Waterline

Adventure for Memories

Molly knocked on the door and waited silently for someone to answer. A few minutes later, Libby peeked from behind the door. Upon seeing Molly, she grabbed her arm and pulled her in the house. "What took you so long? We were waiting for quite a long time" Libby said as they walked through the hallway. As the reached the living room, Molly was greeted by a renovated Toby.

"What happened to him?" Molly asked.
"I brought a few of my friends over and gave Toby a little makeover," Libby said like it was no big deal.
"He looks good" Molly complimented.
"Alright, do you have the tickets or not?" Toby asked.
"Right," Molly got out her wallet and pulled out two crisp tickets. "I made sure Clare doesn't know you were going," Molly told them.

Toby almost forgot about Clare. "How did things go with her?" He asked. Toby wanted to make sure she was safe before leaving her alone. "Awkward, she stayed in her room most of the time and refused to talk to me" Molly explained. Toby was relieved to hear that. Now he could leave the country and not feel terrible. Toby thanked Molly again and grabbed the tickets and the passports.

"Good luck, I hope everything goes well," Molly told them.
"I hope too," Toby said. He didn't have a plan on what he would do once they got to Luxembourg. He was hoping that Libby would take over, but it was his battle. Libby shouldn't have to be part of the problem. Toby picked up his backpack and sighed. "Let's head out," Toby told Libby before heading out the door. Molly followed them out and Libby locked the door before they were on there way to the airport.

"I can't wait to get on the plane so I can sleep" Libby comments. "Yeah, the flight should be around three hours long," Toby said. He was feeling a bit jittery since he was about to meet his girlfriend's parents. He also doesn't know if he could ever see Ashley again. Still, he had hope that he could see her at least once. Once is good than not seeing her at all. Toby also needed Ashley to come back to Silverfish since the lives of the people relied on her. He wondered, "why won't Ashley fight against his parents' ideas?"

The airport checkup almost was a breeze since they had a few baggage issues. It was nothing too severe and the duo was able to head into there plane. Libby got this window seat, Toby didn't care since he had too much on his mind. He also wished he brought something to occupy his mind. Toby decided to talk to Libby only to find out she was already asleep. "The plane didn't even leave yet," Toby said to her. It woke up Libby. "Yeah, I should wait," Libby said.

The plane was finally on its way to Luxembourg. Toby's stomach was starting to churn even more. Libby was already fast asleep. He decided not to bug her again. Knowing the plane ride will be long if he keeps worrying, Toby decided to take a nap. Maybe his dreams could give him hope.

Starting off in a closet. Why a closet? It's the safest place to hide. The boy was familiar with being in the closet. The only go to place when he arrives. Though, it doesn't work all the time. The boy just hopes he could get by this one time. Every day was the same fear but with different outcomes. Who could blame the boy for being scared?

The door creaked open, heavy footsteps start to head down the hallway. The boy held his breath, it was the moment of truth. Would he be spotted? The bedroom door swung open with power. The stench of alcohol filled the room. Alcohol always gave the boy a permanent pain. "Philip Herrick, you get out here this instant!" The man yelled. His voice boomed through the walls and gave the boy a nervous shiver.

The closet door swung open and a big hand pulled Philip out of the closet. "Mom! Help!" The boy whimpered. He relied on his mom to someday help him out of the mess he's in. "Mom...?" The man grumbled. Philip looked up at him, his eyes were red and his skin had red splotches. "Why would she help you? You killed her!" The man yelled at the small boy.

Philip shook his head violently. He didn't want to be blamed for his mother's death. She was the reason he lived to this day. That accident wasn't his fault, it was no ones. Philip's mother did what any mom would do: protect her child. "I hate lies!" The boy screamed in pain. Tears fell from his eyes as his vision was blurry.
"Now you're getting it," the man held onto Philip's hair as he brought his hand up.

Toby looked around and saw Libby eating roasted peanuts. She had a cup of water sitting at her table. "Hey Toby, we are- wait... are you crying?" Libby asked, getting a closer inspection of his face. Toby touched the corner of his eye before realizing that it was wet from tears. "I guess I am" Toby smiled, trying to reassure Libby that he was fine. "Did you have a nightmare? What's wrong?" Libby asked, not trusting his smile.
"Don't worry about it, it's no big deal" Toby said. That only made Libby frown, there was no way she could get an answer from him.

On the intercoms, the flight attendant announced that they will be landing soon. Toby put on his seat belt and waited for the descent.

The duo left the plane. It was currently 2 in the morning. The plane arrived later than it should have. There must've been a delay while they were both asleep. Toby didn't know what to do now, he was far from home. "Now what do we do?" Toby asked Libby, hoping that she would know. "We can't go to the Heinen's house at this hour, we should go to a motel and stay there for the night," Libby said before taking off her backpack. She shuffled through her stuff before finding her wallet and phone.

"You rent is a room, I need to go to the restroom" Toby said. He wishes he had used the bathroom before he left for the ride. Libby nod before going on her phone to check out the nearest places to stay. Toby started walking to the restrooms, once Libby was out of view, he awkwardly scurried the rest of the way. When Toby has to go, he desperately has to go.

Libby and Toby waited outside silently for there cab. Both were ready to head to there rooms and sleep. Toby took off his cardigan and neatly folded it in his arms. He hoped the motel had an iron so he could fix his clothes. Libby could easily help him fix his hair, but the clothes were the main problem. "What do I do if my clothes get wrinkled?" Toby asked.
"Don't worry, Allen packed some extra clothes for you," Libby told him. Allen was always prepared, that didn't surprise Toby.

After they arrived at the motel, Toby realized he made a horrible mistake by not packing clothes to sleep in. "I'm going to take a shower and hang these clothes up," Toby said as he got the hangers down. He turned to check on Libby, only to find she was already asleep in her bed. Toby just shrugged before taking off his clothes. While in his boxers, Toby got into Libby's backpack and got out the extra clothing. He also hung them up. He was relieved that he brought extra boxers to wear during the trip.

Toby started to take a shower and pondered what would happen when seeing Ashley again. He was excited to see her again and hopes that he could stay with her. But what he's been hearing, there is a low chance that would happen. Toby got out of the shower and changed into new boxers. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put deodorant on. Then Toby got in his bed and went to sleep.