But does anyone notice...?

Chapter Seven: Moving On

I shut my phone down and stared out the window of the plane. My heart-rate was off the charts, I could feel it.
I just had to breathe.

The flight to California is 5 1/2 hours. I knew I wouldn't stop thinking but I had to sleep, seeing as I stayed up the night before.
I ended up sleeping the entire flight, not dreaming.
The flight landed and I got my bag from baggage claim.

My sister was there to pick me up and she just hugged me as soon as she saw me, "it'll be okay." She said.
"I know." I told her.
I turned on my phone and had 10 missed calls from Sophie, and 3 messages.
I got into my sisters car and listened to them.
"Nicole? Where'd you go? Gerard's not talking. Call me."
"Nicole. Dude. Come home. Gerard's trying to drink. Where the hell have you gone?"
"He told us. I understand. There's a lot of holes though. Call me when you can."
My sister glanced at me nervously, "who was it?"
"My friend Sophie. Mind if I call her back?" I asked her.
She nodded and gave me that look that said 'of course!!'
I dialled Sophie back and she picked up on the first ring. "Nicole! Where are you? Gerard's not giving us a lot of information." Sophie's voice came loudly through the phone.
"Hey. I'm in California," I said. "I'm staying with my sister. I just... I need to get away. I love you all so much. But I can't be around him anymore... I've been thinking about it for a while now. I just couldn't."
I could hear her voice break.
We were a big group of friends but i really think Sophie and I were the closest.
Just barely though, because we're all so close.
"I... I understand. We'll get him sobered up. We'll come visit one day." She said.
I smiled, tears running down my cheeks. "I miss you guys already." I stuttered.
"We miss you too. Hey Nikki I-" something shattered in the background. "Shit I gotta go. I'll call you later. Love you." She said.
"Okay, love you too, bb." I said.
The line went dead.
I breathed heavily and my sister could tell.
"Hey, it'll be okay. It's for the best." She said, putting out a sympathetic arm.
She rubbed my shoulder and I smiled.
"I know.. It'll just take some getting used to." I muttered.
She nodded. Once we got to her house I went inside and she showed me to my room.
I thanked her again, and as usual she shook her head.
I put my stuff away and went back downstairs to her kitchen.
"So I don't want to stay forever. I'll get a solid job then I'll be out of your hair." I told her.
She gave me a small smile. "You can stay as long as you need."
"I promise, Julia. One month I'll be out."
"Dude listen to yourself. It's okay. You can stay here."
I sighed. "Okay." I muttered.
"So. Pizza?" She asked.
I nodded just as my stomach grumbled loudly.
She laughed at me then ordered a pizza.
Ten minutes later we were eating and watching movies.
"So I go to work at 8:30 then come home at about 7 ish. It depends if I get another patient." She said. She's a psychologist for teenagers.
"Okay, I'll get up about then and go look for any job openings." I said.
"There's a Starbucks around the corner. There's a music store close by too." She suggested.
I nodded, "thanks." I said as I took her plate and put it in the dishwasher.
"I think I'm gonna go to bed now." I told her.
She nodded at me.

I went into my room and changed into my pyjamas.
I tossed and turned for a long time but found no sleep.
I just started staring around the room, playing Timberman on my phone for a bit.
And before I knew it, the sun was rising.

It was about 8 AM when one of Julia's dogs came into my room. He jumped up on the bed and licked my face.
He's a big Golden Retriever/Husky mix named Apollo.
I laughed and Julia came in and apologised, scolding the dog.
"Nah it's okay. He's a nice wake up call." I said, wiping the slobber off my face.
"Yeah so it's 8 and I'm gonna head to work. Help yourself to the food and stuff around the house. I'll be home later." She said and walked out.
"BYE! THANK YOU!" I yelled.
I could hear her laugh as she shut the door.
I got up and ate breakfast, and gave all her dogs some extra food and biscuits.
I took a shower and blow dried my hair, and I got dressed and put on jeans and a red and black striped cardigan.
I pulled on my boots and walked out of the house.
I locked the door behind me and walked towards where Julia gave me directions.
I passed the starbucks and wanted to check the music store first.
I walked in, and a stoner-looking guy was rearranging albums just thrown into a bin.
The guy was wearing a loose green plaid shirt and he had long blonde hair. He resembled Kurt Cobain.
"Hey, I'm Jimmy. Can I help you find something?" He asked me.
"Uh actually I was wondering if you guys were hiring." I said slowly, staring at the pile of cd's.
"Yeah! We're actually low on staff. Follow me." He said and gestured over to the register.
He got out a sheet of paper and pen, and slid it to me.
I answered the questions on the sheet and after about 5 minutes I gave it back. He smiled as he looked over it.
"How soon can you start?" He asked.
I smiled and shrugged, "uh actually like tomorrow."
"Really?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Sweet okay. We open at 9 AM but business doesn't really start til 11, we close at 7 on weekdays and 9 on weekends. Here's a quick tour, That's the managers office back there," He pointed behind him. "And the instruments are over there. Do you play?" He asked.
"Yeah I actually play guitar." I said.
He grinned, "sweet we can start doing lessons. If you're comfortable with that. There would be a bigger pay."
I nodded eagerly.
"The CDs are over there and that's about it. Oh I forgot to ask, why'd you move to California.... Yesterday?" He asked.
"Ah, yeah it was a bad relationship I had to get out of. I was planning on getting my California license today."
"Sweet. Okay so, nice to meet you, Nicole. See you tomorrow!" Jimmy said with a huge smile.
I smiled back at him and walked out.

I went to the DMV and got my license renewed.
I just walked around town until it started to get dark. I went into Julia's house and she came home an hour later.
I told her about how I went to the music store and got a job.
She was really happy for me and was excited to visit me on weekends.

And things were looking up.
And it doesn't seem like it, But I couldn't shake Gerard off my mind. He was always in the back of my thoughts.