Close Your Eyes: Book Two

Chapter Twenty One

I spent the next three hours on the phone with U-Haul and they told me they would send somebody out in the morning to pick up whatever I needed shipped.

It's going to be a thousand dollars to move all our stuff to the mainland.

I sit on my bed with boxes littering my room, staring at my bank account.

Now, checking account wise, I'm broke.

But when you've been through experiences that make you nervous, you always want to have money.

So I've been saving every coin I could since I got a job.

I even saved my lunch money before I got a job.

I have over four thousand dollars saved.

I run my fingers through my hair and sigh.

A moment later, I hear a knock on my door.

It's probably my Mom asking me to stay again.

"Yeah?" I grumble.

Noah walks into the room and shuts his door behind him, sitting down on my bed.

He looks around my room for a while, and then he sighs.

"This room hasn't been empty before. Before their divorce, Dad asked Mom if they should clear our your old room. Mom lost it, so they decided to just leave it in case you came home. None of us actually thought you would." He looks down. "I think you're brave..." he clears his throat. "For what you're doing, so I'm going to give you advice, because you're the strongest person I know and you have more drive than anybody I've ever met." He takes a deep breath. "Buy a house."

I raise my eyebrows.

"What?"

"Housing at a university is more expensive than a mortgage is. Don't stay on campus anymore. If you have Liam and maybe some friends you really trust, you guys can get a house. If you spilt the bills down the middle, you'd all pay roughly seven hundred dollars a month, which you can afford, right?"

I look at him, thinking about it.

Liam and I both work full time but we got time off for vacation.

Sofie could come, and probably Mason.

"Don't get a four bedroom, get a three. The taxes are more expensive on a four bedroom." He says. "You and Liam seem pretty serious, even if you haven't been together that long. Put only your name and Liam's name on the title and share a room with him. You can get a storage unit for all your things for the time being. Obviously you'll have to find some roommates, but I think that's what you should do."

Noah's right. Liam and I could afford to get a house, and if we had two more roommates...

Well, that would be golden.

We would have our own space and we would be saving money by buying a house rather than paying housing for university.

And we don't have to listen to people have sex. We don't have to wake up to the sound of people throwing up outside of the dorm room.

"Thank you." I say to Noah.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and pulls me against his side.

"As long as you promise you'll come visit. And let me come stay there sometimes? I'd love to see snow."

"I promise." I smile.

"Maybe you can convince me to move there. I want my kids to have cousins, and I have a feeling you and Liam aren't going to move back here."

I nod my head.

"You're right. You would love it there Noah, there are so many giant trees and in the winter they get covered in snow and in the fall everything changes colors and it's so beautiful. I love it there."

"Maybe I will come down in the summer. Another perk of having your own house is you can have sex and nobody can tell you not to."

I laugh softly.

"You're not a virgin, are you?" he asks.

"Noah," I smile.

He must know I'm upset.

Why wouldn't I be? Liam is gone and he's three thousand miles across the ocean and he's miserable.

He's upset and I'm not there to comfort him.

"Come on, are you or not?"

"Yes, alright? I'm a virgin."

"Oh my god." He smiles. "Well you can lose it in your own house." He shrugs.

"Uh, yeah," I smile awkwardly.

"As least tell me you've made out," he says.

"We've made out." I laugh nervously.

Honestly, if Liam wanted to, I would have probably let him take off my shirt last night.

I was uncomfortable with the thought of somebody seeing me like that, and it still makes me squirm a little bit, but when I really think about it...

It's Liam. It's my Liam.

I have nothing to be nervous about.

_________

Later that night I slap some tape over the last box and look around the room.

Everything is set and ready to go. I told my parents I wouldn't take the furniture, but I'm taking the sheets, the clothing, the books...

I glance at my phone nervously and see Liam still hasn't called me.

Sighing, I sit down on my bed and open up my laptop, putting my finger on the scanner.

I unlocks and I go onto the airline website to track his plane.

It landed five minutes ago.

I look at the time and nod.

Since it was a last minute flight, he had a plane change in San Diego. He probably didn't have enough time to contact me while trying to get on the other plane.

He left around three this afternoon, so it would make sense that he would be landing around eleven here, which is one in the morning there.

Nodding to myself, I go to the Honolulu international airport website and book and flight for tomorrow that takes off at noon.

The truck guy is going to be here at seven and he's going to take my things and load them up to be shipped to Portland. He told me on the phone it would arrive in a couple of days and they would give me a call when it got there.

I run my fingers through my hair as I transfer more money from my savings account to my checking account. I wait until the money goes in and then I type my debit card information and purchase my ticket.

I'll have to be at the airport by ten, which means I have three hours to get my stuff with the U-Haul guy, pay him, get to the airport, get my ticket from the kiosk, and get my butt on a plane back home.

Because it took me a long time to realize it, but home is not Hawaii, but it's not Oregon either.

Home is the way Liam walks.

Home is the freckles on his arms.

Home is the feeling of his lips on mine.

Home is my hands in his hair.

Home is the feeling of his arms around me.

Home is not a destination, but a person.

And I think that's something he learned a long time ago.

_________

If you want a bulk update raise your hands :)

~Sam