To Love Irrevocably [18+]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Friday evening is when we choose to drive out. I'm off now, Seren just got off and we figure it'll be nice to surprise mom and Dustin.

Packing the last of my stuff—toothbrush, deodorant, and extra underwear just in case—I zip my bag and take a seat on my bed. Seren will be over soon, something I'm waiting on since we hung up five minutes ago. Deciding to leave now was last minute, so she had to grab her bag.

Thirty minutes later, a knocking pulls me from my thoughts. Standing, I grab my bag and head to the door. I turn one last time to make sure all lights are off and I have everything. Once I'm positive I have everything and none of my light bulbs will go out over the weekend, I go open the door.

Seren stands on the other side, leaning against the doorframe, a smile on her face. I step out and lock the door behind me before lacing my hand with hers. Saying nothing, we walk away from my complex and to her car where we prepare for a four-hour trip.

"Ready for this?" she asks me once she starts the vehicle, though I should be asking her this.

"I know my mom will like you and so will Dustin. Dust is a great guy. Super nice," I say, smiling down as she grabs my hands and reverses out of the lot.

Our drive consists of bad singing and sweet-talking. They're playing throwbacks through the radio, which both Seren and I seem to love. And in between the talk shows where they blabber about meaningless stories, we share loving looks and words of adoration.

I can't help loving these brief moments between us. The ones where we don't have to say much because we just know. We can look at each other and break into thousand watt smiles that never seem to fade. Everything between us is magic and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

By the time we arrive in Crystalwood, it's dark and the old street lights blink from a lack of any juice being left. It's too late for Seren to see the town, so all I do is direct her to where my house is without explaining each building.

We come down a dirt road path where my house sits next to only one other. Seren drives with cautious speed over the rocks and pulls into the driveway. Dustin's old pickup sits in the driveway and so does my mom's beat up Honda.

"Alright, here we go," I say, unbuckling my seatbelt. I'm only happy to still have a key to the place for this surprise to work. "I'll grab the bags."

Once we grab the luggage, I struggle with handing Seren the key. She grabs it and shakes her head before seizing a bag from me. The walk to the front door feels weird. Leaves cover the path that my mom usually likes to brush away. There are more weeds than I last remember accompanying the overgrown grass.

The front porch still looks the same. Dim light just in case visitors come. A small table with a single small cactus on top. Mom still hasn't gotten around to buying decorative chairs, so there are only two lawn chairs around the table, which she always says is tacky.