Roman

five

Hey guys! Sorry for the shorter  chapter, but I hope you like the next chapter! Let me know what you think of Roman and Sadie.

"Why the hell are you waking us up this early?" Theo groans at a bright and early 9:30. He and John have been passed out on the couch in the living room, somehow, while we have been packing for our trip.

"Theo, you're not going to make it very far if you can't wake up before noon." Roman shouts from the kitchen.

"What he said." I laugh at the two very sleepy boys. "Let's get going, we want to have a full five days in Savannah."

I walk back into the kitchen to finish packing up some of the snacks Ro and Naomi got yesterday. "Make sure you pack me some beer," Roman says from the doorway into the garage with my bags in his hands, "I'm going to need it," he sighs.

"I by no means support this but I got you Roman, don't worry," I reassure him. I slip a few more beers into our cooler with a strange feeling settling in my chest. I hate when he drinks, hate that smell of alcohol on his breath, the way he can't seem to keep track of his body.

"Thanks kid, you're the best."

"Yeah whatever," I mumble under my breath.

"Let's get a move on people!" Naomi hurries down the stairs, her long black hair trapped under the straps of another backpack. "Go, go, go." She ushers Theo and John out the door, their respective backpacks, probably containing scarlessly enough clothes for the next 24 hours, slung over their shoulders. "I packed us some face masks, some games for us to play in the car, and cards against humanity to play with Cal when we get down there."

"This is going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see Cal again. Sometimes I forget how close we were before he moved away," I lament our closest friend from freshman year. There really aren't words to describe Cal, but the bottom line is that he is the sweetest boy I've ever met, he was always there to help me through my rough patches and, for the first year or so, I would use him as a filter, testing things out before confiding in Naomi. Before he moved, we were inseparable, the three of us really, because he and Naomi understood me in a way that no one else ever had.

"Yeah, he said that his parents have enough room to house us all but I feel like the boys should get a hotel room or something because they are a fucking handful." Naomi and I grab all the cooler and the snack bag and head out to the car where Roman is dutifully loading everyone's crap, the boys appear to be working on a playlist, and Cassey is doing last minute touchups to her make up in the passenger seat.

Roman takes the cooler from me, his hands nudging mine in the process. I ignore the heat of his hands, instead focusing on helping him shove everything thing into the back of the iconic mini van we all plan on piling into.

"Thanks kid, I've got it from here." He nods his head for me to get in the car while he finishes packing.

I climb into the second row, behind Cassey and cast a glance over my shoulder at the boys who sleepily scroll through their phones. Following their lead, I scroll through Instagram while I wait for Roman to finish packing up the van. Since he opted to drive, Naomi and I get to play some of our favorite car games, including our iconic deep questions game, where we take turns asking each other questions from a list we made on a road trip to Orlando for a volleyball tournament. Every time we go on a road trip, we revisit that list and then add on to it.

Naomi crashes into the seat next to me and Roman climbs into the driver's seat before she closes her door. "Let's goooo!" Naomi yells.

"Chill loser, I'm going," Roman says, exasperated. "Everyone's buckled?" We make eye contact through the rear-view mirror.

"Yes, dad," Theo laughs from the very back of the van. "I sent you the play list we made."

"I'll set it up," Cassey volunteers, snapping the mirror shut and tucking her makeup brushes away.

Roman pulls out of the drive way. Here we go.