A Trip To Remember

Goodbye

  "OK YOU BEAUTIFUL SONS OF BITCHES WAKE UP WAKE UP."
  That was what greeted me, about 3 hours after I had drifted to sleep, and of course, it was Rianna. With the damn megaphone. I guess it was fitting for her to use it one last time, but it still didn't stop me from falling off the couch, forgetting Riley was sleeping down there, until I fell right on top of him and he wheezed, and woke with a start, all the air leaving his lungs.
  "Sorry." I said, almost growling as I whipped my head to Rianna.
"WE LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT IN TWO HOURS SO SHOVE IT-"
There was a blaring ugly noise, which was the product of Joe getting up without me noticing, and now fighting her for the thing. He was about a foot taller than her, and I knew if he wanted too he could just shove her to the floor and throw that out the window, but of course, he doesn't hit girls. Plus Tyler was standing right there and he, being a former football player, would definitely kill him.
They were still fighting while Rianna was shrieking like a pterodactyl, when I groaned and finally just got up, deciding coffee was the answer.
I poured a cup and started to get packing, along with Alysa and the other girls. The boys stayed right where they were, and I put my hand on my hip.
"Guys?" I said, confused. "GUYS."
"Whattttt." Nathan groaned, his face implanted into the couch. I rolled my eyes.
"We only have a couple hours, you guys need to start packing."
They all grunted some form of 'yeah', and I just rolled my eyes again and walked to my room. I shouted over my shoulder, "IF YOU GUYS MAKE US LATE ILL SICK SOPHIA ON YOU."
I think that worked because then I heard a lot of commotion in the living room and running feet to the kitchen for coffee first I assumed. I chuckled and set my coffee down on the dresser, before sighing as I looked around at all of the things I had to pack. All the things I had to stuff away, so we could leave this place.

After about an hour and a half, I was pretty much all packed and ready. I'd gotten so many things from clothes to gifts here, I had to get another bag to bring it back in.
I brought my things to the living room and set it by the door along with about a dozen other bags from the girls and guys. The guys had actually finished first but I wasn't the least bit surprised.
"See I TOLD you we wouldn't make us late. If anything you guys did." Joe said with a cocky smirk.
"For one, we're all still a half hour early, and two, I will bet you $200 that if I open that suitcase I will see a bunch of clothes just shoved in there." I said, pointing to his suitcase and raising my eyebrows.
He opened his mouth and glared at me before I smirked and walked away. I walked around the house and double checked every room to make sure we left nothing. I only found a forgotten charger that was plugged into one of the rooms, so I turned off all of the lights, after making sure was clean and the beds were made well, not the Joseph way.
I sighed and walked back to the front door where everyone else was waiting, and they looked up at me expectantly when I rounded the corner. I sighed and shrugged a little.
"I guess it's time to go..." I said, hoisting my duffel bag onto my shoulder.
There was a collective silence as everyone gripped their bags and looked around, taking everything in for the last time. We all sighed and gathered everything up slowly, a bit of heaviness in the air.
We slowly made our way outside, gathering our things up and throwing them into the car. I walked back up to the door and slowly pulled the door shut, locking it with a soft click. I sighed and turned around, seating myself in the driver seat of one of our cars. I turned around at Alysa in the passenger, and Nathan, Sophia, and Joe in the backseat.
"You guys ready?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, fighting back my slight urge to cry. They nodded halfheartedly and Alysa squeezed my shoulder. I blew out a breath, turned the key in the ignition, and backed out of the driveway, taking one last glance at the house before driving away from it forever.

