All The Little Lights // c.b

19

I ended up packing my bags the next day. For the next year, I would be living in Australia with my dad and stepmother, and I was not looking forward to it. Dad told me that they had a guest house off the house, which was where I would be staying. Colby joined me for packing, and we stayed pretty much silent the whole time.

"I'll miss you," he says as we zip up my third and final suitcase.

"Me too," I say, and I stack them neatly next to the door.

"Let's spend today together," Colby says, and I look over and nod.

"I hoped you would say that," I say quietly. We get into his car and head to our first stop - Target. We bought bags of chips, cookies, and other snack items for our day. We then went to our second and final stop, which was the beach be brought me to on our first date 4 months ago.

"I love you," He whispers as we sit on the sand, gazing at the water.

"I love you too," I whisper back, and lean into his chest.

"You willing to make this work long-distance?" He asks out of the blue.

"Yes," I say, and tilt my head up to look at him, "don't you dare break up with me now."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he says, and kisses my forehead.

***

The next morning I woke up at 3am, giving myself an hour before the taxi came to pick me up. I opened my phone to no notifications, which made my heart sink for a second until I got the one I was hoping for.

Colby - I love you so much Josie, have a fun time in Australia, although I will miss you like crazy. Call whenever, no matter the time, text me, whatever. Also, I suggest you cancel your taxi, and look out your window.

At that sentence I furrowed my brows together and looked outside, and sure enough there was Colby leaning against his car, a cup of coffee in his hand. I felt the tears come quickly, and I ran out of my apartment and tackled him in a hug.

"You came," I whisper through the tears.

"I'm taking you as far as security will let me go," he whispers, and I hugged him tighter.

"I need my stuff," I mumble and he nods, letting go of me and handing me the coffee.

"I'll get it," he says. Wow, I did not deserve him at all. He loaded up the car then opened the passenger side door for me. I got in and once he was in, we started on the drive to LAX. I felt the nerves bubble inside me, and I felt the tears come again.

"I told him about you, you know, but he still insisted I go," I say, and look at him. He was quiet, and I could swear I could see a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry, Colby," I mumble, and look ahead of me. He grabs my hand and holds it tight.

"You don't need to be sorry, Jo," he says, and I nod.

"No, I do, I should have tried harder to let me stay, or something," I say, and he shakes his head.

"Hey, you got it down from moving forever to moving for a year. You did damn good, Josie," he says, and I smile. We pull into the airport and park, and with his help I check my bags. He walks me to security, where we stand in line holding each other, as if I was leaving forever and not for a year. Although, a year does feel like forever when you are so deeply in love with someone. I get to the front, and check my ticket, and as Colby was about to step through the guard stops him.

"Sorry sir, you can't go past," she says, and I look at him, teary-eyed.

"I will go through security as long as I get to say goodbye to my girlfriend at the gate," he says, and the lady just sighs and hands him a slip of paper. We go through security together and he helps me find my gate. It was already boarding, and I turned to look at him.

"I guess I have to go now," I say, and pull him into a hug.

"I'll visit, I promise," he whispers, and I just nod. I let go when the gate called my section, and went into the line. I scanned my ticket and looked back one more time to watch him blow a kiss for me. I catch it and smile, and walk through the boarding tunnel and onto the plane.

Colby's POV

I waited until I couldn't see her gorgeous red hair anymore before I turned by back. I walked through the airport in a daze, and almost ran three stop lights going home.

"Come in Colby, pull it together. It's just a year," I tell myself as I pull into the trap house driveway.

"Hey, man," Sam says as I enter the house. I wave weakly and go up to my room, laying down face-first on my bed. I lay there for hours, scrolling through my phone occasionally, until Brennen walks in.

"Hey man," he says, and I look at him. He jumps on my bed and practically sits on top of my legs.

"What, bro," I ask, and he pulls out his vlog camera from behind his back.

"Let's make some vlogs for Josie, Alright?" He says, and I sit up.

"Okay," I say finally, and Brennen starts the camera.

Josie's POV

I land in Australia after what felt like an eternity. When I step off and go to baggage claim, my dad is standing there with my stepmom. I grab my three bags, and we each take one as we go to the car. It felt weird coming home, like I didn't belong here. I had lost my Australian accent, and I sounded like a tourist being here.

"Thank you for staying here for a year, Josie," my dad says, and I shrug,

"Yeah," I say, and get in the backseat of the car. The ride home is quiet and awkward, and I just watched the scenery pass by as the radio plays quietly in the background. We finally come to the house, and they help me bring my bags to the small house I'll be staying in for the next year.

"We'll let you get settled, come over to the main house when you are ready," my stepmom says, and I just nod. Once they left, I lay down on the new bed and let the tears fall. I don't want to be here, not at all.

I never went back to the house that day. I woke up the next morning, feeling pissed off and jet lagged. I dressed in a hoodie and jeans and walked to the house, where my dad and stepmom were already up and going.

"Morning, darling!" My stepmom says, lounging on the couch with my dad. I poured myself a cup of coffee as my dad speaks up.

"Josie, what do you want to do today?" My dad asks, and I shrug.

"Nothing," I say,  and take a sip.

"How about we go to lunch then?" He asks, and I shrug.

"I guess. Not with her though," I say, and we both knew who I was talking about.

"Okay, that's okay," my dad says and I nod, going back out the back door to go back to the small guest house. They didn't stop me, and I walked freely away from the main house. I took off my hoodie and replaced it with a tee, then noticed I had some messages from Colby.

Colby - hey, you doing okay?

Me - no. I don't wanna be here. I miss LA.

Colby - bet I miss you more

I smile at the comment and shake my head, getting ready to fight him.

Me - nahhhh

Colby - oh yea? I miss you more than I miss Sam when he leaves

Me - I miss you more than I miss Katrina and Devyn combined

Colby - how abt this? I love you more than food

Me - I love you more than Ella and food combined

Colby - aight you got me there ;)

I smiled and laughed a little, celebrating my small victory, when a knock sounds at the door.

"Josie?" I hear my dad say from the other side of the door.

"One minute!" I say, and I hear a faint Okay from him. I text my goodbyes to Colby then slip on my black vans, meeting my dad outside the house.