Long Distance

Twenty-Austin

(Author's Note--Happy New Year! And thanks for 220 reads! This has been an amazing year...it went by fast, didn't it? Lolz. This chapter is embarrassingly short but it kinda sets up for the end. Long Distance only has a few more chapters...I think three. Please let me know if you want me to write a sequel. I really want to because I have some great ideas but I won't if I don't think people will read it, so just please comment or message me and let me know. Anyway, enjoy this chapter...I'm not sure when the next one will be up. But I won't leave you waiting too long. I'm not mean enough to leave you for a long time with a cliffhanger. Haha! Thanks, and bye y'all! --Haley)

"I'LL MISS YOU," Taylor whispers as she holds onto me tightly. I give her one last kiss.

"I'll miss you too, but I'll be back soon.

You won't even know I'm gone."

She nods and I let her go. "Call me when you land," she says.

I nod, then take a few steps backwards, waving to her as I turn and walk away towards my gate.

The flight goes by surprisingly quickly. I have a layover in New York City, then one in Houston...then before I know it, I'm exiting the Oklahoma City airport.

It feels strange to be in the states. I haven't been here in twelve years.

I've never been to Oklahoma, so I don't at all know my way around. Plus, I have no clue where Lexi even is. I guess I'll worry about that when I get to my hotel.

I pay for a rental car and then start driving toward my hotel by using the directions on my phone. There is a Sonic near it, and I decide I need something to drink, so I pull in and order a Coke.

The Carhop is a pretty girl my age with blonde hair. I notice that there is a bright blue streak in it. Her name tag reads "Morgan."

"Here you go," she says with a flirtatious smile while handing me my Coke. I thank her as she digs out my change, taking a little longer time than it necessary.

As she gives my my money, she glances at my New Zealand sweatshirt and smiles again.

"Have you been to New Zealand?"

"Yeah, I live there. I'm just visiting an...old friend."

"No way! I have a best friend that just moved from there-"

She pauses as the realization hits her. I think it hits us both at the same time. Lexi, I am remembering, told me she had a new friend named Morgan.

"Are you Austin McCloud?" she asks in pure shock. I nod, too stunned to so anything else.

"Oh my gosh! I have heard so much about you!"

"You're Lexi's friend, right?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm Morgan Callaway," she tells me, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," I say politely.

"So you're here to see Lexi? Does she know?"

I shake my head. "I don't know why, but I decided not to call her. I guess I wanted to surprise her. Which I really regret now, because I have no idea where she lives."

Morgan's face lights up. "I can help you, I know where her apartment is!"

Frowning, I say, "Apartment? I thought she and her parents live in a house."

"Her family used to live in my neighborhood, for about two weeks. But then her parents moved to Blanchard to be closer to the rest of her family. But Lexi refused to go with them, so she moved into her friend's apartment. Sydney, a friend she met at work...she's nineteen."

This is news to me. "Oh. Well then, can you please tell me where the apartment is?"

•••

I pull up to the complex, checking the instructions Morgan wrote for me one last time before turning off the rental car. This is it. This is the moment of truth.

I'm nervous, but at the same time, excited to see Lexi. It's been a long time, and I'm hoping we can remain friends. My feelings for Taylor are obviously stronger than they were for Lexi...but I still feel guilty.

The elevator stops on her floor and I step out, finding her door and staring at it for a long time. What if this all goes wrong?

My heart nearly stops when the doorknob twitches and the door swings open. I haven't knocked yet-this is a total coincidence.

A girl steps out. A beautiful girl with deep brown eyes and long, brown hair. A small girl, short and thin, wearing a green sweater with a long heart necklace and dark jeans. Her eyes widen in utter shock and she stops suddenly in her tracks as she sees me standing by her door like an idiot. She drops her cup of water on the ground and it spills at our feet.

It has been almost a month since I have seen this girl. And seeing her in front of me now brings on so many memories that I have to grip the wall to keep from falling.

It's Lexi.

A word leaves her mouth in a stunned whisper. In no way was she expecting to open her door to leave and find me.

That word is my name.

"Austin?"