The Catalyst (GirlXGirl)

Chp. 18 "Last Day"

But we needed to plan for it tonight.

I glanced at Avery in the back seat and she smiled slightly, wishing she was next to me holding my hand. She always seemed to make my thoughts calm down even in the worst, most nerve wracking scenarios, and I would need her when I would meet my real parents.

Which was something I was extremely nervous about.

I pulled up into the familiar space, allowing Max to jump out and type the passcode in, unlocking the door. I drove in and out of sight, allowing the door to close behind us as I realized there was a large black Tahoe in the dirt parking lot. My heart sped up as Avery whispered, “Who is that car for?”

I became suspicious, wondering if we weren’t alone. I shook my head, “I don’t know…”

Then as we exited the car and made our way around I realized Gage was already here, but I still felt suspicion. He turned his head at the sound of Max’s voice and stood, “Hey guys, look what I got us for the trip to Louisiana.”

He walked over to the car and I felt my heart beat return to normal as I realized we weren’t in any danger. I smiled, “How did you get this?”

He shrugged, “Well I have a lot of pull at the police station here in Jacksonville and they’re allowing me to use it for whatever we need.”

Avery opened the back doors and chirped up, “Does that include whatever we need? Like more trips other than just to Louisiana?”

He nodded, seeming to be excited and proud of himself all at the same time. I smiled, I had to admit, Gage was super useful when it came to resources. We made our ways over to the couch once more, Gage plopping down first and swinging his arm over the head of the couch. He started, “Ok so the trip from here to Monroe, Louisiana is going to take about 11 hours, just depending on how bad traffic is or not. I researched the address and it is real, just to make sure so when are we planning on leaving?”

I looked at Gage while I thought, “Well, graduation is at 8:00 am and won’t end till at least 9:30 we can leave around 10:30. This will at least guarantee we will be in Louisiana by 9:30 that night.” I sighed, “Have you booked a hotel room?”

Gage nodded, “Yea, your parents sent me the money for you and Avery’s room this morning, Max and I are in a separate room. Is that ok with you? I figured it was necessary…”

I smiled, “Of course that’s fine with me,” my leg found Avery’s knee in the process and I felt her smile into my neck.

Max sighed, “Ok no need for that right now, you’ll get your privacy this weekend!”

Gage smiled, clapping his hands in excitement, “Ok, so we’ll leave at 10:30?”

I looked at Avery, who nodded in full agreement, “Its fine with my dad, he isn’t in town anyway.”

I nodded, “Well, looks like we have a plan. We’ll leave an hour after graduation, make sure you pack the night before though, I don’t want to be late.”