where i belong

-4-

Chapter Four

    My eyes fluttered open when the car halted to a stop. I stayed laying, being too exhausted to get up. When the door that my head was against heaved open, I closed my eyes. I figure we're probably at somewhere to eat and I felt too sick to eat. I don't usually get car sick but I guess my body wasn't feeling it today. I felt someone touch my hair and my respirations increased. God, I just wanted to lay in the back of the car forever.

    "It's busy so...uh, I'll go get a table set up," I heard Sam whisper. I heard the crunch of gravel or some sort under shoes.

    "Leslie, baby," Colby's soft voice rang in my ears, "We're at a restaurant to eat."

    "I'm not feeling good," I mumbled, curling myself tighter into a ball.

    "You're not feeling good?" He questioned in a baby tone. I shook my head and I felt his cold hands wrap around my waist. I was pulled into sitting position and I leaned my head against his shoulder, "You haven't eaten all day. Let's get something in your stomach and if you still don't feel good, we can go to bed."

    I sighed and nodded my head. I combed through the parts of my hair that weren't in ponies and by the time my eyes fully awoke, Colby was handing over his sweatshirt to me. I grinned lightly and threw it over my body. I got the chills from the overwhelming warmth I felt. Colby allowed me to get a piggy back ride and we were off to the entrance of the restaurant.

    "Are you eating out all week?" I asked.

    "No, just for the weekend. Then, we're gonna get hot pockets and stuff like that."

    When we got into the restaurant, a hostess showed us to the table Sam had gotten. Colby put me down into the booth, then scooted in next to me. Sam had already ordered all of the drinks and before we had time to even speak to each other, the waiter came by to get our food orders.

    "Why're you crying?" Sam asked in shock after the waiter walked away. I was hoping they wouldn't notice.

    "I'm just so happy you guys are here. Like, having even just you two here makes me literally cry. I missed you guys so much and even though the whole squad isn't here, having Sam and you here means the world to me."

    "Aww," Sam cooed, "You're going to make me cry!"

    We talked more about school and graduation, then after the food got here, we talked about everything I've missed out on back home. I don't regret going to school away from California. In fact, it was a good decision. I would've been distracted with my studies and separating relationships and schooling was probably the best decision I made. I did miss out on a lot while I've been in New York, though. The boys—Colby, Jake, Sam, Corey, and Kevin—moved into a house together a few years after I left. Their lease runs out in June, so at least I get to spend a month with all of them before moving again. Tara's moving in with Jake in the summer, Sam is finally pulling the trigger and moving in with Kat, and I'm not sure what Corey and Kevin's plan is.

    I'm ecstatic to go home, to be with them again. I'm scared though. I'm terrified that Colby and I will settle down somewhere, and the group will split into different directions. I know we can't keep these close knit ties forever. Eventually, we're all going to settle with kids of our own. Half of us won't be on YouTube anymore. Things are about to change and that scares me so much.

    "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

    Once Sam was gone, our food arrived. I pushed the plate back to wait for Sam.

    "Can we continue that talk tonight that we started like four years ago?" Colby asked, chuckling. I nodded my head and pulled out my phone to scroll through the socials. When Sam came back, I took a picture of him smiling and posted it to my story with a smily face. Then, we put our phones into the middle and ate without electronics.