Falling | h.s

one

JANIE'S POV

Golden. Everything is utterly golden. 

It was 7:38pm on a Saturday night and everything, for the first time in a long time, was perfect. The sun was almost completely set but the remaining golden light lit up the highway. The sun just seemed brighter here, happier. I haven't felt like this in years and I wasn't sure the next time I would feel so free. I never wanted to leave. I don't want to go home. 

The car was loud, as it always was. A Lumineers song blared through the stereo as I drove down the California highway. Emma bobbed her head to the beat while Zoey and Bella chatted in the backseat.

"Do y'all want to call it a night in, like," I looked at the clock, "twenty minutes?"

"Sounds good to me," Emma said as Zoey and Bella agreed.

"I'll find a motel or something close by," Bella says, already searching.

Before our trip, I hadn't seen them in months. After we graduated high school, we all went our separate ways for college, only seeing each other over Christmas breaks. We made new friends, met new people, and made new homes at our colleges. But they were still the people I called when anything big happened, good or bad. Every Christmas break we would meet up, drink a bottle of wine each, and catch up on anything. After our trip, who knows when we would see each other again. Emma was headed to grad school to become a therapist, Bella had a job lined up at an interior design studio in Charleston, and Zoey was about to start her first year of med school.

We've been talking about this since junior high – our big trip out West after graduation. We agreed that after they graduated college, we'd drop everything, rent an RV, and drive down the California coast until they hit Los Angeles. For four girls from Johnson City, Tennessee, California seemed like worlds away. We dreamed about it, talked about it, and planned it for 9 years. True to our word, days after the official commencement, we reunited in our little hometown and set out to see the world, together for the last time in a long time.

"Okay, there's a little motel off of Exit 82, and it looks like there's a bar just a block away from it," Bella informs us.

"Oh thank God. I need a drink," Zoeys huffs and we all agreed. As much as we have loved our trip, the constant driving was more exhausting than any of us had expected. I heard buzzing coming from the cup holder and realized someone was calling me.

"Will you check that?" I turn to ask Emma who was already reaching for it.

"It's Charlie," Emma said and I sigh. "Do you want me to answer it?" She asks and I shake my head.

"No, I'll call him once we check-in."

"How many times has he called you, jeez," Zoey asks.

"This was the fourth call in the last hour," Emma says, making me sigh again.

"He just misses you," Bella pipes up. "We have been gone for awhile."

"Yeah, I know," I agree, taking exit 82 towards the motel. "I just wish he'd ease up a bit." The girls hum in agreement. They knew him almost as well as I did. We met sophomore year of high school and have been together ever since. In a town, and a school as small as ours, you get to know everybody well, especially when they're dating your best friend. They've seen our whole relationship play out and held my hand through the goods and the bads. These days, there seem to be more bads than goods, though. 

Within minutes we pull up to the rundown motel. The paint was chipped and the flickering florescent sign was headache inducing. Throughout our month on the road together, we had gotten used to the creaky mattresses and boring decor and come to love the little crappy motels. We park and I hop out to grab my bag but Emma picks it up first.

"Go, call Charlie. We'll check-in and meet you back out here, okay?" She says and I smile and nod.

"And say hi to him for us!" Zoey calls from the door of the motel. I shoot her a thumbs-up as my three best friends grin back at me. I inhale deeply and take a slow exhale. 

I sit on the bench outside the entrance of the motel and dial his number by heart. I keep my eye closed as it rings. After only two rings, I hear his familiar voice.

"Hey, baby! How's everything going?" He chirps. I smile at his enthusiasm and am happy I called at a time he seemed to be in a good mood. 

"It's good! We're like two or three hours outside of Malibu but wanted to stop for the night anyway. How was your day?" I ask, crossing my legs and staring out at the highway. 

"Same ole same ole. This client is being a pain in the neck but it is what it is. What're you doing now?"

"I'm sitting outside the motel. It's sunset right now. I wish you could see it; it's so beautiful," I hum, feeling soothed by the wind and the sound of the racing cars. 

So, y'all are heading to Malibu tomorrow?" He asks, ignoring my comment. He was always one to cut right to the chase. No bullshit here. 

"Yeah, probably," I respond and he hesitates.

"Probably?"

"I mean, yeah, I'm sure we will. We're just enjoying the journey. We need to come back out here, just the two of us, so you can see how crazy everything is. It's all so different from Tennessee. You would love it, though."

Ignoring the idea of a couple's trip, he simply asks "And y'all will be in Malibu for a week? So you'll be home next Sunday?" It's my turn to pause.

"Again, we're just enjoying the journey. I mean, you know we've wanted to go to Malibu together since we were 13." Charlie sighs and I can imagine him rubbing his eyes.

"Janie, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I've been here, since we were 18, just waiting for you. And now you've gone on this long trip all over the place and you can't even get me a date when you're coming home? It's not fair to me."

"Where is this coming from," I ask, completely taken aback by his outburst. 

"It's how I feel. You know this," He replies sternly. 

"You chose to stay in Johnson City, Charlie. It was your decision to not go to college. Don't say it's unfair of me to go to college and then go on a trip with my friends," I respond, offended by his sudden lashing out.

"There's a difference between going on a post-grad trip with your friends and practically disappearing for weeks. Half the time I don't even know where you are." I stammer, trying to think of a response, but he continues. "Look, I know you're scared about the future but it's time to grow up, come home, and be an adult for once. My dad pulled a lot of strings down at the elementary school for you."

"Charlie, where is this coming from? I–" I interrupt.

"I'm not finished," he says sternly. "You need to stop messing around with your high school friends and drinking all the time and come home to me. I'm sick and tired of waiting for you."

The words cut deep, probably deeper than he intends for them to. I feel angry tears welling in my eyes as I see my friends emerging from the motel to meet me.

"I gotta go, Charlie," I say and hang up before I can hear him protest.

The girls take one look at me before Emma says "Oh, what'd he do." I don't answer, looking down and trying to hold back the tears welling in my eyes. When I look up and they see my distraught face, Zoey throws her arm around me and grins.

"Cmon. Let's go get drunk."