Be Your Everything

t h r e e

My stomach starts to churn as soon as I step out of the car at the departure gate. I look over at my little sister, Beth, her eyes brimming with tears as she unbuckles her seatbelt and runs out of the car to give me a hug.

"I'm not saying goodbye because I refuse to accept that you're leaving me," she mumbles into my shoulder. I tighten my grip on her, not wanting to let go of her. I knew when I decided to move to California that it would be hard, but with my job, it seemed like the best decision.

"I'm not," I say, wiping a few tears away. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Take care of Charlie while I'm gone."

She laughs as she pulls away, nodding as assurance.

"We'll come out to visit you soon, Elle." My mom pulls me into a hug, squeezing a bit harder before letting me go. "Have fun with Jaclyn and Jo tonight, and get yourself settled in out there. You're going to love California."

She's clearly trying to keep herself from unraveling right now, so she just sniffles a couple of times and steps back before the full waterworks start. My dad comes back from checking my bags for me and wastes no time pulling me into a massive bear hug.

"Alright, this is it kiddo." He squeezes my shoulders. "Promise me that you'll let me know once you land and find Jo and Jaclyn. Uncle John is supposed to text you to figure out when he's dropping off your car. He lives a few miles from West Hollywood, so you've always got him there, but let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, Dad, I will. I promise." I bite on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from sobbing. I've never really had to say goodbye to anyone, so I don't know how this is supposed to go.

"Alright, you better get moving if you plan to make your flight," my dad jokes. "Jo will never let you hear the end of it if you keep them waiting."

I smile at the mention of my new roommates. We'd become friends through my YouTube channel and Jaclyn's beauty blog, the three of us only get to see each other every once in a while since they'd moved to LA together after their eighteenth birthday. Now, I finally get to join them in California and fulfill our plan of living together in Los Angeles.

"I'll let you know as soon as I get there!" I yelled as I hurried into the Charleston airport, praying that nothing terrible would happen before I got to Los Angeles.

. . . . .

The airport was swarmed with people searching for their families and friends when I got off the plane. I'd only been to Los Angeles twice before, but I knew from the short amount of time that I'd spent here, I was going to love living here.

I scanned the crowd for my best friends, unable to spot the brunette sisters over the sea of characters that were scurrying around the terminal. Jo and Jaclyn had promised me that they'd be waiting for me when I got off the plane, but as usual, they were running late to get me. I had the sneaking feeling that I would be the one making sure that we got anywhere on time now that the three of us were going to be living together.

"ELLE!" I head Jaclyn's voice from somewhere in the huge terminal. Her dark curls came into view, secured from her face with a red bandana tied to the top of her head. I ran through the busy airport, hauling my carry-on bag with me.

"Hi!" I wrapped my arms around my new roommate, breathing in her familiar Alien perfume, which she swore was Harry Styles's favorite scent. "Where's Jo?" I searched around us for her twin, but couldn't place her in the crowd.

"Modest called her in this morning to work on damage control."

I gave her a puzzled look, not sure what 'damage' Jaclyn was referring to. I knew that Jo had recently started her internship with Modest Management, but I had no idea what kind of damage control she'd be doing.