Sam and Colby: The Penitentiary

6

"Hand me the tape, loser," I said, holding my hand out. Vance tossed over the big roll of packing tape and I swiped it over the box I was crouching in front of.

                "You've got a lot of shit, you know that? So many clothes," he said, taking the tape back to shut another box.

                "It's not my fault that different brands ship me stuff all of the fucking time," I said.

                "Hey, how's it going in here?" Dad asked, walking into my room.

                "Good, I think we're all packed up," I said.

                "You sure you don't want to take a flight?" asked Dad.

                "No, I don't want to have to ship all of this stuff separately again. Plus I need to get my car to LA anyway. The drive's only 19 hours, I'll manage," I said.

                "Alright, if you're sure. You're moving back into that Traphouse, right?" he asked.

                "Yeah," I said. I wasn't fully sure about that, but I would at least be going for a couple nights. I didn't think I'd want to share the room with Colby, though. I'd take one of the numerous guest rooms.

                We all loaded my car up with my boxes of stuff, my mom giving me a small bag of treats that she knew Pumpkin really liked. I'd left my dog back at the house with Navi and Kiwi. Devyn said she didn't mind looking after Pumpkin, plus my dog was a little too small to be around all of the other giant dogs here without getting hurt.

                "Bye, honey. Be safe. Text when you get there, okay?" said Mom.

                "Okay," I said. She gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

                "Later, nerd," said Vance, giving me a hug. I turned to my dad.

                "I love you, Dad. If anything at all comes up, you guys call me and I'll be here as soon as possible," I said.

                "Oh, shush. Go live your life, sweetheart. I love you," he said, giving me a big hug and a kiss on top of my head.

                "Alright, alright," I said. I got into my car and gave them one final wave before turning my car around and driving down the long dirt and gravel driveway.

                I turned on the radio, fighting the urge to change the station when Mike's music came on. If I was going to go and see them all again, then I should be able to at least listen to their music.

                Sam had left a week ago, after only staying in Alva at a hotel for a night. I told him I'd be driving to LA soon, but decided not to tell him exactly when so it'd be a surprise. I wanted things to feel as normal as possible when I went back, hoping to walk into the house to see everyone living their normal lives.

                The drive to LA was long and exhausting, but I was sort of thankful that I had so much time to think about everything and prepare myself for seeing everyone again. I stopped after about 12 hours of driving and stayed at some shitty hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona before waking up and finishing out the last seven hours of the drive.

                I was getting sick of driving, my ankle hurting and my legs stiff, but a sense of dread began forming in the pit of my stomach when I reached LA city limits. I genuinely considered turning around and going right back home, or even renting a hotel in LA so that I didn't have to see anyone just yet. I decided against it, though. I wasn't coming back for just Colby, I was coming back for everyone. I went to the In N Out drive thru by our house to get some lunch, and parked my car in the lot to eat. I was scrolling through Snapchat when I saw that Devyn and Aryia had both posted on their stories about five minutes ago. I clicked on Devyn's to see a picture of her and the girls all posing in their bikinis, then watched Aryia's to see Jake doing a massive bellyflop into the backyard pool.

                Okay, so they were all swimming out back, the Trap and Krachouse members. Good, I could walk in and not be immediately rushed by people. I went to my trunk and shuffled through a few boxes before finally finding my baby blue bikini, then ran inside the restaurant and put in on under my outfit, a t-shirt dress with a flannel tied around the waist and my white John Deere hat. I traded out my Vans for my Birkenstocks and then pulled my outfit back on.

                I took the long way to the house, driving an extra twenty minutes around the city. I wanted to just stay in my car forever, not having to confront anyone ever again. That wasn't an option though, and I knew that the longer a procrastinated about this, the more I'd convince myself that I was making a mistake. This wasn't a mistake, though. I really did need to get back to my life, which was truly in LA.

                I drove up the driveway of the Traphouse, then stopped my car in the very back behind everyone else's. I took out my phone and texted my parents that I'd made it there safely.

                I parked my car and looked up at the giant house in front of me. I'd really missed this place, and hadn't really realized it since I'd done everything I could to block out the memories here and not think about anything. I was back, though, and that made all of the memories come back to mind. Jake leaving the fish under the fridge, filming different vlogs and funny videos, all of the glorious pizza nights, the parties we threw and days we spent by the pool, along with what I missed most. What I missed most was the sense of a chosen family, the sense of true friendships. I suddenly felt guilty for leaving everyone, saying nothing except my dad had cancer and I was going to Oklahoma. I didn't even tell them if I was coming back. I'd seen Tara repost something from Jake's Instagram story about Pumpkin, saying 'new dog!'. I knew he didn't mean that in a rude way, but it sort of confirmed that they really weren't sure if I would ever even so much as speak to them again.

                I'd blocked everyone's phone numbers, but only blocked Jake, Corey, Colby, and Sam on social media. I wondered if they'd be mad at me. I was honestly surprised that Sam cared enough about me to come all the way out to the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma just to ask me to go on a trip with them, all without even asking the other guys first.

                My heart rate shot up as I turned off my car and placed my hand on the car door's handle. Was this a mistake? No, it wasn't. But leaving for so long was. Whatever, the longer I stayed away, the harder it'd be to come back. Three months of being gone without any warning or word was already far too long. These people didn't deserve me just leaving them like that. I really hoped they'd want to see me again.

                I opened my car door and closed it quietly, not wanting anyone to hear me. I quickly knew they couldn't have, though, because once I got out I heard loud laughter and squeals from the giant backyard. I took a deep breath and made my way up to the door. I knew it wouldn't be locked. It never was. I nodded a couple times to myself, building up the courage to walk inside, and pushed open the door.

an: hey guys, please stop telling me to update or spamming my messages with it. i'll update when i update, so if you add this book to your library you'll get a notif when i post a new chapter. that being said, it's okay to comment about being excited, but the direct messages telling me what to do really need to stop. i love yall🖤