"Can we get going now? It's really cold out here." Aria shivers, holding her arms tightly around her body. Breygan stares at her, biting his lip as if that would stop him from holding her close to him. Yet he never moved. Maybe he noticed I was staring, or maybe he just simply chickened out but he should have made a move.

"Yeah, let's head to the truck. Who is the wettest and coldest? We need to try and shove all of you girls in the truck to keep you guys warm. Breygan do you trust one of them to drive the truck?" Staton tried to make a plan, but everyone seemed staggered in thought.

"No, absolutely not!" Breygan nearly shouts, his fiery personality growing bolder in the cold frosty air. It'd gotten dark while we were talking. The waves were the only thing reminding us where we were as we worked through our thoughts.

We had to continue on, going home would mean we were giving up. Maybe everyone didn't believe that, but we were a team, a new family. We had to stick together.

"It's fine, the other two girls can sit in the front and I'll sit in the back with you." My voice was much softer than the others. I was mostly just speaking to Staton hoping he would just go with it. We needed to get back on the road, or else we would be spending the night here, on the beach, freezing our asses off in the midst of the waves.

Staton looked at me as if I had kicked him in the gut. I could see the worry in his eyes, having me in the back of the truck with him. I rubbed my hands across my sleeves. I had a sweatshirt I could throw on that had been in the truck. It'd be warmer than the wet shirt I was currently wearing.  After you count all the blankets that we had gathered, we should be able to manage a few hours drive in the back of the truck without freezing. I shrugged my shoulders closing the distance between the two of us. Whatever it took to make sure he knew I was serious. We needed to get back on the road before we could really do anything else.

"Well then let's get to California," Breygan mutters, much softer than before. We never really got along all that well, but things had never been this bad between us. It was easy for us to just ignore us. Usually, Breygan was the joker of the group and I was the mother. Staton and I were always teased that we were the parents, trying to take care of everyone.

The group heads towards the truck, assembling our things before taking our seats. Off in the direction towards hopefully a sunnier state.

~*~

The sun was bright, nearly burning my skin.

"We are going to have amazing tans after this." I groaned.

I stare up at the bright blue sky, amazed at how different a state line could make things. We'd crossed the California border hours again, heading towards one of the bigger cities. Praying that we could make it there by lunchtime. Our snacks were running out, spending most of our time chowing down while driving, but nothing could satisfy our hunger.

We needed to sit down somewhere to eat. To find a place we could nourish our bodies and relax. We would have to figure out a place to live, which would mean we would need jobs. Eventually, we would have to find somewhere to settle down. Whether that was here in California or across the country.

"Where do you think we should settle down?" I question, trying to cover up as much of my exposed skin as I could. California was hot enough I'd taken my sweater off, hoping to dry out my shirt. Once my shirt was dry, the sun had only gotten hotter.

"Somewhere other than this. I think we should go to the east coast..." Staton trailed off. I cocked my head to get a better look at him. His hair a mess, his clothes clinging to his body in wrinkles.

We all needed to shower, we all needed to brush our teeth and hair. I couldn't even imagine how gross we probably smelled or looked at the moment.

"Tell me why again, remind me of the dream." I needed water, but the effort to raise my hand and knock on the window was too much. I just wanted a distraction. The gun fires still echoing in my brain. I tried my best to bury them down, to hide them away. We were miles away. Those people were hopefully caught by the police, and still, no one has died.

I couldn't let this consume me.

"You mean the Victorian style house? The large oak lane that leads to our property, with Spanish moss hanging from the branches until it kisses the ground. So that it can sway in the breeze. The swing on the wraparound porch, the horses in the pasture. Everything is perfect, you are there sitting next to me, we are holding hands drinking our sweet tea..." I could see the happiness in his eyes.

I couldn't help but wonder if we would have stayed, and not decided to run away from home if our parents would have given us our dream.

They have the money for it.

They have the personality for it.

But would they truly know the two of us well enough to know what we would want?

That was the real concern.

It didn't matter that our parents were the main reason we were together. Forcing us to hang out with each other at first, trying to set us up for the status symbol of our parents companies. The biggest reason we hid our relationship from them for the longest time, but eventually we realized they didn't care about us. They were using us as an excuse to hang out with each other. A reason for our parents to get together, have a glass of wine and talk business.

