Sunflower

28

Finnigan

SIX MONTHS LATER

I didn't think I would be here. 

With her. 

With them. 

Therapy really worked, didn't it? 

Jay shuts the trunk, the last of our bags fitting in. "We all ready?"

Today, we leave for college. 

Today, we leave the past behind us. 

Beverly nods excitedly, and we all get in our cars. 

This year was full of mixed feelings. My entire family died at the hands of my fake father, and excuse my crassness,  Beverly was molested, but I met her this year. I met her and talked to her and fell in love with her.  I'm not as close to Jay anymore, because everyone in this group is my best friend. I couldn't choose between them.

Nolan isn't as close, but we're civil with each other. There hasn't been another fight. 

We drive off, and I take a second to look at my old apartment, taking a breath. I don't know how to feel. This was the year I grew up, and I found myself as a person.

I feel a pair of lips press against my cheek, and I turn around. Bev is looking at me in patience and sadness, and she tightens her hold on my hand.

"We're moving on to better things, okay?" She smiles softly. I nod, and I lean forward to kiss her lightly. 

"Let's go!" She shouts, excited.

I reluctantly drive off, excited and waiting for bigger, and better things to come. 

***

"I don't understand gravity." Jay accuses as we pull the last of our luggage into the dorm. "How is it a thing? And how does it even work?" He has a concentrated face on, going up the stairs with the suitcases. 

We're college students now. 

Well, Jay isn't mentally, because he doesn't understand how gravity works. 

Bev pulls in some other luggage, which is the last of it. She sighs. "I should go to my dorm." She whispers, looking at me with something mixed with hope and anxiety. 

She's a Freshman like us, since we took a gap year, but since she's a girl, she's in a complete other building. 

"Do you need me to walk you?" I ask. 

"No, I think I want to figure it out on my own." She smiles. 

"Okay, please be safe. Call me if you need anything. If you get lost, call me. And if you're roommate is mean to you,  I'll just bring the boys over and we can talk to her. Oh, also-"

I'm cut off with a gentle kiss. She pulls away, looking at me with a teasing smile. "I'll be okay. I promise to call you if anything goes wrong, okay? I love you."  She says as she begins to walk away. 

"I love you too!" I yell after her. 

I stare at her retreating figure, feeling so much pride. She's come so far. If we were where we were eight months ago, she wouldn't want to go anywhere without me. But now, she's finding her independence, finding herself. 

It's such a bittersweet feeling to realize that she doesn't even need me, but she still keeps me around. 

I'm interrupted with a football to the head. "Oh, my bad dude." Jay apologizes with a snicker. 

"I'll kill you." I threaten, jokingly.

"Oh, a show. I'm here for it." Nolan says. 

"Well, what about me?" Ezra asks. 

"Why don't you skip on up to the roof and jump off?" Walker grumbles, organizing the kitchen. 

"Wait, guys I need to show you something!" Ezra completely ignores Walkers comment, digging through his suitcase. "Try not to gasp."

He reveals a whoopie-cushion. "I finally found one." He beams, and Jay gasps.

Ezra's smile vanishes. "Dude, I told you not to gasp." 

I smile, and unlike a year ago, this one is real. 

I've found who I am. 

These are my people, right here. 

I can't wait to see what's in store for us.