It's About Time

I'm Gonna Miss You Babe

Natalie stood by the car with her friends as her mom piled the last of the boxes into the van.  Her eyes raked over her house, blurry with unshed tears.  A hand rested on Natalie's arm.

"Did you ever get a hold of him?"  Sabrina's face was a mix of curiosity and concern and Natalie did not have to ask who she was referring to.  She shook her head sadly.

"Nope.  I called him a few more times but he's doing a really good job with the whole 'hating me' thing" Natalie mumbled.   The girls all gave her sympathetic looks and she turned away.

"Do you need any help, Mom?"  She called across the yard.  Her mom paused, hoisting the cardboard box she was holding up onto her hip and using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"No, it's okay sweetheart.  Take your time with the girls", her mom called back.  Natalie nodded and turned back to the group, leaning into Sabrina.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys", she whispered sadly.  Sabrina pulled Natalie in for a bone crushing hug and Sarah and Scarlett both moved closer so they could be a part of it.  Too soon, they broke apart with tears in their eyes and sad smiles on their faces.

"We can't do this yet", Scarlett said with a watery laugh.  "You don't leave for another hour.  We are not saying goodbye yet."

Natalie was about to agree but was cut off by a sharp smack to her chest. She winced and grabbed her chest, turning to glare at the culprit.

"That was my boob!" she groaned.  Sabrina waved a hand dismissively and grabbed Natalie's arms, spinning her so they were face to face.  Natalie could see the gears turning quickly in Sabrina's head.

"His brother!" Sabrina squealed.  Natalie took a second to try and decipher the meaning of Sabrina's outburst but came up with nothing.  Seeing her confusion, Sabrina let out an exasperated sigh.

"Grayson's brother!  Call him instead!  You have to find some way to let that boy know you're leaving."  Sabrina said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  And it was.  Natalie mentally kicked herself for not thinking of Logan sooner and grabbed her phone from her pocket.  She squeezed Sabrina quickly and thanked her before putting some space between herself and the group.

Dialing his number, she tensely waited for him to answer.  He picked up after about three rings.

"Hey babe, what's up?"  Natalie smiled fondly at the nickname- a recent development- that Logan had picked for her.  He had decided that if she was going to be around then she deserved a "cool nickname" and seeing as she was "super hot and totally in love with him", Logan had picked babe.  Natalie sometimes forgot that he was only a few years older than her because he was such a father figure to Grayson.  It was really easy to forget that he was just a young guy that wanted to have fun.

"Hey stud," Natalie chuckled, using the nickname that Logan had asked her to use.

"What's up?  I haven't seen you in a while and Grayson's been really weird lately."  His voice was thick with concern at the mention of his brother and Natalie's heart gave a painful squeeze.