After we got all of that stuff like returning the rentals and stuff we made our way through the airport, almost dragging our feet if it meant having more time together. Some of us were just heading straight to our colleges because we shipped our things up already and had family that was holding onto our boxes until we got into the dorm. Some of us were going home first for a few days. I was stopping home.
We got to the part where the airport began to split off by gates, all depending on where you were going. We stood there right in the intersection, frozen in time as everyone passed by. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I involuntarily let out a little sob, and everyone looked to me. That was the cue for us all to bunch together, just shaking gently as we silently cried together, arms around each other.
"I can't believe this is really it." I said weakly, looking up.
"I love you guys so much." Rianna sobbed, making me cry harder. We all responded saying "I love you guys too," and held each other harder.
"Text in the group chat when you guys get on the plane, when your leaving, when your landing, when you get off the plane, when your getting your baggage-" Sophia continued to list off as we all laughed thickly. There she goes always being such a mom.
"We're gonna be late guys..." Joe said sadly, even his eyes glistening with tears as well.
Only Alysa and I were on a flight back to Hawaii for a couple days, while the rest were heading straight out to each of the places they would be calling home for the next few years.
I pulled back, my face soaked with my tears, Nathan and Alysa on either side of me squeezed my shoulder, and I took in a shaky breath.
"Alright...I love you guys..." I said shakily, moving in to give everyone an individual hug. I came first to Tyler, and gave him a quick one. Tyler and I were never super close, but I considered him a good friend still.
"You take care of her." I said, before pulling away and moving onto Joe.
I reached up and hugged him tightly. "Joe...you're such an asshole sometimes...never change." I said quietly to him, laughing lightly, tears dropping onto his shoulder. "You've never failed to make me laugh, and I know we seem to but heads a lot, but you are one of the best friends I could ever ask for, and I love you." He squeezed me harder before whispering in my ear, thickly, "you're a pain in the ass too." And I laughed, knowing that was his way of saying he loved me too. I pulled back and squeezed his forearm, before moving onto Rianna.
I grabbed her forearms looking up at her, before pulling her in for a tight hug. "Rianna you've been one of the only ones to make me laugh even in my darkest times...you're so quirky and hilarious...it makes my heart ache to know I won't get to witness that everyday anymore." I cried in her shoulder. "I love you you moron." I sobbed.
"Not gonna lie for such a small person you've scared me sometimes..." she said, making me laugh. "But I never feel safer then when I'm with you. I love you bitch." She cried, and we hugged tighter for a few more moments before I pulled back and smiled, moving to Sophia at last.
I smiled and looked down, my mascara probably looking like an absolute mess. Sophia was my second best friend I had. "We've been friends since middle school...I can't remember a time you weren't in my life..." I said, my voice breaking. "I love you mama...you call me." I sobbed into her shoulder while she cried into mine.
"Shhh its ok princess. We'll all be together soon. Our kids have to be best friends remember? Aunties forever." She said pulling back and wiping my tears. I breathed in shakily and squeezed her hand, before turning to Nathan. Alysa and everyone else were saying their goodbyes on the side, and the long halls were filled with the sounds of our cries.
"Hey nerd," I said, my voice cracking. He shook his head and pulled me in for a hug as I cried.
"Now don't you do that." He said teasingly, but gently, hugging me tighter.
"I knowww I know, but I'm gonna miss you..." I cried. "You bug the shit out of me and you're so sarcastic, and your kind of a pain in the ass, and you do this thing when you smirk-"
"Is this little speech supposed to make me miss you?" He said sarcastically. I laughed through tears and slapped his shoulder that my head was still resting on.
"No...I'm saying in spite of all of the shit that's happened between us I can honestly say you're one of my best friends, and I'm really gonna miss you..." I said quietly as we pulled back and I looked down. He was still holding onto my shoulder and squeezed it, and I looked up as he gave a small smile, a tear falling down his cheek.
"This isn't goodbye nerd. And I...I'm gonna miss you too..." he said quietly. He reached out and messed up the top of my hair a little like he always did and I laughed and slapped his shoulder.
I felt a hand on my shoulder I turned around to see Alysa, who had tears still falling down her blotched face. I'm sure mine looked the same. I guess this was my signal that we really had to go.
Alysa and I linked arms as we backed away from the others, who slowly started backing away in the direction they each had to go as well. We started sobbing again, and Alysa and I gripped each other's arms tighter.
We kept slowly backing away like that, never breaking eye contact with each other as we cried together, their arms over each other.
It stayed like that for a while, before we disappeared around the corner, and we closed that chapter of our lives forever.

the end.