headphones, michael clifford

- CHAPTER NINETEEN

━━ Jade Clifford,
September fourteenth, 
Twenty Days left. ━━

Twenty days until our dads ship themselves off to London for god knows how long, and Twenty days until I'm stuck with my Grandma.

I started writing down my packing list on the kitchen counter while my dad ran around like he was a chicken and he lost his head.

"I said, It's fine, dad." I repeated myself as he continued running around the kitchen, saying sorry a million times a minute for asking where things were. "Stop freaking out."

"I'm serious, Jade!" He stressed, sitting down across from me.

"So am I!" I laugh.

He gives me a sad smile, and I give him a neutral smile back. Him and I are never away from each other for more than two nights. It's unusual for us.

"Have you figured out how long you'll be away?" I ask.

"At least it's a month, I think." He tells me.

"At least?" I whine out.

"Love, Songwriting takes a long time. It's gonna suck, I know but that's how a musician's life is."

"I know I know, but I'm gonna miss you." I told him. "what's at most?"

I can see that he's nervous to tell me so I furrow my eyebrows, "What?"

"At most It's six months, but it can vary." He slowly tells me.

I sigh in defeat, knowing I should just accept this. "It's fine. . . At least I won't be with mom." I say.

"Me too, God. I don't know what I'd do. But I'll be home before you know it! and I'll Facetime you every chance I get, and bring you home awesome souvenirs."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

—

━━ September sixteenth, 
Eighteen days left. ━━

"Lils?" I mumble, "What would you pack if your dad was leaving you alone with your grandma for god knows how long?"

She laughs softly as she sets aside her computer, pausing her homeschooling to answer my question.

"No Idea, JJ. However, I would pack a ton of things. But also buy a ton of things. I haven't even started packing for my mom's house yet, Carter is spending as much time with our dad as he can right now."

I frown, "I don't want to go to Australia alone, Lils."

"I know, I'm sorry." She frowns. "It'll be over before you know it. And we'll facetime everytime we get, and have a movie night. My mom's so excited to spend at most six months with me."

Lillian and her mom never really see each other. There's no bad reason, just that Lillian is her dad's daughter and Carter is his mom's son. If that makes sense.

"As much as I'm nervous, I'm excited to see my Grandparents." I nod.

She opens her mouth to speak, but stops when her phone buzzes. "Shit, My dad's here to pick me up." She grabs her bag and stuffs her things inside. "I'll see you Tuesday, Okay? I love you!"

I smiled and walked her to the door, "I love you more! Hi Uncle Cal!" I waved to my Uncle who waved back with a smile. Once I knew they were safe and out of my gated driveway, and once I knew it was closed, I went back inside.

Sadly, My dad was out doing some last minute things before he leaves in Eighteen days. I decided I wanted to stay home with Lillian so that we could talk and hangout, so In conclusion, I was alone.