moments.

two

kenzie's pov

once we arrive at our air b&b, we get settled in the house. us girls are sharing a room, and poor john (not) is sleeping on his own.

"guys, let's hit the pool!" i suggest with a smile. our rented house has a pool and i could not be more excited. one whole weekend of swimming in the pool and lounging by the ocean with my best friends by my side- what could go wrong? as usual, i had no idea how awful up things could get.

"k! let's go get changed!" lauren grabs my arm and pulls me up to our room, with maddie right behind us.

we unpack quickly and get dressed in our swimsuits. i'm in a white bikini with spaghetti straps, lauren is in a navy blue one piece, and maddie is in a yellow bikini. we head out to the pool, where john is already swimming some laps.

"john! how do we look?" lauren calls out, laughing as she linked arms with us.

johnny looks up, uninterested. then he sees me and his eyes widened. i blushed at the feeling of his eyes on me and walked over to the pool edge quickly.

"last one in is a rotten egg!" i laugh at my childness, and plunge into the pool. i splash johnny (oops) and he slits his eyes at me.

"oh, you're so dead, kenzie!" he laughs and chases after me. i squeal and swim away, all of the awkwardness from before gone.

lauren and maddie jump in too, and before i know it we're in a game of underwater tag with teams- lauren and me vs maddie and john. the teams often play out this way, older vs younger is always fun! we play and then swim around and lounge for about 3 hours, before meredith calls us in for dinner.

"yummm lets go!" maddie yells, hopping out of the pool. we all follow her suit and head inside, our stomachs rumbling.

after we finish a delicious meal of tacos (and one food fight, thanks for ruining my new shirt john), we find our moms walking over to the table.

"what's wrong guys?" i ask. i can tell by the look on their faces that something serious is about to happen. i cant remember the last time i've seen mer look so somber.

"we... um, i have news." my mom starts. "i wanted greg to be here when i announced it, and dale, but dale- and meredith! -already know, and the dads would rather stay home."

"just.. just say it." lauren says worriedly, and i can tell that this will be news to laur and john as well. i wonder what it is.

"we're moving, guys. we're moving to LA."

"what..." maddie trails off. "are you serious?" her voice is more frantic now.

"yes. there are more opportunities for you girls there, and uh, greg got a new job. we need to move to LA."

"you're fucking with us, right?" i say. it doesn't sound like me. my voice is too high from trying to not scream. "this is a joke, right?"

my mom doesn't even call me out for cursing.

lauren and johnny are silent. i don't know why my mom didn't tell us before. i don't know why they brought us to the beach, which is always suppose to be fun, and now i know the ocean will always remind me of the day i was told i was being stripped of my best friends and my hometown.

"im sorry, girls. it's not." she won't meet my gaze, and i storm off to my room, tears filling my eyes.

maddie comes upstairs too, and im sensing that she needs privacy because she locks herself in the bathroom.

lauren runs upstairs after me. "did you... did you know?"

"of course not." i reply, wiping my eyes and hugging her. "i'm gonna miss you. and toronto. oh my god, i don't wanna go!"

lauren hugs me. we both cry for a while, and eventually maddie comes into the room and joins our hug. we're crying all over each other, and we don't even care. i'm gonna miss lauren so much. i've grown up with them, and i cant even imagine life without them.

i hear angry thuds on the stairs, and then a door slam. oh god. johnny.

"i'll be right back." i say, wiping my eyes again and only hoping my mascara isn't running too much. "i've gotta check on john." they nod, and i get up and walk over to his room. i don't bother knocking. i walk in, not sure what to say.

and then i gasp in surprise.

i don't know what i expected, but it wasn't this.