prove it - j.g

chapter forty four: "omaha to los angeles"

jack gilinsky

vanessa and i were standing in her living room. i had just finished loading all of her luggage into the back of my mom's car since she's driving vanessa, johnson, and i to the airport.

vanessa's mom, mary, embraced her daughter with tears in her eyes, "i love you, honey. stay safe and be good. if you ever want to come visit, you're always welcome to come."

once embracing her daughter, vanessa's dad, stephen, stepped in to say goodbye to his daughter. mary embraced me next, "take care of her. okay, jack? keep her happy, safe, and protected."

"always plan on it, mrs thomas" i smile, mary pulling away from me with tearful eyes.

she sighs, "how many times have i told you, dear? call me mary. you calling me mrs thomas makes me feel old."

stephen then pulled me in for a handshake, "take care of her, son. make sure she's healthy and good."

i nod, "will do, sir."

and if one cue, dylan came walking down the stairs.

vanessa walked over to him, taking him into the kitchen to talk privately.

"he seems like he's really going to miss her" i state.

mary nods, "they aren't as close as brandon and vanessa, but they still are pretty close. i think dylan's just going to miss having a sibling with him here."

i nod, "understandable. hopefully he does okay."

stephen nods, "he'll do good. he'll probably just invest himself into hockey a little bit more."

+ +

we were on the plane to la, johnson to my right and vanessa to my left.

i looked over at johnson, seeing him asleep. then, i peered over at vanessa who was awake and seemed as if she was in an intense thought.

"what are you thinking about?" i ask, taking hold of her hand.

she sighs, "nothing."

i give her a look, raising my eyebrows, "what are you thinking about, vans?"

"you don't stop, do you?" she lightly laughs, "really jack, im not thinking about anything specific. did it seem like i was?"

i nod, "you seemed like you were really dwelling on something intense."

"nope, just tired. don't worry" she responds with a reassuring smile.

"are you nervous? excited?" i ask, wanting to know more about her emotions towards moving from omaha to los angeles.

she hums, thinking a little bit before responding, "a little bit of both, i guess. i really do feel bad for leaving dylan, but he's been expecting me to move out for awhile now."

i nod understandingly, "makes sense. im excited to get to live with you. so is johnson, he said it's better now that he won't have to hear me whining anymore."

a chuckle leaves her lips as she shakes her head, "whining? you would whine?"

"um, no. he was just kidding" i lie.

"yeah, yeah. you would whine because you missed me" she teases, a smile on her face as she said this, "you don't have to miss me anymore, babe."

i shrug, "i suppose your right. why don't you have a little nap and i'll wake you up when we land? you're probably going to be jet lagged and tired."

she nods, "alright."

snuggling up into my side, vanessa falls into a sound slumber on our flight from omaha to los angeles.