Forever And A Half

24

Week 4:

Unknown: Hey

Me: Hello, who is this?

Unknown: You don't have my contact?

Me: No, sorry. Do I know you?

Unknown: it's Caspar

Me: Hey Caspar, what's up?

Caspar: Are you coming back today?

Me: Yeah of course

Caspar: What about Joe?

Me: I honestly don't care about him anymore

Caspar: Anymore?

Me: Yeah, I liked him but...after what he said

Caspar: You know it kills him, what he said

Me: I don't care anymore

Caspar: Okay, I'll see you soon then

Me: Cya Caspar!

I wheeled my suit case through the airport. It was reassuring to know that I had someone I could talk to back in Perth. The boys and I exchanged numbers and went to wait for my plane.

"Okay, let's have a secret round," Tyler suggested, "Yesterday, I was gone,"

"Yeah, we know," I said. He pulled out a small box,

"I was gone because I had to get this," he gave me the box and I opened it. It was a t-shirt with all the boys on it. It had been signed as well, "To remember us by," I looked up at him and smiled,

"Thank you Tyler," I hugged all three of them.

"I'll admit that I had a small crush on Ada," Ryan said. I laughed, "But not anymore so don't worry!"

"I once ate dog food," Joey laughed at himself. We all joined in.

"Well I'll tell you a secret. On the plane to Darwin I had promised myself that I wouldn't get too close to you guys," they gasped, "It was for the better. If I got attached then it would kill me to leave,"

"Dang! That's some deep stuff," Joey said.

"Good thing I suck at keeping promises. I'm going to miss you guys so so so much!" I emphasised to get my point across.

"We'll miss you so," Tyler started,

"So," Joey continued.

"So much," Ryan finished. I laughed at them. We kept talking for a while and then my flight was called. I hugged each of them and we shared a final group hug. I grabbed my bag and climbed the stairs. I entered the plane and found my seat. I put on my headphones and started listening to some music. Someone tapped my shoulder so I pulled them off,

"Hi," the man said. He sat beside me, "Are you Adalyn?" I nodded. We shook hands,

"I am, and you are?"

"I'm Conner Franta," he introduced himself. He gave me a cap and I signed it for him, "If I fall asleep would you mind waking me up?" he rested back in his seat,

"Sure," I put on my headphones and continued with my music. I sung the words under my breath, not too loud.

Our flight landed and I tapped Conner. He woke up and we both exited the plane.

"Nice meeting you Conner," I smiled and looked around for my ride. I couldn't see Tracey so I went over to a vending machine. I dropped my money in and typed the code for some MnM's. I was walking to the doors with my luggage and I bumped into Joe,

"Adalyn, we have to go," he said coldly, he grabbed for my hand but I pulled it away.

"Where's Tracey?" I asked. He started walking,

"She's out with Nikki again so I had to pick you up," he was walking too fast for me so I had to run to keep up with his long strides.

"I didn't think you would meet me here," I pointed out,

"I made a promise. And I keep my promises," he said sarcastically. We spent the rest of the walk home in silence. He unlocked the house door and strolled upstairs to his room. Caspar and Oli were both on the couch. They got up and hugged me,

"Hey! Welcome back," they showed me a bowl of lollies and a bag of chips, "Joe was against the idea of a welcome back party so we brought a small amount of food,"

"I don't mind, this is more than I expected," I laughed.

"You expected something?" Oli asked. I shook my head,

"It means I wasn't expecting anything so this is more than I expected," I explained. They nodded and I smiled. We spent the afternoon eating the food they'd brought and sharing stories from when I was gone.