An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 34

*3 Months Later*

*Alex's POV*
"Can you believe that we're about to take our last trip of the summer?" I ask as we drive to the airport. "It's honestly crazy how fast this summer has gone by," Servando shakes his head. I glance over my shoulder to look at the girls in the back. "Are you guys excited to finally be going back to Massachusetts?" I ask them. "Absolutely. I can't wait to see some of my friends and visit some of the places I used to spend most of my time at," Maggie boasts. Sophia pays no attention to the conversation as she continues to stare out of the window.

"Soph, what about you?" I ask, tapping her knee. She turns her attention towards me and shrugs. "It'll be nice being back in our home state. I am a little nervous about going back though. I mean it's been so long," she explains. "That's understandable. Don't forget. We have to clear out the house while we're in town," I remind them. They both nod without much response to that reminder.

We pull into the airport and drive around it until we reach the tarmac. For this trip, we thought it might be nice if we rented a private plane for our flight. Both girls take notice and poke their heads up front.

"Is that ours?" Sophia smiles with excitement. "Yeah you guys want to check it out?" Servando laughs. The two of them rush out of the car and take off towards the plane.

...

"Okay that was by far the coolest plane I've ever been on!" Maggie announces. "Please tell me we're taking that thing for our flight home," Sophia begs. I laugh and usher them into the car. "Alright let's head to the house," I order.

The drive from Boston to Newburyport took longer than expected. There was a ton of traffic leaving Boston and even more once we hit the highway.

After more than an hour of driving, we finally pull up to their house. The sight of the house brings back a lot of memories for me.

I remember the first time I set foot in that house. Allie, Kelley, and I had drove up to drop off a pair of tickets for an upcoming game. When Sophia opened the door, she was bruised and fragile. She immediately launched herself at me and held on tight. In that moment, I knew that I had to be in her life.

"You okay?" Servando asks, placing a hand on my lower back. "Yeah. Just brings back some memories," I smile. We walk hand-in-hand inside the house and find the girls looking through a photo album in the kitchen.

"My god you two were adorable," I squeal looking at a picture of them asleep together in bed. "We used to sleep together all of the time. Even when we got older, we still had little sleepovers in each other's room," Maggie laughs.

We continue looking through different photo albums until someone starts to yawn. I look at the time and notice that it's only 1pm. "Alright why don't we rest for a bit. We're going over to the Johnson's for dinner so we don't want to be tired while we're over there," I suggest. Everyone agrees and we split off into the bedrooms upstairs.

...

"Is everyone good to go?" Servando asks before we exit the house. We all shout a collective 'yes' before following him out. I can tell Sophia is a bit anxious about seeing Luca and his family again. I reach back and grab her hand giving it a little squeeze. A small smile creeps up on her face as we get closer.

Luca is sitting outside on the porch when we arrive. Sophia jumps out of the car before Servando even puts it in park and sprints towards him. The two of them crash into each other with full force and latch their arms around one another. It's been nearly eight months since they last saw each other so I can hardly blame them for their excitement.

*Sophia's POV*
"You have no idea how much I've missed you!" I sigh happily. "Literally can't believe you're here," Luca smiles and pulls away. "Where are your parents?" I ask curiously. "They're inside finishing up cooking dinner. Come on," he laughs and motions for us to follow him.