Yours Truly

Chapter 23

"Can we just not go to college and form a girl group?" Desi asks with a lighthearted laugh.

Lily gives her an incredulous look. "And name it 'Fifth Harmony'?" she teases sarcastically.

But apparently her friend can't understand sarcasm because Desi just nods her head enthusiastically. "That's a good one, Lily! We should definitely do it."

Naomi, Carina, Desi, and Amanda's individual laughter rings into the night and suddenly, it's the best sound Lily has ever heard. She sits there with a happy smile on her face. She's really going to miss this.

--

Waking up Naomi and Desi the next morning was one of the hardest things that Lily, Carina, and Amanda have ever done. They refused to budge and at one point, Lily actually thought they were dead because no matter what they did to them, they didn't react in the slightest. Between the three of them, they tried just about everything whether it was sitting on them, nudging them, tickling them, patting their faces, tugging their limbs, screaming at them, etc. Desi and Naomi were absolutely resilient little monsters.

What finally woke them up was Carina pouring water on top of their heads. Never has Lily seen Desi and Naomi's eyes crack open faster and never has she ever seen them filled with so much hostility. Carina looked like she was scared for her life when they both shot up from their beds with the most vicious looks on their faces. Hell, Lily was frightened too and she wasn't even the one who their anger was aimed towards.

The next 10 minutes were basically spent with Naomi and Desi chasing a hysterically crying and pleading Carina around the room.

Once Amanda and Lily played mediators and everyone calmed down, they packed up the car and along they went back home. This car ride isn't much different than the car ride up here. Amanda is driving, Naomi fell asleep as soon as her head leaned back against her pillow, Carina is rambling on about some weird dream she had last night that involved her being friends with a personified banana, Desi is making the playlist for the duration of the car ride, and Lily is staring at her bright-eyed girlfriend while holding her hand. Lily couldn't have asked for better people to be cramped up in this tiny ass car with.

But miraculously, Carina's detailed commentary about her adventures with the walking and talking banana eventually wore her out because then she just silently sprawls across the back seat with her head resting on Lily's lap and legs on top of Naomi's lap. Carina looks up directly at Lily and smiles softly before mouthing, "I love you." Lily caresses her cheek affectionately as she mouths those three words back. Then just like that, Carina's eyes closes and before Lily knows it, she's sleeping.

"You owe me 5 bucks, D," Lily says to her friend with a smirk. "I told you she would fall asleep on the way back."

Desi rolls her eyes and grumbles underneath her breath as she takes her wallet out of her purse and aggressively fishes out a crisp five-dollar bill. Lily blows her a kiss once she snatches it out of her hand and puts it inside her own purse.

Then she places her hand on top of Carina's stomach and leans her head against the window. She smiles down at Carina peacefully dozing away. Might as well try to get some shut-eye since she's off girlfriend-sitting duty now.

-

Lily trudges in through her front door lugging her suitcase behind her, totally drained. Long car rides tend to do that to her.

Her dad is sitting on the couch watching TV when she walks in and he immediately smiles widely at her in greeting and hops out of his seat to help Lily.

"How was the trip with the girls?" he asks, giving her a quick kiss on the head before easily lifting her suitcase up with one hand and resting it on his shoulder.