a long way from home ; g.d.

t w e n t y - n i n e

My mom spoke to the cop in the hallways and confirmed with him that I was in fact a legal adult, and the amber alert was called off. She apologized profusely for that, and I decided to forgive her, because it was probably the least worst thing she'd done. We went to lunch at a cafe, and only ordered coffee.

We talked, and talked, and talked, and cried. I have to admit, it felt amazing to just be able to sit down and talk to her after so long of not being able to. I felt like this was the first real conversation we'd had in years. I told her all about Grayson, and the other three, and did eventually tell her about L.A.

She hated the idea, and did not think it was a good one. I talked her down, maybe not completely, but I did my best. She seemed composed enough to remember that it was my choice, and said that she was going to start trying to be more supportive of my decisions, but she didn't want to start with this one. She insisted that she met Grayson, and I agreed. I wanted them to meet anyway. We made plans for lunch at noon. Her and uncle Marcus has rented a hotel room a few blocks away from the Freemont.

Once I was back at their room, all three of them ran up and hugged me. "I'm okay, guys."

Once they all pulled back, I sighed. "I worked everything out with my mom. There was a lot of crying, a lot of talking, and a lot of emotions, but we're okay now, and she's not making me go back to South Carolina. She's at her hotel room right now."

They all smiled at me. "That's amazing, Elle. I'm so glad you guys are good now," James said, wrapping me up in another hug. Ethan came next, then Emma. Grayson stood behind them. I walked over to him and winked at him, then wrapped my arm around his waist. "In fact, I even told her about me, you know, comingtoLA." I said the last part quickly, and under my breath.

Grayson understood me, and smirked. They all looked at us with confused expressions. "Okay with you what?" Ethan asked.

"ComingtoLA," Grayson said the exact same way I did.
Emma was the first to understand it. She squealed with excitement and jumped back with her hands over her mouth. "You're coming to L.A.?!" She yelled.

I laughed and nodded. James gasped and started jumping around the room with her, both of them giggling like idiots.
Ethan ran forward and hugged me harder than I think anyone has ever hugged me. "You're living with Gray and I, right? Because that'd be really disappointing if you were gonna get your own place after all of this."

He pulled back, and I smiled. "Yes, I'm gonna live with you guys." Once Emma and James finally came back, they were both yelling things about sleepovers and makeovers and partying.

"Woah, woah, woah. Baby steps, guys, we've gotta at least get her on the plane first before you start harassing her," Grayson said. They both playfully rolled their eyes at him, and kept giggling and talking amongst themselves.

After that, we all sat around the room, doing nothing. At about 11:30, Grayson and I started getting ready for lunch with my mom. I'd told him about it after things got calmed down with Emma, Ethan, and James, and he wasn't very excited about it.

I've tried to explain to him over and over that we're fine now, but he isn't listening and is still holding a grudge about it. I called her and told her to meet us at the pastry shop on the corner, and she said she'd be there in 15 minutes.

Once we were done getting ready, I turned to him and took both of his hands in mine. "Listen, I know you don't like her because of everything that's happened while we were here, but she's changed, okay? Everything is fine with us now."

He sighed and looked down at me. "I know, but she's upset you so many times, Elle."

"And I've upset her just as many. Still, it doesn't matter how you feel about her, but I want her to get to know you so she'll be a little more supportive of the fact that I'm moving to L.A. with you, alright?"

He nodded and kissed my forehead. We met up with her at the pastry shop, and sat at a window seat. They made small talk with each other, and I could tell he wasn't as spiteful of her as he wanted to be. We didn't order anything to eat, just coffee.

She asked him questions about L.A., and what his job was. He told her he was a wedding photographer, and part time performer for a really fancy restaurant. I jumped in every once in awhile, but mostly let the two of them talk while I just sat there and appreciated the fact that somehow my life has improved even more than I thought it could.