The Middle Child

Chapter 30

{Song in video: Michelle Branch - Together}

I woke up feeling sad and numb. Today was the day that Seth was leaving to go to his university. He was going to take summer classes at UF, which is thousands of miles away. Graduating must feel weird, moving on with your life, going to college, leaving your town, your friends, and your family. I know he'll be visiting whenever he has break and when he can but it's still going to be hard being without him.

I got up out of bed and got ready. I was planning to help Seth pack today and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he leaves.

"You're up earlier than usual," my mom said as I made myself waffles for breakfast.

"Yeah...me and Seth are planning to hang out today as much as possible. He's leaving sometime this evening to fly to Florida," I said, trying to shrug off how much I'll miss him.

My mom came closer to me and gave me a hug. "Aw I'm sorry sweetie; I know that must be hard." She brushed some of my hair out of my face. "It will be tough but I think you two can do this whole long distance thing. Back when I was in school, some of my friends did that and they ended up together after they both finished college." She gave me a soft smile.

"I hope we can end up like that." My waffles looked done so I put them on my plate, adding chocolate chips and whipped cream to it.

My mom looked at the time. "Well I have to go to work. If you want, this evening we can have your friends over for dinner so you won't feel too sad and stuck alone with your thoughts..."

"That'd be good. Thanks mom." I gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek.

I ate my waffles and drank my orange juice, then quickly went over to his house to help him pack. I briefly said hi to his parents and then went up to his room. I looked around and noticed how empty it looked, except for the suitcases and what not.

"Hey," he said, grinning at me. "Looks weird right?"

"Yeah..." I said, nodding my head. "It basically seems like you already pack most of your things."

"Well I did but I'm just making sure to not pack too many things. At the airport, if your luggage weighs more than 50 pounds then you have to pay a few hundred dollars extra."

My eyes widened. "That's ridiculous! They actually do that?"

"Yup."

I looked over and noticed a tiny stuffed animal, which was a dog. "Aww what's this?" I picked it up, grinning.

Seth's face flushed red and he gasped. "Oh...uh...I was cleaning out my room. I guess I still have this...toy." He gave me a sheepish smile.

I laughed. "It's okay to have a stuffed animal. Madeline has a ton of them."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." He chuckled sheepishly and jokingly nudged me.

"Hey!" I poked his sides and he squealed. We burst out laughing.

"Okay...so let's see if I have everything." He pulled out a piece of paper. "I'm going to read the things off this list and you will tell me if I have or don't have the things."

"Okay cool."

He looked at the paper. "Clothes, specifically appropriate for Florida weather."

I looked in the suitcase. "Check. You have good Florida clothes."

"Toothbrush."

"Check."

"Toothpaste."

I kept searching in there but didn't see any. "Nope."