Endless Summer/ ✔️

Something Different

"Love, relax. The plane will land when it lands. Until then, just breath," Daniel laughed. My leg ticked nervously against his during the entire flight and it was beginning to bug him.

"Sorry, I just want to get there already. I miss my mom," I sighed. I looked back to Lauren and Zach behind us. "You guys okay back there?" I asked. Lauren shook her head and gave a small smile. They had decided to come down last minute to help explain.

As soon as we stood in front of my first home, I could feel my lungs expand in the Florida air. It was warm and crisp. It was home. "Are we ready to do this?" Daniel asked. I stared up at the house and hesitated to walk up to the door. I didn't answer as I knocked on the door. My heart raced as I heard the footsteps nearing the door. I let go of Daniel's hand in case it was my mother.

The door swung open and my mother smiled. "Maya? What are you doing here so early?" She asked, bringing me into a hug. "And who's this?" We stepped into the corridor, my eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness.

"This is Daniel Holmes, mom. He's the boyfriend I was telling you about," I smiled. Mom's eyes lit up with excitement as she declined Daniel's handshake and pulled him into a hug. "My mom doesn't do handshakes." I whispered when Daniel pulled away.

"Come. I was just about to start lunch. Where's Lauren?" Mom asked. As we stepped into the living room, my brother and a few other family members were sitting in the living room. Daniel introduced himself as my boyfriend and we waited for my mother to back into the living room. "Kate said there was going to be some things  you wanted to talk to us about. She told me a little bit about it but not all. Care to spill the beans?" She asked.

Daniel and I took a seat as I explained the entire situation with Kate to my family. During the story, my mother began to shed tears. "I can't believe I'm moving across the country. You and I will definitely have to visit each other," I cried. This time, I wiped away some tears before I began to speak again. "Do you remember when Lauren first brought the plane tickets to our attention? How bad I didn't want to go?"

"Yeah. I bet you regret ever not wanting to go, huh?"

"Going to Los Angeles, changed my life. I got rid of Bryce, who was hurting me inside and out," I began. Daniel squeezed my hand at the mention of Bryce's name. He despised him. All of the boys did and I didn't blame them. "I met Daniel, Lauren met his friend, Zach and we met their other friends who have been more caring for me than anyone ever has."

"Mrs. O'Leary," Daniel began. I let go of my mother's hands and brought it to Daniel's forearm. "Your daughter will be safe with me down there. I have five other friends who would do anything to protect these girls. Lauren and Maya have become their little sisters. You have nothing to worry about."

We spent the rest of the time, talking about how often we would visit and letting Daniel get to know my family. When nightfall came, Daniel and I called it a night and headed up to my old bedroom. I crawled into bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin. Lauren and I had decided to spend tomorrow packing and loading our things into a rental truck before we spent another day with our families. It was going to be a busy week.

*

The next morning, I had met up with Lauren to pay for our two rental trucks. "We seriously have to drive forty hours to get back home?" Lauren asked.

"Well, we could have someone else drive the trucks but that runs the risk of them getting lost and losing all of our stuff," I shrugged. "Plus, they might decide to steal something." Lauren froze at the counter as we waited to pay for both of the vehicles.

"Point taken. How often are we going to stop? Where are we going to sleep?" I turned around, looking at the worried face Lauren wore. "I worry about these things," she gushed.

"We'll stop in Texas and take the night to recuperate and we can stop whenever we have to use the bathroom or we get hungry. Don't worry about it, Lauren." Lauren bit her lower lip before sighing and shoving her hands into her pocket. Once we were handed the keys to the vehicles, Lauren and I each drove one home.

Daniel had stayed home and was helping my mother pack some of my things. By the time I got home, half of my room was packed and some extra boxes sat on the counter. "What is all this stuff?" I asked, poking around.

"I was cleaning out our old office the other day and there was some stuff that I thought you might want down in California. I know you don't need much and you already have everything down there but some of those things I thought you might like to have. There's a ring in the bottom of the box, that came from my mother. You can wear it until this one over here gets you another one," mom said gesturing towards Daniel. He blushed and looked down at his shoes.

We spent the rest of the day loading the trucks with every little thing we could possible need. Daniel and my mother had been getting along extremely well. Better than her and Bryce ever did. I was beginning to worry about how Daniel's parents would react to me. He never spoke much of them when I was around.

Mom left the room, leaving Daniel and I to ourselves until dinner. "I'm sorry about my mom and the whole ring thing. She has always been ready for the day I get married. I think it's more her dream than mine," I said folding the last shirt. Daniel walked over to me and threw my hands around his neck.

"Don't be sorry. I like your mom. She kind of reminds me of my own and hey," he smiled. He laid a small kiss on the corner of my mouth before he continued. "As much as I already love you, I can't wait to marry you. Is that too much to ask?"

"Dani, it's never to much to ask. Things will happen when the time is right. By the way, I think I can actually deal with that," I smiled back. My heart fluttered as he kissed me directly on the lips. Daniel was completely different than Bryce. He knew how to love and care. Better yet, he knew how to make me genuinely happy. I didn't have faux smiles when I was around him.

He was real and I was in love with the person he was.