I'm Home

Chapter 19

The next day the gang slept over at my house before we went to Philly. As always, the girls slept in my room while the guys slept in the family room, but this time they were joined by Josh. Zay ended up not coming with us because Vanessa had invited him to go on vacation with her and her family, so we had all been joking that this trip would turn into a couple's retreat.

The next day, Friday, I woke up to everyone else running around like madmen even though it was 8 and our train wasn't until 10. I calmly got up, changed into the outfit I had previously laid out which was some dark-washed jean shorts, a mauve fitted crop top, a pale pink bralette, and my dark purple converse. I folded up my pj's and packed them into my suitcase before I ventured out into the crazy family room. Everyone was screaming, so I did the only thing I could think of.

"Be quiet!!!" I yelled. Sure enough, everyone went silent immediately. "Good. Now that I've got your attention, let's see if I can fix some of this insanity. There are 4 unopened toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet, along with some travel toothpaste, floss, and deodorant. I have some Tylenol, Advil, band-aids, and alcohol wipes in my bag. I have plenty of extra chargers that I can give you guys if you want, as well as some extra earbuds. For the girls, I also have extra make-up wipes and feminine hygiene products. Oh, I also have some batteries in my desk drawer and packed some snacks for the trip. Did I miss anything?"

They were all completely stunned. It took at least a couple of minutes before anyone even tried to speak.

"Okay, 2 questions: How did you know we would all forget that type of stuff and why are you so put together and calm?" Lucas asked, still shocked by what I said.

"I know that, for a lot of you, this was probably the first time you packed everything on your own, which means you are stressed and nervous and probably forgot a lot of stuff. And as for the second question, I've been packing my own luggage since I was 9. I have a set routine about when, what, and how I pack, and what I do the morning of when I leave. You guys will see it all when we pack to come back." I gave him a quick kiss before heading into the bathroom and coming out with all of the extras.

Once everyone had gotten their toiletries, I went into my room and picked up my luggage, which was just a suitcase, backpack, and purse. Once again, I calmly walked out to the family room, straight through the chaos, and placed my luggage by the door. I looked at the time and saw that we needed to leave for the train stop in 15 minutes. I carefully surveyed the room. Farkle and Smackle were arguing over what books to bring, Lucas was looking for one of his shoes, Maya was searching for her eyeshadow palette, and Josh seemed to be looking for something his mom wanted him to bring. Let's see how fast I can fix all of this mess.

I walked over to Farkle and Smackle, who were still arguing about what books to bring on the trip.

"Why are you guys arguing over books?"

"Smackle wants to read about history, but I want to read about science."

"How about Smackle brings a history book for herself, you bring a science book for you, and you guys bring a book about the history of science to read together?" They nodded, thanked me, and then promptly picked their books and put them in their backpacks. Once that was done, I walked over to Lucas.

"Still haven't found your shoe?"

"I swear I saw it somewhere."

"Check the bin in my room from middle school. It might be in there." Within seconds he walked out of the room with the other shoe, gave me a quick kiss, and packed it in his suitcase. Only two left to go.

"Maya, which palette are you looking for?"

"The one with the cool-toned neutrals that I got a month ago."

"Oh, you gave it to me for a date. I must've forgotten to give it back. I packed it up with my things, so you can get it back in Philly."

"Thanks Riles. Then I'm all packed up." She walked out of my room and set her stuff down in front of the door where everyone else was standing. 5 minutes left.

"Josh, what are you looking for?"

"My mom wants a picture of you and Lucas for her scrapbook. I can't seem to find one that isn't framed." I quickly got on my laptop, found the one of us at the ski lodge, printed it, and gave it to Josh.

"Wow, thanks Riles."

"No problem. Okay, does everyone have everything?" They all nodded at me before we grabbed our bags and made our way over to the train.

After waiting a couple minutes for the train, we got onboard and took our seats. Luckily, we managed to get seats pretty close to each other towards the back of the car. We picked three rows, each with two seats, and sat in our respective couples. I decided to take the window seat with Lucas right next to me. Not long after the train left the station, I found myself staring out the window at the city below the track.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Not much. Just about how much I love this city."

"And? Come on, I know you Riley. What else is on your mind?"

"Well, I've also been a little nervous about this trip."

"Why?"

"Well, the last trip we all went on resulted in a triangle, and gave me some of my worst memories."

"Like what?"

"Like seeing you fall off Tombstone, me stepping aside so Maya could figure out how she felt, and knowing that, had I not stepped aside, we could've made so many good memories there."

"Hey, look at me." I turned in my seat so that I was face-to-face with Lucas. "We've changed since then. This trip, we're all coupled up and more sure of ourselves and our feelings. I love you, and there's nothing that Philly or any other place on Earth could do to change that. We are going to go to Philly, see your grandparents and Mr. Feeny, go to all the places your parents grew up, and make our own memories that will last a lifetime."

"How can you be so sure that nothing bad will happen?"

"I'm not. I don't know what life will throw at us. But the one thing I do know is that I love you. Do you love me?"

"I do. Always have, always will."