Seabrook, Hadley

Knee Deep in Grapes

My suitcase was full.

Scratch that, it was overflowing.

"Mom, this will never work," I called out. She had been trying to convince me that all of my clothes were going to fit in one suitcase, and though I hate to admit it, I had, like, seven closets worth of clothes that had accumulated in my bedroom over the years of living in New York.

"Throw some of your clothes out, Hadley. You do not need to take your sweaters to Seabrook!" I scoffed. Maybe she was right, The lowest it got in Seabrook, even in the winter, was around 40 degrees, and in New York, it was always in the negatives.

But I was NOT throwing out my sweater collection.

I sighed, and packed another duffel bag with sweaters. I was taking them over to my friend's house. She was always envious of all of my sweaters. I hopped into some Doc Martins and gave my mom a quick goodbye before leaving the house, my anger about having to move trailing behind me.

Whenever stepping out into the streets of New York, I smiled. Though it smelled like gasoline and cigarette smoke, it was kind of my home smell.

I hopped on my bike and rode to Reed's house. I knew the course, and at this point I could bike there with my eyes closed.

Let me just tell you, I was in good terms with the guitar player outside of Macy's.

"Hey, Jay," I said, screeching to a halt in front of him, annoying the mass of humanity that was walking behind me.

"Hadley! Are you finally escaping your mother's craziness?" Jay said, eyeing my duffel bag, which, by the way, was struggling to be zipped up all of the way.

I sighed. "Unfortunately, no," I said. "My mother is shipping me down to South Carolina for a couple of years, because-" I thought for a moment. Was I going to tell him? He was the guitar player outside of Macy's. I didn't think he was the kind of guy that I could spill my guts to. "-because she thinks it will be good for me."

Jay looked at me, but didn't question me any further about why I was moving.

"Well, I hope I'll see you soon," he said, with a frown. I smiled and nodded before saying my last goodbyes to him and biking away to Reed's.

When I arrived at her loft, I knocked on the door many times, so she knew it was me. I always knocked 15 times and kicked the door at the end for good measure.

"Just come in, Hadley," Reed called and I smiled contently before walking in.

"Honey, I'm home," I joked before throwing my duffel bag on the couch and smiled before I turned around. I didn't really know what to think or say, so I just kind of stood there.

Reed was knee deep in grapes.

"Reed, what in the hell are you doing?" I asked, and Reed rolled her eyes before starting to jump.

"I'm stomping on grapes," she replied, like stomping on grapes in the middle of your living room was a normal thing that normal people did normally.

"And why are you stomping on grapes?" Reed rolled her eyes.

"Remember that bet you made, like, two days ago when you told me you were moving?" I thought back to two days ago, which was hard since I didn't have a very got memory. "For goodness sakes, Hadley, when you said your mom wanted to ship you off and said that if you stomped on grapes for two hours you didn't have to go and you said that you would never ever stomp on grapes?" I laughed.

"She was kidding, Reed!"

"Well, maybe she wasn't, and I've been stomping for almost an hour and a half so maybe if you just bring her this she won't make you go!"

"Reed, she's going to make me go whether I stomp on grapes for a year or not," I said with a sigh, before helping a particularly exhausted Reed out from her bucket of grapes. "Trust me, I've tried to protest."

"Why does she want to ship you off?" I sighed.

"She is only 32 years old and I am 16. she had me at age 18, and I wasn't even supposed to happen, so when I figured out that I was a mistake, we got into a big fight and she hit me, and said that since she did that, she was an unfit mother and I would be better off living with my relatives, and the closest one lives in South Carolina." Reed looked at me and wrapped me in a hug.

"I hate your mom," Reed sighed and I laughed. "By the way, why do you have a big duffel bag that looks like it's about to burst?" I smiled and unwrapped myself from Reed.

"I brought you my sweater collection," I said, trotting over to the couch and unzipping it. Her eyes got so big and I laughed.

"For me?" Reed asked, and I saw the tears coming. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop crying and start trying them on!" I said, and she looked at the bag, pointed at it and then looked at me.

"For me?" She repeated and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, you twat, they're all for you!" I said laughing.

"Oh my golly, I can't contain myself. All of them? They're all for me? This is so nice!" Reed squealed and I laughed. Reed looked at me, her eyes wide, before running away behind a wall.

"Here," she said when she came back, and thrusted a wrapped present into my hands. I looked at the little box and smiled at her.

I was not one to say "oh you should have" or "you didn't need to get me a present". I was one to just rip the damn paper off of the box because even if I didn't like the present, I didn't have to pay for it.

But when I got all of the wrapping paper off, there was a little wooden box, and I smiled before opening it up. Inside was a necklace, a silver necklace with a little infinity sign. I smiled up at my best friend, who was usually the worst gift giver, and I enveloped her in a hug.

"To remember me by, okay?" Reed asked and I smiled and nodded.

"We're kind of best friends, you know that?" I said and she laughed.

"Best friends forever."

•••*•••

A/N

I hope you guys like the story so far! I know I'm not good at keeping up with stories because I have no inspiration after a while of writing them, but I'm going to have this one posted too so that I can write both stories if I want to.

Vote Comment Share, whatever you need to do :)