ғʀᴏᴍ ᴘᴏʀᴛʟᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟ.ᴀ. » ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ sᴇᴀᴠᴇʏ

Chapter Sixteen

Friday, July 20, 2018

Yesterday evening blurred into a frantic, yet somehow organized, mess of packing up my entire apartment.

The boys were beyond helpful at every turn. They bought cardboard moving boxes from the store, loaded and packed away everything in my home carefully at my instruction, and even made preparations for a small moving truck to arrive this morning and drive all of my belongings to L.A.

Obviously, everything that was in my apartment won't go into the boys' house. They have already rented out a storage unit in L.A. for everything that I won't need while I'm living with them.  When I figure out my living situation and move into my own place in the city sometime in the future, everything I own will be ready to be placed in a new home.

Later on, I'll try to contact mom and tell her that I've moved out of my apartment and that she needs to set up and go through the process of selling it. It's on her; the property is under her name after all.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," I say quietly to myself , staring down the street.

The boys and I just watched the moving truck pull away from the curb where we loaded in a countless number of boxes and furniture this morning.

My apartment is completely empty except for an overnight bag and two large suitcases full of the clothes that I will wear while I live with the boys. Despite my objections, they assure me they will be purchasing me more when we arrive.

I'll be sleeping at Blaire's tonight, and the guys are staying at the Seavey's- like last night- and will pick me up from the Porter's at five a.m. tomorrow morning so we can drive to the airport and catch our flight to L.A.

I cannot get it through my head that this time yesterday morning, I was accepting that I was going to be staying in Portland for good.

Now, I've resigned from both of my jobs and I'm officially moved out of my apartment. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to get on a plane with five boys- celebrities?- and move to one of the largest cities in the country in order to pursue my dreams.

My mind is overwhelmed, but I am so very thankful.

Suddenly, I remember something that causes a pang of dread to hit me in the chest.

I still have to tell Blaire.

***

My best friend looks up from her iced coffee after I say that I have something to tell her.

"Yesterday, Daniel, Zach, Corbyn, Jonah, and Jack flew in from L.A. and surprised me by showing up at the bookstore."

"What?" she exclaims excitedly, grabbing my arm.

"Shhh!" I warn, laughing a little as I look around the coffee shop to make sure no one was disrupted by Blaire's outburst.

"What?!" she whispers, somehow with the same amount of joy. I grin at her reaction, nodding.

"I just waited to tell you until this morning because I knew you would ask why they came."

"Well, why?" she says curiously.

"I'll get there."

"Where are they right now?"

"The Seavey's house. The four other guys tagged along with Daniel so that he could spend time with his family and they would be occupied while I spend the day with you."

"Wow, Kai, I'm honored and flattered and all, but why would you want to spend the day with me while they're here?"

"Because... I have some really big news."

Her eyes widen and she scoots closer to me in her chair, silently urging me to continue.

"You know how JTB wasn't going to work out because I couldn't get to L.A.?" She nods. "Well, the boys traveled all the way here to, uh, offer me to live with them. In L.A. It took a lot of convincing, but I... accepted. So that means...."

I trail off, not wanting to finish. I wish I didn't have to tell my best friend that I'm moving out of Portland. I wish it wasn't so sudden. I can't bear to think of the look that's going to cross over her face when she realizes that this time tomorrow, I'll be gone. We've been inseparable since we got to know one another. We've always known that college would come our way, but I don't think either of us expected it to arrive like this, out of nowhere.

"Kai," Blaire says, breaking into a smile, "that means you can attend JTB."

I nod.

"It also means... that I'm moving to L.A. I'll live with the boys until I figure out the next step of my living situation and I'll go through the program at JTB and eventually send it through to the publishing process. That takes about a year, but if I continue to write... I don't know how long I'll be there."

I watch Blaire's face carefully for any sings of conflict or hurt, but she only smiles and grabs my hand in her own.

"You were nervous to tell me, weren't you?" she says.

"Yes," I reply, sighing. "It's just... we've been through thick and thin together. Through all of my bad times, you were there for me. You still are. I don't want to lose that just because I'm moving away."

"Nothing can keep us from being best friends. Nothing. I will always care about you and how you're feeling. I know you. You were scared to tell me that you're moving because it's all happening so quickly. You were worried about how I would react. Truth is, I've never been more happy for you in my entire life."

I stare at into her olive green eyes as they fill with proud tears. Her undying support moves me and my throats swells with emotion.

"I'm not mad that you're moving," she says. "This is your dream. This is where God is calling you. His plan for you may very well be to change the world through your writing. He may bring so many people to himself through your work."

I don't know how to describe how her words make me feel so I pull her into a hug, speechless.

"I'm so proud, but I'm really going to miss you," she mumbles into my shoulder. I squeeze her tighter.

"I'm going to miss you too."

She finally pulls away, wiping under her eyes, sniffing.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that you're the only reason I'd want to stay in Portland at all," I say.

"Oh, yeah? Well, what about my family? Or the bookstore? The diner? And all those trails you run on in the mornings? What about this coffee shop?"

"Blaire, I was trying to be sweet," I scoff as she laughs.

The atmosphere of the coffee shop and the loving bickering between us is a simple moment, but I will remember it all the same.

I know that no amount of time away from each other will be able to change the bond that we have.