a long way from home ; g.d.

t h i r t y

(This is the last chapter my dudes)

Yesterday after lunch, Grayson went back to the hotel to pack some stuff up and call their flight airline. He got me a one-way ticket to Los Angeles on the same flight as all four of them.

I spent some time with my mom while he did this, saying goodbye to her since her flight was today. I hugged my uncle first, then turned to her. She seemed as happy as one could be in a situation like this. Before I could say anything, she lightly brushed the hair in the back of my head, and brought some of it to the front. She smiled at me and sighed. "My beautiful, beautiful girl."

I smiled at her and dropped my head. She sighed. "I'm proud of you, Chavelle. And I truly hope L.A. if everything you could've ever wanted."

I nodded and lunged forward, engulfing her in a hug. "I love you, momma." She held me tightly and buried her face in my hair. "I love you too, baby girl." We finally pulled back and smiled at each other once more. "I'll call you?" She said in a questioning tone. "Yeah, I think I'll let you now," I joked. She laughed and tapped my chin. She grabbed her bags and loaded them into a Taxi cab with Marcus, and she was gone.

I knew our relationship wasn't entirely repaired, and quite honestly, I didn't know if it ever would be, but it was a start, and that was all I was asking for. Once I returned to the apartment, Grayson told me that our flight was at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. We were all pretty bummed that tonight was our last night in New York, so we decided to make the best of it.

I changed into a red, spaghetti strapped dress and curled my hair for dinner that night. We managed to get into a club across the street from the restaurant, called "Club Croc."

All of took an endless amount of shots, got wasted as hell, and dances our asses off on the dance floor. James was eventually making out with some the bartender, while Emma and Ethan were dancing like strippers not far from Grayson and I, who were dancing worse than them.

The music seemed to grow louder every second, and more and more people filled the room. We eventually got tired of dancing, and James got tired of sucking face with the bartender, whom he said was an awful kisser.

So a drunk Ethan, Emma, and James stumbled back to the hotel room, while Grayson held me back. "I have an idea," he slurred.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up what felt like an infinite amount of stairs, until we reached a door with had a sign across it that read: "Staff Only." He completely ignored the sign and opened the door, and suddenly we were up on the roof of our hotel.

"Gray," I said, dragging out the "y". "This is a bad idea, we're too drunk for this, man."

He shook his head and pulled me out the door, stepping onto the roof. It almost felt like we were literally up in the clouds. We could see the tops of a sea of other buildings, and the sounds of the busy streets below were almost too far away to hear.

He spun me around a few times once we were fully on the roof, laughing uncontrollably. "One of us is probably gonna fall off of here and die," he said, still dancing with me, "so I'll make this quick. I looooooove you, Ellie."

I laughed a very drunken laugh. "I loooooove you, Gray."

He giggled, then wrapped his arms around me, swaying us from side to side. It was the most peaceful I've felt in a while, and I could've stayed up here forever, in this little piece of what is about to be the rest of my life.

The next morning, the five of us boarded the plane. Grayson and I sat together, Ethan and Emma were behind us, and James sat behind them, making small talk with a cute dark-haired guy that he was probably gonna end up making out with in the bathroom. Because that's just James.

I hated plane rides. On the plane ride here I almost fainted because of how terrified I am of flying. Grayson must've noticed how scared and jittery I was, so he put his arm on the arm rest next to mine and held my hand. I felt a wave of relief, as I pretty much always had whenever he touched me.

I had my sketchbook, a poetry book, and my notebook sitting on my lap, with a pen and a pencil on top of them to keep me distracted from the temptation of looking out the window.

The flight attendants voice came over the intercom, telling us to prepare for takeoff. Gray leaned his head back on his seat and looked over at me, giving my hand a light squeeze. I leaned my head back as well, and looked over to meet his gaze. I couldn't believe that my next stop was L.A.

A new life, with him. And the other three behind us having a part in it too, of course. A fresh start, even from New York.
He leaned over and kissed me slowly, then pulled back, his face only about an inch from mine. "You ready?"

I took a glance out the window, then looked back at him. I closed the space between us by pressing my lips to his again and nodding. I returned my gaze the ground below us and couldn't help but smile to myself. I was. I was definitely ready.