After we were released I ran off the stage to find Leah waiting for me at the stairs. I jumped into her arms and she spun us around a few times before she put me down. I pulled her into a siring kiss as everyone around us slowly made their way out of the theater. Leah and I took a few moments to ourselves before we slowly made our way outside to meet our families. Hand in hand we approached our respective mother's and none of them looked happy.
"Just remember we are going to be okay." Leah said in my ear just before her sisters came over to us and almost tackled us into hugs.
They broke up the tension a bit and we were able to hug them and a few of our friends who we saw leaving the theater. Uncle Trent threw his muscular arm around my shoulders and lead us over to the car.
"Not going to lie, they aren't happy about what you said, just thought you should know." Uncle Trent said and opened the door for me.
"I kind of figured that, thanks for the warning through." I said and flashed him a smile.
Uncle Trent got into the back seat with me as Kristin and Taylor got into the front of the car. They didn't say anything as we drove out of the parking lot. We were planning on going out to a nice lunch before the graduation party tonight at Leah's house. But that plan might be up in the air now.
"Is Leah going with you?" Taylor asked breaking up the long period of silence.
"Yea, we were flying out to Boston to visit Lynn and then flying to Ireland. We've been planning this for about a year, only realizing we both wanted this around New Year's." I answered.
"Why didn't you tell us before now?" Kristin asked sounding a bit hurt.
"Because I didn't want to give you the chance to say no. College and stuff will always be there but getting to travel Europe young and in love is something that I will only get to do once in a lifetime. I feel like I have this second chance at life and I want to live it to the fullest." I said and took a breath.
Uncle Trent took my hand and I looked over to him. He gave me a tight lip smile and gave my hand a squeeze. I moved to the middle seat and let him wrap his arm around me. When we pulled up to a red light Kristin and Taylor look at each other and sighed.
"We are going to talk to Carmen and Gabby about this when we see them later to talk about it alright." Taylor said and started to drive as the light turned green.
I didn't say anything but gave them a smile. I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket and I pulled it out to find a few texts from Leah. She spilled the beans to Carmen and Gabby and they didn't take it all that great either. Both of them wanted to talk to Kristin and Taylor about everything. I just hope that our parents know that we aren't asking for permission to go. Leah and I were getting on that plane in a week whether they like it or not.
Lunch with my parents and Uncle Trent went pretty well considering everything. The conversation was civil and they asked me more about our plans for Europe. I didn't go into detail with them though because I don't want them to realize that Leah and I didn't have plans to come home at the end of the summer. Uncle Trent picked up on my tries to change the subject and he went into detail about his new security job.
When we finished lunch Taylor dropped Uncle Trent off at his apartment and drove us home. We had some time before the party started later and I just relaxed and actually started to pack. With our plans being for an extended stay I knew I would need to pack a lot of stuff. But bringing a large suit case is not ideal. I sighed and just sat on my floor and looked around my room. There was a lot I wanted to bring with me but I knew I couldn't.
I picked up my phone and called Uncle Trent. With his time in the military and working private security around the world maybe he has an opinion on how to pack lighter. He answered after a few rings.
"Didn't I just leave you guys like 20 minutes ago?" He asked.
"You did but I need help with packing and what to bring on my trip and I thought who else to ask then my favorite world traveling uncle." I said and flipped open my luggage.
"I'm your only Uncle. I would say that it's easy to buy clothes when your there. You don't have to bring everything with you. But you can always use some of the apartments I have in Europe for storage and to stay in if you like. I'm going to put a list together of them all tonight and give them to you so you have it." Uncle Trent said.
"Have I ever told you you're the best?" I said and looked at my closet.
"Just once or twice. Don't over think it too much Erica, pack what you want to bring and buy the rest there. I have a feeling that you are going to be there longer then the summer so you'll end up buying whatever you need anyway." Uncle Trent said.
"I'll see you at the party." I said and hung up the phone a few seconds later.
With his advice in mind I took a look through my closet and started to pack. I'm also bringing a duffle bag and a backpack so I have more room to put clothes and things. It took a few hours but I think I got everything I wanted in my suitcase. When I was done I checked the time and saw I needed to get ready for the party.
It didn't take me long to change into my party outfit which consisted of a white spaghetti strap tank top with a blue stripe button down shirt on top of it along with a pair of jean shorts. After I was done I ran some gel through my hair to keep it from expanding in the humidity of the night. Once I was done I met Kristin and Taylor in the living room and we left a few minutes later.
The ride to Leah's house was a quiet one. Nothing really needed to be said. We all know what's going to happen know and I just wanted to try and enjoy this last night together with my friends and family. When we got to their house Carmen and Gabby were waiting for Kristin and Taylor as Nina pulled me into the backyard to help them finish getting everything ready for the party. Leah came out of the house a few minutes later and I pulled her into a tight hug.
"How did it go?" I asked as she pulled away from me.
"There was a lot of yelling in the beginning. They slowly started to calm down and now they are coming around to it. I hoping that your parent's will talk some sense into them. Our flight leaves in 4 days." Leah said reminding me.
"I know babe, but hey, lets just have fun tonight and we will deal with everything else later." I said and tried to kiss away the pout on her face.
It took a few kisses but it worked. Leah and I didn't get to long together before we were broken up by Spencer and Lexi who pulled us in the direction of the bar claiming that the bartender will hook us up with drinks tonight. He didn't, but that didn't stop them from bringing their own.
The party went off without a hitch. Carmen and Gabby definitely know how to throw a party. The food was great and the DJ was going at it all night. Leah and I were attached at the hip for most of the party. Spencer and Lexi snuck us some drinks that loosened me up and towards the end of the night I didn't want this party to end. We were all having a good time and then our parents came up to us on the dance floor and pulled us away from the party.
We walked inside the house and all sat down at their dining room table. The party is still very much still going on outside as we could hear the music from all the way in here.
"Look we just wanted to know why you guys didn't tell us about wanting to go to Europe." Gabby opened up.
"Well at first it was just a pipe dream for me. Before things got bad I always had a list of places I wanted to visit. When I got home and shared it with Leah she jumped on it. It started to snow ball from there but we wanted to do it all on our own." I offered.
"When Erica wrote that line into her speech because we wanted to tell you our plans. Whether you agreed with them or not, we are going to be leaving in 4 days." Leah added.
"Look we all talked it over and we wanted to give you guys our blessing to go." Taylor said.
"I've already called my lawyers and made an addendum to our trust fund Leah and I'm going to be giving you early access to it. I don't want you to drain it but it is there for you to use while in Europe." Carmen said.
"And Erica we have moved the money from your college savings into your account so you will be able to use it if need be." Kristin said.
Leah and I just looked at each other before we jumped towards our parents pulling them into hugs. The last weight I had lifted off of my shoulders and I just got even more excited for our trip. Our hugging was cut short when we heard the door open and close. We all turned around and saw Uncle Trent walk inside with a notebook in his hand.
"I don't want to interrupt anything but I just want to give this to you Erica. It's that list we talked about on the phone. I got in touch with my security contacts in Europe and they gave me access to different homes in varies countries along with phone numbers of our security offices in each country." Uncle Trent said and handed me the notebook.
I pulled him into a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It didn't take long for Carmen and Gabby to start talking with Trent about his work while Leah and I snuck away back to the party.
With nothing left but to just finish packing Leah and I had nothing to worry about. I know our trip came as a shock to our parents' but I'm just happy that they came around. They had a few conditions they wanted us to adhere to but other than that they aren't going to stop us. I know they technically can't stop us because we are both 18 but it's nice to know that they gave us their blessing.