I'm back!! I'm sure it probably feels like forever, but I just had so much to do over the holidays and I couldn't give Katie and Lucas the attention they deserved. But I've finally been able to do that and here I am with the first chapter!

Senior year is over for Katie, Lucas, and Sadie and it's time for Lucas and Katie to make their way to the big, bright city to attend college.

So here we go!!

Katie's POV

1

I put the last lid on the last box and sat back on my knees, surveying my now empty room. I had spent all of my life within these four walls, but I had lived very little of it. Only in the last year and a half had I really begun to live, and it was all thanks to one person…Lucas. Most people knew him as the middle child of the wealthy Abbott family, but I knew him as my best friend, my confidant, and the man I loved. He was also one damn fine piano player, hence the packing. We were leaving our little hometown of Richmond Hill, Georgia and heading up to New York, ready to start our life together, with Lucas attending Juilliard and me somehow making it into Sarah Lawrence.

“Dawson!” Lucas called out from somewhere in the house. “I need you!”

I smiled, remembering the day Lucas had come up with the idea of a secret society and we had chosen the names of Harvey and Dawson for each other. I got up from the floor, groaning a little at the ache in my lower back—I was not built for carrying boxes.

“What’s the problem, Harvey?” I asked, walking out of my room and toward the living room.

“I stepped on the cord hanging out of one of these boxes and in an amazingly accurate representation of my sister, managed to wrap the wire around my leg. I’m a bit concerned that moving at this point will cause me to fall and drop your worldly possessions,” he explained from somewhere behind the boxes he was holding.

“I told you to put that cord in there all of the way,” I said, kneeling in front of him and starting to untangle the wire.

“And I told you not to procrastinate and leave the packing for the last possible day,” he shot back.

“Harvey, do I detect a hint of exasperation for the woman you proclaim to love so much?”

“Only if I detect another attempt to make me panic and stumble over my words, my dear Dawson.”

I chuckled as I freed his leg and stood back up. I shoved the cord into the box and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Lucas Abbott.”

“And I love you, Katie Amico. Thank you for the rescue.”

“It’s what a co-hero does,” I shrugged, smiling at him. The co-hero comment was another one of our jokes that had started when we were first getting to know each other and it, too, had stuck with us.

He gave me that adorably cheesy grin of his and then headed out of the house with my boxes.

“No matter how many times I see it, it still tickles me,” Kelly chuckled, standing in the kitchen entryway. Kelly was my dad’s second wife. They had been together for four years now, and married for a little over a year. She was an amazing person and although it had taken me a very long time to accept that she was going to being staying, I had never once wished for her to not be here. She was kind, patient, and very loving—even to stand-offish teenagers with absurd ideas, like I had been.

You see, I wasn’t the type of person to easily accept new people. It took a lot for me to trust and let down my guard…well, it used to anyway. Ever since Lucas had come into my life, so many things had changed, and all for the better. It was still hard to trust new people, but the ones that had been in my life for years were finally able to know the real me…And amazingly enough, they loved me. There were no more walls with my dad and my step-mom, with any of the Abbotts, or with my other friends. Lucas had helped me to take down every single wall inside of me. I still got nervous from time to time, but overall, I was really enjoying the change.

“Kat? Are you even listening to me?” Kelly called out, waking me up from my little reverie. “Did you even notice your father pass by with your last box?”

I laughed as I walked over and hugged her. “Sorry, Mom. Got lost in a thought for a second. I’m going to miss you, you know.”

She hugged me back and stroked my hair. “It’s really not fair. We finally find a way to connect and you’re already moving away.”

I smiled as I pulled away from her. “But I’ll be back to visit and I’ve shown Dad and you how to use the email program on my computer. It’s not permanent, Mom.” I had only recently started to call Kelly “mom” on a regular basis, and so far, we both enjoyed it.

“I love that word,” she sighed, pulling me into another hug.

“Don’t you dare cry, Kelly Amico,” I warned her. “I swear to God that if you cry and make me cry, I’ll tell Dad the truth about that dent in his wagon.”

She laughed and sniffled as she let me go. “No tears. I promise.”

