Since The Beginning

Chapter 1

Ringing. Nonstop ringing. Paisley opened one eye and stared at the ceiling for a moment. She groaned as she threw off the blanket and reached for cellphone on the nightstand. Paisley seen it was Dallas calling and decided it was better just to answer knowing she'd keep calling if she didn't. "You know texting is a thing now." Paisley rolled her eyes as she got herself out of bed and headed to grab a water and a redbull. "Oh hush you wouldn't them for hours anyways. You know you suck at replying plus think of me as a personal alarm clock. We have flight to catch tonight, I'm just making sure you're all packed." Shaking her head she cracked open her redbull and took a long drink before replying. "Ah yes my very own alarm clock who doesn't come with a snooze button. Anyways, after my drink and waking up some I'll double check my bags and make sure everything is packed. What time are you going to be here again?" Smiling she headed back into her room to check the bags. "I should be there about 4 this afternoon and we'll call for an uber about 6ish. Should give us a good 3 hours before the flight leaves to figure things out." Unzipping the bag she gave it a good once over seeing it only half done, and started pacing as most do on a phone call. "Sounds good to me. I'd hate to be stuck in lines and miss our flight. God, I hate airports. Alright, well I'm awake enough let me get off the phone and finish up here. I need to shower and go pick up a few snacks." After saying a couple more words Paisley hung up and turned back to her things. "Now I just have to finish packing." Laughing to herself she finished the rest of her bags and hopped into the shower.

Paisley was just piling her things by the front door when Dallas came bursting in. "Honey I'm home!"Paisley nearly fell when Dallas came in. "Jesus. You scared the hell out of me. One of these days I'm going to have a heart attack." Settling down Paisley went to sit on her couch. "Okay, girl what are you wearing?" Looking down at her overly large sweater and sweatpants she looked up. "What? They're comfy. Plus by time we arrive back into Florida it'll still be late so I can go back to sleep." Laughing Dallas pulled the rest of her things by Paisley's bags. Joining her friend on the couch Dallas grabbed the remote control and laid back. "What should we watch, we still have a good couple hours before we have to leave." Standing up and running into the kitchen Paisley returned with to the couch with a bag of chips. Looking over at Dallas smirking at her she smiled back. "What. I don't want them to go stale." Shrugging she leaned the bag towards her and offered some. As they munched on chips together, they choose a movie and waited until it was time to go.

"This, this is why we got here early." Paisley gestured her hands towards the crowds of people. "Please tell me that this airport has a coffee shop. I'm gonna need something to deal with the crowds. Either wine or coffee. I hate wine." Smiling at Dallas she took her hand and guided her towards the "Coffee Paradise" written in white across a glass window. "There. It says paradise so it must be good right?" Dallas shook her head and followed along. Waiting in line she started to speak again. "So when we get back to Florida is your mom picking us up?" Shuffling forward Dallas answered. "Yeah, she said she has a surprise for us at the house but she didn't say what." Hearing the barista call next in line we went to the register and ordered our drinks.

"Order for Paylee and Dallas!" Someone called out, setting our drinks down. Looking down at the cup and seeing the name she laughed. "Man, they can never get my name right." Smelling her coffee she took a sip. "This is heaven in a cup. Ok now we can go and get ourselves stuck in another line but at least it's for boarding."

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Still looking at the flight attendant at the front Paisley whispered to Dallas. "How long is this flight again?" Dallas shushed her and didn't reply until the flight attendant was done going over the instructions. "Not long but long enough to be able to take a small hour or so nap." Leaning towards the window Paisley took her neck pillow and adjusted it so it was more comfortable. "That's all I needed to know."

Paisley opened her eyes as Dallas smacked her awake. "Hey we're here! Wake up!" Lifting her sleep mask and rolling her eyes Paisley sat up and got ready to leave. As they exited the plane and made their way to the baggage claim they spotted Dallas's mom holding a sign saying "My girls! WELCOME HOME!" screaming in excitement they took off running towards her to say hello's and get hugs. "So mom what's our surprise?" Dallas said as they walked to the car. "Be patient child. I'll tell you once we're home besides I want to know how you two are doing." Groaning Dallas went on, "Come on... You call me all the time and you just seen me last month when I came down to visit." Paisley smiled at them bickering, she missed this. The three of them being together. It felt like she was young again. "Please Dallas. I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Paisley! I haven't seen you in so long dear. How long has it been now? 10 years? You've grown so much. I'm so proud of you. The both of you girls." Dallas's mom was the one driving. It felt as if we were being chauffeured around. It was kind of nice not having to be the one driving in this traffic. "Thank you, and I would say about 10. I've been really good. Focusing on our work and keeping busy. We have plenty of time to talk, I'm excited to see this new puppy you have. Dallas was telling me all about her." Mrs. Jones lit up with happiness at the mention of her new puppy Maple. As she went to tell all about she adopted her and what breed she was Paisley leaned back in her seat. As Mrs. Jones was happily talking away Paisley would let out a "Yeah" or "Uh huh" every few words to show she was listening, even though she wasn't. Paisley turned her head to look out the window to take in what they were driving past. It was still pretty dark out but she could still see some of the buildings that were lit up with lights. They had a long drive from the airport back to the town she grew up in. She was ready to see the changes and the things that stayed the same from when she was a child. "Paisley honey?" Tuning back in and looking at Mrs. Jones Paisley smiled. "I'm sorry. I got distracted looking out of the window. I missed what you said." She could see Mrs. Jones look at her in the rearview mirror. "I was just saying we still have a bit of a drive. Why don't you lean back and take a nap?" Paisley signed with relief and leaned across the window and set her neck pillow up so she could lay comfortably. "You had me at nap." Leaving them laughing Paisley closed her eyes and drifted off.