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"Yup, so no more texts or calls from them after today. Maybe down the line, I'll give them the new number, but not right now. I can't take it right now."
I nod, understanding. "You can get in the shower first. I'll clean up."
She leaves, and I look over at the clock, knowing we need to leave in the next hour to be at her house by eleven and get things done within the hour her parents should be gone. When she comes out of the shower, I get in. I step into my room to find her dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans, completing the outfit with a pair of black boots.
"I thought over your suggestion for mission attire and accepted it." She grins.
I laugh. "So then that makes me getting dressed much easier."
I throw on a basically the same outfit as Jolie while she puts her hair in a high ponytail. She takes a deep breath as she places her brush down. It's the only real show of nerves I've seen from her this morning. I don't know if she thinks I noticed how she tossed and turned all night. I don't mention it. Don't need to.
She’s about to pack up a room she’s lived in her entire life. Leave what family she has left behind. Who wouldn't be nervous about that? I walk over and drop a kiss to her forehead, breathing in the scent that is only ever hers, and then we're walking out of the room.
We get into the car, the backseat full of boxes we put together last night to save time, and then I'm pulling into the street. We're both quiet as I drive, one hand on the steering wheel, and the other holding Jolie's.
When we arrive at her house, neither of her parents' cars are there, and I can practically feel the relief radiating off of Jolie. She gets out of the car and hurries to grab an empty box from the backseat while I grab two. Once she reaches the porch, she balances the box on her knee to get the lone key out of her pocket.
The door opens and Jolie walks inside and I follow, kicking the door shut behind me. I look around the living room, the stark difference from my own striking me. Everything is so pristine, so unlived in. The furniture looks like it's never been sat on. There are no smells from food cooking or sweets baking. Everything is just...there. Like a show room at a store. Perfectly set up and nice to look at, but not feeling personal at all.
"This way," Jolie instructs me.
I follow her down the hallway and don't even have to ask what room we're passing when she gazes at the closed door for a second too long. We reach her room, and I smile at the her scent being all over it.
"Pink walls, huh?" I tease.
"Ugh. Painted that color when I was eight and forever remained the same. I figure it was my parents' revenge for me begging them to paint it pink for two months straight." She walks over to the left side of the double dresser. "I'll start on this side. You can pack the other."
She pulls out the top drawer, and I smirk as I grab the first thing I see.
"Hmm, I know for a fact I haven't seen you wear this yet."
She laughs, grabbing the purple thong from my hand. "Focus Elijah. You get me packed and out of here, and maybe, just maybe I'll be wearing these when we get into bed tonight."
That lights a fire under my ass. I clear my side of the drawer before she does hers, moving on to the bottom drawer as she finishes putting her bras in the box. We finish with the dresser and as she fills the third box with clothes from her closet, I tape the first two boxes closed and bring them back to the car. I get the other few boxes out of my trunk and begin to bring them into the house, looking both ways down the street to make sure I don't see her parents coming. We quickly fill the last of the boxes with mementos from her room, some school books, and her shoes. She grabs her toiletries from the bathroom as I take the remaining boxes out. I look at my watch, seeing we somehow got all that done within half an hour and head back inside.
The door that was closed before is open now and I still when I see Callie sitting at the end of the bed in there, looking through a photo album. I approach the door frame, not feeling like I should cross it without her permission. Looking around the room, I try hard not to cringe at how preserved everything looks. Photos frozen in time on the walls, post-its on the mirror with messages of encouragement I can tell are written in Jolie's hand-writing, not a crease in the sheets except where Jolie now sits. It's a room that looks like the occupant is expected to come home at any moment.
It's honestly how I expect Ben's room to look. And why I never wanted to see it after his death.
"This is a photo album me and Callie put together," Jolie says low. "It only has pictures of me and her. No one else. Come see."
I finally enter, coming to sit beside her so I can down at the page she has open. It's her and Callie probably a few years ago, both laying in a field of flowers, smiles on their faces, Jolie's arm extended to take the photo.
She turns to a few more pages, not saying anything, letting the pictures speak for themselves.
"It's the only thing I want to take," she tells me as she closes it and stands.
I look around the room one more time, remembering Jolie saying she'd said her goodbyes before. "You said everything you needed to say?"
She gives a soft smile. "I did."
"Okay. You ready?"
Before she can speak, another voice thunders through the room.
"What are you doing in here?"
