Under these Stars

Chapter 34: Goodbyes

"Don't leave me alone with this fool!" Finny grabs onto me tightly as I half-drag him as I try to walk out the door. With Al gone, it's just my uncles and Ollie. Well, my uncles are busy and rarely both present in the house. Like right now, Uncle Chris is already at the hospital working. However, Uncle Mark doesn't have any clients because he wanted to see me leave.

Now that I think about it, I am beginning to worry about leaving. The twins might actually burn the house down.

"Oh my god. This is a nightmare!" Ollie gasps horrifically as the situation dawns on him. He lunges at me and tugs me down.

I pause. "You guys know where the fire extinguisher is?"

The two of them pause their theatrics and look at me as if I am crazy.

"Do we have one?" Ollie asks genuinely.

My eyes widen. I look up to a groggy Uncle Mark blinking at us. His brain slowly processes the scene.

"They'll be fine." He waves at them half-heartedly as he drinks his coffee. For a psychologist who has studied humans half his life, his statement still raises some doubt. Scratching his bedhead, he walks over in his home slippers and pushes my brothers away gently.

"All grown up," he lifts me in a big hug as he squeezes me. A concerned look crosses his face as he puts me down. "You'll be okay? We can come visit you when you're settled. Do you have enough money? Did you pack everything? How about-?"

He stops himself and gets a little flustered. "Sorry, I'm bombarding you with questions."

"It's okay," I laugh and give him a big hug. It's my first time being away from my family so long. It's not surprising my uncle is getting all worried.

"I'll call you when I get to Palo Alto. I'll call you all often." I try to reassure them.

"Are you sure you don't need us to bring you to the airport?" My uncle asks again.

"Yes, Mason said he would bring me."

My uncle pouts. Unlike my brothers, my uncles aren't as overprotective and respect my decisions.

Speaking of Mason, he has just parked in front of the house. I wave at him. He waves back as approached my uncle and brothers.

"Bye Del," my uncle and two brothers squeeze me in one last hug.

"Can't ...breathe..." I struggle before they let me go.

"Mason." The twins cross their arms and stare menacingly at him.

"Oliver and Finn." He nods curtly but respectively before grabbing my stuff for me.

"Behave yourselves." I poke the twins before leaving. "Love y'all!"

I get inside Mason's car as we drive to the airport. 

"So..." the two of us begin at the same time.

"You first," I nod towards him just as he gestures toward me.

"I got a job that pays well so I can start to save up and quit my other jobs." He sounds relieved but I can sense there is more to it.

"Wow, what type of job? I'm proud of you." I grin. I'm happy he's moving on and trying to find a steady income.

"I'm going to be interning under a private investigator and apply for the university nearby to get my bachelors."

His statement comes as a small surprise. I can see that he wants to get revenge or justice because of his father so that's why he's going this route. The college part is more surprising. There are a handful of universities nearby and they're all renowned. I don't doubt his intelligence but it can be pricey and competitive.

"The private PI is paying me enough and has connections so if I continue working with him for a year I can save up enough money." He continues to explain.

"Sounds like you've really thought this through. Go for it." I squeeze my hand within his and give him a supportive smile. "Do you enjoy law and want to go down that route for yourself?"

"To be honest, I don't know what else to do. I think being a private investigator is really interesting and I can figure out what I actually like to do as I work with him." He's playing it by ear but I can tell he's done some serious thinking. He lightens up and smiles at me.

"Of course, I'll still make time for you." He playfully nudges my shoulder with his

"Well mister, I should hope so." I wink but also haven't thought about how this will affect us. I'm trying not to think too much into the future because then I'll start to get anxiety.

"Oh. What did you want to tell me?" He asks now.

"Ah, it's not as important as what you said." I laugh it off. However, Mason merely looks at me patiently for what I have to say. 

"I don't think I want to go pro for soccer. This training camp in Stanford is supposed to be training for the international tournament. It's a big fucking deal. I can potentially qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup this year if I play well. And at this pace, I could actually do it. I just feel like I want to try new things and I'm having doubts. It would be a waste to just quite soccer, but I think I would rather go to college and focus on that." 

"How is that not important?" Mason sighs. "Do you enjoy soccer?"

"Yeah, I do." I love soccer despite the grueling training.

"If this training camp is such a big deal, then you should try your best and see where it goes. You have another year of high school so you can potentially stop going professional and become a full-time student. There's still time. I feel like you know yourself well enough that you will know what to do. Sure, it's pretty crazy right now and you have doubts...but everyone has doubts. I'll be there for you." He gives me a small, supportive smile. My heart feels full as he gazes at me lovingly. I've got it bad for him. He's already helped my mood so much. 

"Thanks Mason." I lean in to kiss him on the cheek. 

Soon, we arrive at the airport. As he gets my things, I start feeling sad as I realize I won't be seeing him for another month or more. I feel like I'm going to get hit with homesickness pretty hard. I can feel my worrying and some anxiety start to spike up. I try to calm myself and take deep breaths. 

"Hey," Mason puts my things down and lifts my chin up towards him. "You'll be okay. Come here," he pulls me in for a deep hug. I take another deep breath and his scent fills my senses. It helps me calm down a little. 

"I'm going to miss you," I whisper softly into his ear.

"I will too." He says. 

"Bye," I go in for a quick kiss and head inside. I look back to see him still looking at me. I smile as he waves at me. 

____

A/N

Short and simple. She's gone! 

Next chapter will be more intense :)

Thank you for waiting!