Through the Tunnel

Chapter 4: CHECK!

With less than twenty four hours until we leave, Phil is driving me mad, Steven doesn't shut up, Lauren and Neil don't stop making out and Anne-Marie is still ignoring me.

This should be a fun trip.

Phil is only annoying me because he cannot decide what to take. We've spent the last two hours trying to narrow it down from six bags to a maximum of two.

"I need this though" he said holding a T-shirt against his chest.

"No, you don't" I say, taking it from him and putting it back in the drawer.

He sulks for a second and then goes back to protesting against leaving behind another T-shirt.

I've been doing this for about two hours now.

"I need a break" I say.

"Fag break?"

"Sure"

We step outside and he lights one up and I ask for one as well. I don't smoke but right now, I need something to calm me down.

After my first breath of the toxic air I turn to him and say "I love you, but seriously? Do you really need all that stuff?"

"Yes!" his voice goes as high as he can get it and I just stare at him. I can't help but laugh and he does as well.

"What are you going to do about Anne-Marie?" he asks.

"I don't know. What can I do? She won't talk to me" I say.

"She's probably embarrassed. She did confess her love to you"

"I know" I mumble. He's right though, she did, and I was rude. Or so I'm told.

"The trip should help."

"You think?"

"Oh definitely, we'll all be a lot closer after this trip, I can guarantee" he laughs.

Once we're done destroying our lungs, we're back to packing. This time he's a little easier to compromise with, and we're done within the hour.

Steven has done nothing but post status updates about the amount of hours left until we leave.

We're meeting at six, at Phil's house and thanks to Steven's update I know that there are exactly two hours until we leave.

I grab my bag and make my way out to the family car where my mum is waiting to leave.

She agreed to drop me off at Phil's without hanging around until we leave, so we already said our goodbyes before we left.

It's not that I don't want her there, it's just that this trip isn't about family, it's about friends and I need to enjoy every moment of it without worrying about her and what she's feeling.

I know we're not as close as we used to be but I will miss her.

She hugs me goodbye, and I only just realised that it's been a long time since she hugged me. I mean properly hugged me, not just an 'I'll see you later' hug, but an 'I love you' hug.

It takes me a while to let go but before long I'm out the car and she's driving off.

I try to put all family matters behind me as I walk further away from them and closer to Wendy, where I'll be spending the next several weeks traveling with some of the best people I will ever encounter... And Neil.

Phil is sat half in, half out of the driver's seat with a cigarette dangling between his lips and I can see Anne-Marie sitting beside him.

"No Steven?" I ask, approaching from Phil's side.