I might have been better with hugs and talking, but I still hated crying. Kelly put her arm around my shoulders and we headed out of the house. Lucas and my dad were just climbing out of the moving truck. Shawn and Caleb had offered to come over and help, but my dad refused, saying he wanted to do this for me. I think he just wanted to be able to use this as an excuse to keep me around for a few hours extra. He had come a long way since the days when I’d first started dating Lucas, but a small part of him still felt like Lucas was stealing me away. Parents could be silly like that at times, but I knew it just meant he loved me.

My dad was a great father. He could be absurd and overprotective at times, but he was still a good man. He loved me, he was never afraid to say it or show it, and he thought I was the best thing in his life. It had taken me a very long time to understand and accept that—I used to believe that I had ruined his life. On my seventh birthday, the woman I had called “mother” decided she was tired of her family. She walked out and left us behind, telling my father that it was because of me…And I had heard every word. I’d spent the next ten years trying to make up for ruining my dad’s marriage, believing I only repelled people, and that I wasn’t worthy of anyone’s time or trouble. If not for Lucas, I would probably still believe that.

“Are we loaded up, Old Man?” I asked, smiling at my dad. I had been calling him old man since my thirteenth birthday, but he wasn’t really old. I had come along when he was still pretty young and he was just barely close to forty now.

“Yeah, Kiddo,” he sighed, staring into the truck.

“Watch out, Brian,” Lucas cautioned as he closed the roll-up door on the back of the truck. “Katie, do you have the key still?” he asked, holding the lock in his hand.

I reached into my shorts and pulled out the small ring he’d given me early this morning. “Right here,” I replied, jingling the keys at him.

“It would help if I could have them over here so I can lock up the truck,” he said, smiling at me.

“Oh, fine,” I sighed, pretending to be annoyed as I walked over to him. I put the keys into his hand and he closed his fingers over mine.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I smiled, knowing he was being extra affectionate today because he was worried about me. I didn’t always handle change very well, and Lucas was determined to make this move as easy and happy for me as he could. I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning to face my father.

“Guess it’s that time,” my dad said, his voice gruff and his eyes a little red.

“Yeah, Old Man. It’s time for us to hit the open road and head out to our brand new digs in the city,” I replied.

My dad grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, nearly crushing me. “I love you, Katherine. Don’t ever forget that, baby girl. And please, please call me once in a while, huh? Don’t make me worry too much about you.”

I hugged him back as a few tears escaped the confines of my eyes. “I love you, Daddy. I’ll send you lots of emails, so make sure you turn on the computer and check every so often.” I pulled away and wiped at my eyes. “Take good care of Mom and don’t forget to do something special for her once in a while. Just because she let you marry her doesn’t mean you get to slack in the romance department.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” my dad said, chuckling a little.

Lucas stepped up and held out his hand toward my dad. In a very surprising display of affection, my dad pulled Lucas into a manly hug, smacking his back hard. “You take care of my baby,” my dad told him.

“Absolutely,” Lucas promised as they broke apart. He turned and hugged Kelly tightly. “I’ll definitely miss coming here and having dinner with you both. Thank you for always making me feel welcome.”

“You’re family, Lucas,” Kelly replied, kissing his cheek. “Don’t ever forget that, young man.”

“I won’t,” he chuckled, looking over at me.

“Well, I guess it’s time then,” I announced, wanting to get this over with before I started feeling too overwhelmed.

Lucas, my dad, and Kelly all walked me over to the passenger door. My dad opened the door while Lucas helped me up into the cab of the truck.

“Bye, guys,” I said, waving a little as Lucas closed the door.

He shook hands with my dad and gave Kelly one more hug before joining me in the truck. He smiled at me as he started the engine. “Are you ready for our big city adventure, Dawson?”

“Absolutely, Harvey. And I’m with you so I know I’ll have a good time,” I replied truthfully. I forced myself to look straight out of the window and not into the side-view mirror. I was barely hanging on at this point and if I saw my dad or Kelly crying, I wouldn’t be able to hold back the waterworks.

