loveline | cody bellinger

-twenty three-

I set the bag of clothes in the trunk of the car. Cody was already in the driver's seat so I got in the passenger's seat. 

"You know where to go?" I asked Cody. 

"Yeah, it's in the lil' mall thing, right?" 

"Yeah, shouldn't be too far." 

Cody drove us to the plaza and we made some small talk. 

"You finally getting settled in?" Cody asked. He looked over at me, giving me a warm smile. 

I smiled back and replied, "Yeah, finally. I mean, I still have to arrange some of my furniture and clothes so it's not in the way, but other than that, it's been really great. I still can't thank you and Chris enough for letting me move in." 

"Babe, it's my pleasure to have you moved in with me and Chris. And don't even worry about all that stuff. As long as your stuff is here and that you're happy, you have nothing to worry about." 

"You're right, you're right." 

Cody pulled into the parking lot of the plaza and parked in an open parking space. 

We got out of the car and I grabbed the bag of clothes from the trunk. Cody walked alongside me, holding my hand as we walked around trying to find my mom's store.

"This one," I said, pulling Cody into my mom's store after I had found it. 

We walked around the store trying to find my mom and eventually, an employee came up to us. 

"Hi, can I help you find anything?" the employee asked. 

"Yeah, actually. Would you happen to know where Elizabeth is?" I asked. 

"Uh, yeah. Is there a reason you'd like to see her?" 

"Yeah, I'm her daughter and I'm just dropping off some samples she asked me to get." 

"Oh, okay. Well, she's just in the back, so go through that door and she should be back there," the cashier helpfully responded. 

"Thank you so much," I replied and walked away.

 I made my way to the back, with Cody walking behind me now. I opened the door and walked around to see if I could find my mom. 

"Mom?" I yelled out. "It's me, Aubrey." 

"Back here!" I heard coming from another room. 

I walked to where I heard the sound originate from. I opened a door and lo and behold, there was my mom. 

"Hey, hon! What're you doing here?" my mom asked. 

"Just dropping off the samples that you asked me to get," I said, handing her the bag of clothes. 

"Oh, okay. Thanks, sweetie. Is Cody here too?" 

"Yeah," I motioned for Cody to come to where I was standing. He made his way over to me and popped his head in the door. "Hi, Mrs. Mendes. So nice to see you," Cody greeted. 

"Oh, hello Cody! What a nice surprise. And I assume he helped you pick some of these clothes out?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, actually! I think he did an amazing job," I replied. 

"Yeah, hopefully, you like them," Cody also replied. 

"I'm sure I'll like everything in here." 

After talking for a bit with my mom, we finally made our way out of the store and back to the car. It was nearly lunch time so Cody and I decided to get some lunch nearby. Cody recommended some good spots nearby so I let him decide where to go. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.