side. Corbyn, Jonah, and Zach file into the row directly behind us.

"Guess what?" I say as Daniel shifts around in his seat, getting comfortable.

"What?"

"This is my first time on an airplane."

"Really?" he says, surprised.

"Yeah. I've never had any family or friends out of state, so I've never had any reason to leave Portland."

An eternity of excited anticipation later, the flight attendant comes out to the front of the plane to explain the safety precautions of the flight. Minutes after that, a muffled voice comes over the intercom.

"Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off."

My right leg starts bouncing involuntary, apprehension pulsing through my body. I've always been fascinated with the sky. In a plane... I've only been able to imagine how it will look. Now, I get to see.

The plane pitches forward into motion.

Surprised, I grab onto the armrest, but Daniel's hand is already resting there.

"Sorry," I say in a rush, pulling my hand away and trying not to look at him.

"It was an accident, Kai. Don't worry about it."

I do worry about it. Well, at least until the plane rises above the rainy clouds and I see the gorgeous sky in all of it's glory. God's glory.

This is it, I think to myself, finally feeling closure.

I'm leaving Portland. My new life begins now.