We were the excuse.

After we were able to remove that pressure from our friendship and our relationship things started to flourish. We were truly meant for eachother.

"I never imagined myself living on the east coast. But I can't imagine myself living without you." I smiled, feeling the drunken haze of the sun's rays taking over my body once again. I closed my eyes allowing the trucks motion to sway me soothingly.

"Really, cause I'm willing to give that all up for you." Staton reaches across the truck bed placing his hand on mine. He squeezes it gently. I open my eyes to see him smiling back at me.

"I hope we are there soon."

~*~

"Let's go to the pool!" Aria shouts, pulling her bikini out of her bag. I rolled my eyes, stepping into the room. This place was nicer than where we should be. Honestly, we should be saving as much of our money as possible, instead of spending it on a suite that was over three hundred per night.

"That's what happens when you have too many rich kids in a room." Staton whispers, rubbing his hands on my shoulders. I cock my head to look at him, a little confused at how he knew what I was thinking. I nod my head, watching as the rest of the crew runs around the room picking their beds.

"You have to shower before you can go to the pool, with your stinky ass." Breygan teases, his eyes searching Aria's body. She glares at him, grabbing a few more items from her bag before heading towards the shower.

"I mean if your offering I guess I will take one." She winks, closing the door behind her. A few seconds later the water was running.

"You guys should really pay more attention to how much money we are spending this quickly." Julia whines, plopping down on the couch. She had a good point and though the others didn't want to listen, I was on her side.

"How long do you guys really think we can go without getting jobs?" I had to be the first to ask. My heart racing as everyone that was left in the room stops to look at me.

"As long as we need  to go, now come on get showered. We are going out tonight to celebrate." I cocked my head to look at Breygan. Did he really think going out tonight would be a good idea?

"Where do you think we are going?" I folded my arms across my chest, my annoyance only growing with the ticking seconds.

"There is the club by the water that looks really cool." He smirks, holding his phone up as if that would be enough to prove to me that the club was a good idea.

"Do they allow 'minors' because I'm not staying here by myself." Julia was noticeably concerned with the plan. She was the youngest in the group and the only one that wouldn't be able to enter a bar.

Breygan rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath about her age. He stormed out of the room, heading towards to suite that him and Aria would be sharing.

"Better be ready, we are heading out at eight." He shouts slamming the door behind him.

"Are we really already falling apart?" I turn to look at Staton. He folds his arms over his chest as well, leaning against the doorway to our room.

"Don't worry Julia, the two of us won't bail on you." He smiles, shakes his head, and heads into our very own bathroom.

I take a seat next to Julia on the couch, catching a glimpse of the view. I couldn't help but feel a pit in my stomach. The thought of going out tonight to party seemed wrong.

"I have a feeling tonight's going to be awful!" Julia  wells up slightly, biting her lower lip as she looks at me. My eyes dance across her caramel tones, trying my best to soothe her. But I had the same feeling.

"Hopefully they will snap out of it, but I think they've just been locked up in the truck too long." I chuckled lightly, trying to play things off the best I can.

"Just be glad you weren't sitting with them in the truck. Those two aren't dating yet, but it's coming." Julia nodded her head, allowing her eyes to widen at the thought of Aria and Breygan.

I nod my head, they've been a couple in the making for years. But neither of them will make the first move.

"This really is such a beautiful view." Julia whispers, turning away from me. She stares off towards the window, her eyes catching the ocean.

"It is, I used to wish I lived in a hotel like this. I wanted to live as high as possible so I could see as far as the eye could see. Then I realized that if you are that high, then there's probably other building blocking your view. I grew out of it the first time we moved and lived in a hotel, before we made our way to the Seattle area." Julia rolled her eyes.

"Who would ever want to live in a hotel? The thought of all the guests always being around, and nothing is ever really yours." Julia shook her head. "That's not the lifestyle for me."

"It isn't for me either, I guess that's kind of why we are both here though." I shrugged pulling myself off the couch. "I guess if we are being forced to go out tonight we might as well look good. I'm going to go start getting ready." I tried to force a smile.

I swear I really did.

But as hard as I tried to convince myself otherwise, something just did not feel right about tonight.