There is Something in the Summer Wind, A Moment to Begin Again

Chapter 2: When You Walk Out of the Doorway, It's Just the Place to Start

It made matters worse that everyone (herself included) had their heads up in the clouds and were blinded by their own personal drama that they couldn't see how much EJ was going through behind the scenes. Save for the found family and total strangers at camp (the caterers and the group of people from Wellard) who paid more attention to his (and everyone else's) well-being than the Wildcats did as a team.

"To stay at Aunt Sarah's place for a few days. They just bought a hotel in Louisiana a few weeks ago and are moving in." EJ answered.

Three of his camp friends (Val and the Chan twins) have technically suggested he could stay at their small town (Wellard, Virginia) for the time being, but for some reason EJ decided he wanted to visit his aunt's family instead.

"Send them my regards...I'll miss you, Eej." Ashlyn threw her arms around her cousin for a tight hug.

"I'll miss you too, Ash. But it's ok, we can still video chat. I'm sure the twins would have a lot of questions for you." EJ assured his cousin, returning the hug.

"Could you keep this a secret from the rest of the Wildcats? They're still under the impression we're all rejoining whatever's left of that dumpster fire." Cress chimed in.

"No worries, we can handle damage control." Jerry Chan shook his hand dismissively. "We usually deal with Quad pranks."

"There's a thin line between dealing with your friends and two ladies roasting a grown man to the verge of tears on camera!" Val deadpanned at the twin brother.

"You're always welcome to Wellard if you change your mind." His twin sister Evan added, quickly hugging the three teens.

"Drive safe, Rocketman." Val smiled, before she remembered, "Oh, and say hi to my cousin if you get to meet them. My grandma and cousin's family live in Sulphur Springs."

"You have relatives in Sulphur Springs?" EJ mused, but maybe now is not the time to stop and chat when they need to leave.

"Oh yeah, my mom's from there." Val nodded, before she nudged her childhood friend to get going.

— — — — — — — — — — — —

The Trio quickly made a pit-stop at the hotel to check out and grab their belongings. After that, they had returned to the car to start their journey.

"Are you sure you want to join me?" EJ asked, he wanted to be sure that his friends would join him all the way to Louisiana to stay with his relatives.

"And leave you alone to the dust? Never." Cress scoffed in disbelief, "Whether it's annoying fake friends or ex-girlfriends, I have punched people for you, E. I think we've established that. Yes. I'm with you till the end."

"I told you before and I will say it again: You're one of my best friends, Caswell. And I would never leave you alone. This goes the same to you, Cress." Ten reassured his best friend. "I would die for you, and I wouldn't even think twice."

There was a moment of silence, EJ seemed to be taking his friends' words to heart.

"We'll take turns driving and navigating then, that way we can get there soon." Ten started to switch the subject, already using his phone's navigation system to locate Sulphur Springs.

"We'll need to stop and refuel or eat once in a while." EJ made a reminder. "Maybe we should stay at motels to take breaks."

"Honestly, I'd prefer to stay away from prying eyes. With that mess of a doc out and EJ being one of the main crew, he's basically a celebrity now." Cress pointed out.