Before, After & In-between

Chapter Five- Before

"Seatbelts on?" my dad asks adjusting the review mirror.

"Yes dad."

"Its about a three and half hour drive, so we should get there just in time for lunch."

"I can't wait to eat crab legs and deep fried pickles," Leah says licking her lips

"Ew, that sounds disgusting."

"Your so boring," she says rolling her eyes at me.

Between the two of us we've brought enough snacks and blankets to last us a week.

"Friends, or Ginny and Georgia?" she asks grabbing her iPad from her bag.

"Friends," we say giggling at the same time.

Sometimes I can't believe this is my life, that this is actually happening. That Leah and I both got scholarships to our dream school, and we get to keep running together, live together...sometimes I think it's just a dream I'll wake up from, but I never want to wake up...I hope I never wake up.

"I've got a few places for us to check out, there's one that's really close to the school though and by the looks of it, I think you girls are going to love it."

"I don't care about anything, I just want to see the track," I say, the anticipation bubbling in my stomach, I've only dreamt of running on that track for the last five years and now I finally get to be a Huskie.

                                                                                         ***

"Were about twenty minutes out," I hear my dad say, at some point and I have no idea how Leah and I both dozed off.

I sit up rubbing the sleep from my eyes and roll down the window. The fresh salty air brushes my face and I find myself eagerly gulping it back. I stare at the harbor, at the city surrounded by sparkling waters, where small boutiques hide amongst skyscrapers, where blues blend into turquoise, and you can taste the air before you even smell it. And I know deep in my bones that I want to live here, that I belong here.

"Are you seeing this!" Leah bats my arm excitedly, "this place looks incredible," she rolls her window down and sticks her head out into the wind, "woo-hoo!"

"Leah, get back in here," my dad scolds her gingerly.

"Oh, let her be Rob," my mom turns back and smiles, then she looks at me and her eyes tell a story of pride, of excitement and the fear of change. But this is something we've all been waiting for, it's not just my dream it's our dream. 

So far, we've seen two places, and my mom approves of neither. The first one only had one bedroom even though the listing said two, and the last one had a frat house next door full of drunk boys. It didn't take much for her to immediately discard that option, between the raging music and garbage littered on their front yard it was enough of a red flag.

"Well, this has been uneventful so far," she says in frustration, "how can someone straight up lie about their listing? Don't they realize that it's pretty obvious once you're there that there is only one bedroom!" she huffs.

"I don't see what was wrong with that last one, I mean it seemed nice..." Leah laughs.

I roll my eyes at her, "you would think so wouldn't you."

The last and final place we go through is an older Victorian home with pale blue siding and small, picturesque windows. We climb the stairs to the top floor apartment and walk into a tiny old-fashioned kitchen, its adorned with light wood floors and white crown molding. It's the cutest freaking place I've ever seen, and Leah and I immediately start jumping up and down.