𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫- 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐨𝐰

17.

「 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 」

    we all huddled up in the airport when it was time for me to leave. i told them it would be fine if i went on my own, but they all argued that they wanted to come with.

"i'll miss you so much." elaine wraps her arms around me in a hug. lilah, madison, and madelyn join in, squeezing me tightly to the point I was having trouble breathing. "okay, i can't breathe." i chuckle.

"are we just gonna be thrown away or something? cause it looks like we wont even be able to say goodbye." austin speaks up where he waits with the guys.

"my bad my bad." i roll my eyes with a smile and walk over to the guys.

i hug them one by one until i reach rudy. last night was different with him. instead of having our usual fun, i finally let things loose and opened up to him. after all he deserved to know what was going on.

"hey..." he trails off awkwardly. tears threaten to fall from his eyes when he made eye contact with me.

"please don't cry." i chuckle.

he smiles and laughs under his breath, looking down at his feet. "i'm sorry about last-"

"don't be sorry. just caught up in the moment was all." i made that excuse the whole day. i wasn't sure how he felt, but i was in denial that he actually liked me.

"right." rudy agrees with me. "will things be awkward?"

i wrap my arms around him, catching him off guard. i lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. even after two weeks it all felt too real standing in front of him. "not at all. don't worry about it."

rudy wraps his arms around me comfortingly. he sniffles in my ear as the tears slipped down his cheeks. i haven't seen him cry once. i didn't even think he was the type to cry. "i'll miss you."

"i'll miss you too. i promise i'll facetime you every night, okay?" i mumble into his shirt.

"i'll be waiting."

i pull away from his hug and grab my luggage. "i'll miss you all. please don't cry."

"oh we aren't." drew says a little too quickly. "why would we cry for you?"

"i wouldn't cry for you either." i joke. "see you all soon. thank you guys so much for this opportunity, i won't forget it!"

they all wave and say their last goodbyes. i turn away and start for the plane. i'm like the movies said, i don't turn around or else i might actually cry more.

i hand the ticket to the worker and board the plane. this is going to be a long 5 hours.

once i get to the next airport, i grab my luggage from the baggage claim and call an uber to take me back to my house.

the air just felt different here. i already missed their laughter and presence the moment i stepped outside. it almost felt like i was missing apart of me, but on the brighter side i get to see davine and carter again.

the uber drops me off in front of my house. i didn't miss it at all, in fact i even hated standing in front of it. the atmosphere reminded me of alcohol and drugs, that's all i can say.

i walk into the house to the smell of alcohol. my dad is propped up on the couch watching a football game. i bottle of beer stood on the table next to him.

"hey." i mumble, struggling to get my bags into the house.

"look who's back!" my dad stands up with his arms out wide.

i stand in front of him full of fear. at first i expect him to hit me, but I'm shocked when he wraps me in a hug. "i missed you."

just like the house, he smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. i didn't know how to react to the hug at all. "i-i missed you too."

he lets me go and sits back down on the couch. "your mom is upstairs."

i nod my head and quickly leave with my things. i make my way up to her room where my dad told me she would be. "hi."

"honey you're back." she averts he eyes away from the line of cocaine on the bedside table. her eyes are bloodshot red. can't she stay away from drugs for one day?

"yeah, i am." i nod my head. "i'm going to unpack."

i drop off my things in my room, but instead of unpacking i get in my car and make my way to davine's house. i expect carter to be there too since they're always hanging out, so i don't bother to text either of them.

i climb the stairs to her apartment room and knock on the door. hopefully she's here like i expect her to be. both of them know i came back today, so they might be waiting.

like i thought, davine opens them door, screaming right when she lays her eyes on me. "yes yes!"

"hello to your too." i laugh, hugging her tightly. i missed her so much over the two weeks. it wasn't much of a time gap even though it is to her considering we barely spent a week away from each other.

"kayla!" carter practically rips me away from davine to hug me himself. "god we missed you so much."

"i missed you both too."

"does this mean we can have a party with the three of us?" davine shuts her door excitedly.

"duh!"