Part 37 (1/2)

Braxton pulls out his phone and sends a message while I run to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. Luka is asleep on the couch, despite me telling my parents to leave her alone. I grab my purse and phone charger before heading outside.

It's dark out here; the light coming from our front porch barely allows me to see anything.

Mom and Dad step through the still open door and check to make sure that everything is ready to go.

”Call or text along the way?” Mom asks, though we both know it's a demand.

”You know I will. And don't worry, we'll be safe,” I say, trying to ease her fears.

”I'm a mom. It's in the job description, right under the part about letting go,” she replies.

”That's right, Mom. No matter what happens, I love you both and you are my parents. Okay?”

She takes my face in her hands and her eyes well with tears. I feel like I'm breaking her heart, but it's something I have to do and the thought makes my heart ache. My own tears roll down my cheeks, but she swipes them away with her thumbs and shakes her head in an attempt to stop them from flowing.

”I love you, baby girl. So much. You be safe and if you do find her-I hope she's everything you imagine.” Mom's voice cracks and I pull her tightly to me.

”You're my mommy,” I whisper in her ear so only she can hear, and she nods in agreement.

”I am,” she says softly. ”Always.”

Dad gives me a hug and I see him fighting to stay strong for Mom, but it's not working for him. As if on cue, Luka groggily walks outside and rubs her eyes as she tries to figure out what's going on. Dad swiftly lifts her up and tickles her chin while she laughs, effectively distracting him.

”Be careful,” he says in his stern tone.

”I will,” I agree and kiss his cheek and hug my sister before joining the guys, who are standing at the car waiting for me. I turn around and wave once more as my dad holds my mom close while they say goodbye.

”Did you get ahold of Joey?” I ask of the group.

”He overslept so we're going to pick him up.” Cole climbs into the driver's seat and starts the engine. Mom and Dad are still standing outside watching as we drive down to Joey's, and I feel so sad for them. And for me.

”Can you see through the back window?” I ask Cole, who ignores the question.

It's something I should have checked before we got on the road this morning, but it was early and I was too tired.

”Brax, play some good music,” Joey requests from next to me in the back seat.

Braxton pulls out his phone and searches for something to play before attaching his device to the cord.

”What time did you say we should get to Roswell?” Braxton turns to me because I'm the one who set our itinerary.

”Around three,” I answer.

”That doesn't give us much time to go to the UFO Museum,” he states with a hint of disappointment.

”We'll have plenty of time. I called ahead to make sure that we'd be able to see everything and they said that two hours is more than enough time,” I smile.

”Why Roswell, anyway?” Joey asks. It's been the source of debate for a few weeks now, though none of us understand why.

”Don't really have an answer-just something that sounded interesting,” he says.

The five of us continue talking about how busy the summer's been. Despite the fact that none of us have moved yet, we haven't seen much of each other. My mind starts to wander and I replay the summer-or what I can remember of it-as I try to hold onto the last pieces of us.

A week after graduation, everyone started going in ten different directions. It was obvious that life was going on, exactly as Joey said it would.

He went to the Bahamas with his family back in June before the big breakup. They got home and he seemed so relaxed and happy. When I talked to Bailey last week, she said his vacation was the beginning of the end for them. By the time he got home, she was heading to Europe with her parents for two weeks; and when she got back, things were different between them.

I look over at Joey, who is blissfully unaware of how miserable his ex is without him. But then again, I think it's safe to say he's just as sad.

Haden went to Laredo to visit his grandma for a week, but he called me every day. His grandma told him she was worried about his mom, but he seems to think she'll be okay. I missed him, but the time apart was good and I got to hang out with Braxton-at least before he took off to Colorado with his family. He wanted to visit his brother before school started up.

Cole was the only one who didn't go anywhere, but he was constantly doing something to prepare for his move and make sure that he had everything together. When I tried to talk to him about his career plans with the military, he would give me a look that said I was being over the top and hug me until I dropped the subject.

Overall, I think there were only a couple of weeks when all five of us were around at the same time.

”My grandma is going to move in with my mom,” Haden announces, seemingly out of the blue.

”When?” I ask.

”About a month. I told her I'd help move her down.”

”Is she okay?” Joey c.o.c.ks his head to the side and raises his brow.

Haden never told anyone about his mom's drinking and they never knew why we missed prom. I don't expect him to say anything, but then he surprises me with his answer.

”She's getting older and Mom's been worried about her anyway. It's good, they'll have each other to look after,” he says.

”Where is this place?” Cole starts pus.h.i.+ng b.u.t.tons on his GPS, but the museum isn't showing up.

We all start to look around to see if we can spot it, but I think we are on the wrong street.

”There it is,” Braxton points way down the road. ”Down there on the left.”

As the car reaches our destination, albeit a crazy destination, we file out like kids on Christmas morning and almost forget to lock up the SUV. With money in hand, we walk over to buy our tickets so we can see what strangeness awaits us inside, and we aren't disappointed. We each head for a separate part of the museum to learn what we can about the mystery surrounding the now infamous Roswell Incident.

Joey immediately heads for the facts, because that's how he rolls. He likes to have as much information as possible so he can make an educated conclusion about things. However, this place is fun, so he'll have to put aside his need for proof and accept it for what it is: entertainment.

Braxton, on the other hand, embraces the whole thing. He's like a kid in a candy store and I laugh watching him walk from exhibit to exhibit, reading the placards and taking selfies with the faux aliens. I decide that I like his enthusiasm and pair up with him to make the most of it. Cole and Haden meander aimlessly, sometimes taking pictures of the aliens and others reading about the history. The museum isn't too crowded, so we make the most of our time.

”Excuse me,” I ask the gray-haired woman who looks like she's been plucked from the forties. Her wire-rimmed cat-eye gla.s.ses and perfectly coifed hairdo only help to sell the era of times pa.s.sed. ”Could you take a picture of us?”

She almost looks like a waitress from a diner, and the thought causes me to smile. I hand her my phone and show her how to work the camera before I call the guys over so we can take a picture with the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p and commemorate one of the crazier things we've done in our twelve years of friends.h.i.+p.

The woman waits for us to figure out where we want to stand and smiles politely until it's time. She counts off before taking a picture, or perhaps ten. We do our best horror look as if aliens have abducted us, but the rest of the images are of us laughing hysterically.