Yours Truly (Post Malone)

16

It was finally time to visit Austin at his house. Winter was on summer break and had been talking about how excited she was. Winter missed Austin a lot and wanted to see him. They talked over the phone a lot and even video called a couple of times. I missed him too and hoped to see him.

A few hours before the flight, I made sure that Winter and I had everything. It was the first time that I was flying with Winter and it had been years since I had been on one myself. I wanted to make sure Winter was going to be okay on the flight and that she wasn't scared the entire time. It was only a couple hour flight but flights could be scary to someone who's never been on one.

We left in a taxi about three hours before the flight. We got through security without any problems and got to our gate. I entertained Winter the entire time that we were waiting. I could tell that she was a little nervous but was putting on a brave face.

It was finally time to board and we went to our seats. Winter had the window seat so she could look out there while we were in the air. Her eyes were glued to the window basically the entire time we were in the air. She didn't hold my hand once. My little girl was brave for her first flight.

When we landed, I helped her with the bags and I led her to the exit. Austin had said that he'd meet us at the pickup area of the airport. I had Winter's hand in mine since it was a new environment and I didn't want her getting lost. At the pickup area, I looked around for Austin. I spotted a man leaning against a car with sunglasses and a hat covering his face. He waved at us. I led Winter to him and she recognized him immediately. 

"Austin!" she cried and ran to him, her arms spread wide. 

Austin picked her up and squeezed her tight. "Hey, honey. I missed you."

I joined them, a smile on my face. Austin set her down and hugged me, pecking me on the lips. He helped us load our luggage into the car and drove us to his house. He had a large mansion in a gated community that was absolutely beautiful. We brought our luggage in and Austin showed Winter where her room was. She had her own room that was the same size as our living room back home.

Once she was in there getting settled, Austin showed me where his room was. I set my bags down and sat on the edge of the bed, looking around. Austin sat next to me and pulled me close.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Good," I replied. "I'm just tired. I had to make sure that Winter had everything before we left and traveling is always tiring."

"It's okay," Austin said. "We don't have to do anything today. I was going to show Winter my recording studio and see how she likes it. Or wants to try recording something of her own."

I yawned. "That sounds good. I'm sure she'll like it."

"If you want, you can take a nap," Austin said. "I'll watch Winter and make sure everything's okay with her."

"Thank you," I mumbled as I got up to change into something more comfortable. "I'll take a quick nap."

Austin got up to leave. "Don't worry about it. I'll wake you up if we need to."

I changed so that I was just in a t-shirt and turned off the light before crawling into bed. I was asleep in a couple of minutes. It only felt like I was asleep for a couple of minutes before I was woken up.

"Hey, Mack," Austin said quietly. "I made dinner. We're just waiting for you."

I sat up, yawning and stretching. "Okay. I'll be out in a second."

I was in the dining room in a couple minutes. Winter was already sitting at the table as Austin was bringing out two more plates. I sat down and started talking with them. They had spent about an hour and a half in the recording room. Winter went on and on about how much fun she had and how much she enjoyed being there.

After dinner, we sat outside. Winter danced around in the yard and did cartwheels for a little bit before she joined Austin and I. She started to look more tired than she was before but still happy to be there. She eventually got up and went to bed on her own. 

Austin watched as she watched away before looking at me. "You've got a talented kid right there. I didn't know how good she was at the drums until we got into the recording room."

"She's something special," I said. "She has that talent and I wanted to cultivate that."

He looked right in my eyes. "Mack, I love you so much. Do you want to make it serious and move in with me?"

"Really?" I asked. "That's a big move from Chicago to here. Winter would have to change schools and I'd have to leave my job."

Austin took my hands. "That's okay. I can support you during the move and until you find a job. There are really good schools in the area for Winter. I think the two of you would really enjoy it here. I see how much Winter enjoys being around me and I love her as if she were my own. Can you at least consider it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I will. I want to see the area first and then I'll decide. Winter will probably like it here too."

Austin smiled. "Thanks, Mack. I just don't want to only see you every couple of months."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay. Why don't we head to bed? I'm a bit tired."

Austin nodded and we headed up to the room. I changed and laid down, Austin joining me a couple minutes later. I buried my face into his chest as he held me close. I thought about what he said. I thought about how much nice it would be to live with Austin full-time. It was nice having him stay with us before. I knew that moving in with him was a big step but the pros outweighed to cons at that point.

The longer that Austin was around, the more that Winter fell in love with him. He was such a good guy to her and I couldn't deny that. If I moved, I was taking Winter away from her grandparents, who adored her. Part of me didn't want to take her only tie to Anmol's parents. She had no memories of him but loved hearing stories of him from them. Phones were an option and she could visit them on school breaks. All those thoughts ran through my mind until I finally fell asleep.