By Chance

Chapter Thirty : By Chance

Summer's POV

"You ready?" Brady asks as he reaches back to grab and carry both of our luggage into the airport.

I nod excitedly. It may be four in the morning, but I'm nursing my third coffee and am hours away from landing in Hawaii to watch two of my best friends finally get married. "I've been ready for this for months. Now hurry up."

He laughs at me, delirious from the amount of sleep he's gotten. "Sorry, I didn't mean for me and the four bags I'm carrying to slow you down."

I look back him, both of our carry on's on his back and our suitcases rolling behind him. I laugh at the scene and quickly grab my own belongings, giving him a little kiss for trying his best and apologizing for making him carry them all.

Getting this break from the real world has been the only thing keeping me sane the past month. After I reported my story to the police and showed them as much proof as I could, Brady and I both filed a restraining order on Lance and haven't heard much since.

It's not from a lack of communication between me and the police, but I asked them to only let me know when and if they charge Lance with anything. So far, I've heard nothing and have tried like hell to get my mind off of it. I'm not sure how the legal process works, so I have no idea when I'll hear anything.

Everything has been quiet since. No messages or emails, no appearances, nothing. It's like Lance just disappeared, but I know he hasn't. I'm not that lucky.

But stepping into the Pensacola airport brings me a sense of immediate relief. I can't wait to get out of Alabama and be with Brady, celebrating two of my favorite people, forgetting my life back home.

On top of that, another school year starts a couple days after we get home, so this is one last hurrah of summer.

Once we go through the intense security, Brady walks up to the counter of Delta and receives our tickets, coming back to me a few minutes later.

"We have two stops before we get to Hawaii. One in Atlanta, the other in Los Angeles," he hands me mine.

My eyes widen when I see how long the trip will take in total. "Holy shit, seventeen hours?"

He laughs at my reactions. "Summer, I don't know if you knew this, but Hawaii is an island about three thousand miles off of the west coast and we live on the eastern side of-"

I shut him up by flipping him a middle finger. "Whatever, I get it. I'm not mad it's going to take so long; I'm mad that I'm going to be stuck with you for that long."

He lets out a little chuckle and keeps walking to the gate we will depart at. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, I sit down next to him, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around one of his.

"I'm so glad to have you as my travel partner," I decide to stop teasing him.

"Oh, so now you're going to be nice to me," he laughs and kisses the top of my head. "I'm glad too," he rests his head on mine.

We sit this way for a long time until a voice over the speaker announces that our plane is boarding. We stand up and wait for our group to be called before getting on.

When we find our seats, Brady stops. "Window or aisle?"

"I drank so much coffee this morning. I'm going to need to use the bathroom a lot. I better sit in the aisle."

He nods, puts our suitcases above, and sits down next to the window. I take my phone out, ask Brady to smile, and take a quick picture of us.

Over the past month, I've decided that our lives are so dangerous. We truly don't know what will happen next, so I capture every special moment I can. Our first flight together is a big deal, and I couldn't help myself but take a picture.