“I really love you,” Lucas said suddenly. “I’m so happy you’re coming with me and I know we’re going to make the most of this life together.”

“We better, Harvey,” I replied, managing to give him a small smile. “This is the only one we have, after all.”

“I thought you believed in Karma,” he teased, pulling the truck out into traffic.

“No, I said it was an interesting idea, but I never said I truly believed in it.”

“So what do you believe in, Dawson?”

“Your love for me and my love for you. I believe if we work together and we’re always honest, we can make it, no matter what crap life throws at us.”

“What was that saying you came up with once? The one about life and a monkey being alike?”

“Oh,” I chuckled. “Life is a lot like a monkey. When you’re prepared for the worst, it gives you a goofy smile and acts all cute. But the minute you turn your back, it’s slinging poop at you and laughing behind your back.”

“Your analogies never cease to amuse me.”

“Yeah, it’s one of the reasons you keep me around.”

“What are the others?”

“Don’t know since you haven’t shared that particular list with me. And I’m still as insanely curious right now about the half-thing on your list as I was when you told me about it during junior year.”

“I’m saving that one up for a special occasion,” he chuckled.

“And moving to another state with you isn’t special enough?” I challenged.

“So, my mom should be done with the decorating by the time we get there,” Lucas announced, trying to change the subject.

I sighed, imagining what the bill must have looked like by the time Mrs. Abbott left whatever store she attacked to find the furniture for our apartment. My plan had been for Lucas and me to take the furniture we’d grown up with and use that to furnish our first apartment. Lucas and Mrs. Abbott decided that we should have all new furniture. I lost…to a pout, complete with ocean blue puppy dog eyes. The only things in the back of this small moving truck were boxes of books, movies, CDs, and whatever else Lucas and I had felt we couldn’t live without.

Lucas’s chuckle called my attention back to him. His blue eyes were bright, full of humor and excitement. “You’re still not completely okay with everything you agreed to, are you?” he asked.

“No,” I admitted. “I still feel a little weird about everything your parents are doing for us. They’re furnishing the apartment, buying us a small car, flying Shawn there and back to help us unpack, and they’re paying the first six months rent on the apartment. That’s a lot of money, Lucas. And I’m not even going to talk about the amount of money you’re spending out of your trust fund to send me to Sarah Lawrence.”

“Just keep in mind that you deserve to go to that school, the first year of college will be the toughest for us, and being able to save all of our money from our jobs for those six months will make everything else easier in the long run.”

“I know. It’s just…weird.” I decided to try and change the subject before I could get too moody about the money thing. “So are we driving straight through?”

“No. We’re stopping in Richmond, Virginia to get a few hours of sleep before finishing off the trip. I don’t know about you, but I’m still recovering from my insane birthday weekend.”

“That was a lot of fun,” I chuckled, thinking back over the weekend. Lucas’s birthday was a major holiday, July 4th. We had spent the entire weekend doing things together and with our family. Friday, his actual birthday, had been spent at a huge party at the Abbott house. Lucas and I had spent most of that time greeting his father’s clients and playing the part of the perfect young adult couple. But Saturday had been our day. We’d gone to the beach with Sadie, Caleb, Shawn, Lily, Alison, and Ryan, and spent the whole day there, staying long into the night to see the stars come out above—we knew we wouldn’t be seeing any stars in the city.

Sunday had been spent at Lucas’s house with his family—including his Uncle Harry—and my dad and Kelly. Mr. Abbott and Shawn had actually managed to get along for the whole day, even barbecuing together. It wasn’t that Mr. Abbott wasn’t a nice man or a good father, it was just that he didn’t know how to communicate with Shawn and Lucas without starting an argument. He wanted the best for them, but often lost sight of what they wanted.

And yesterday…well, yesterday was spent saying goodbye to our family and our friends. Lucas and I had talked about how to do that in a way that wouldn’t send me into a complete panic attack, and we had decided that doing it the day before, in stages, would be the best way. We had spent the morning with Alison and Ryan, having breakfast together at a local restaurant. Alison had been my friend since the fifth grade, but it was only in this past year and a half that we had truly become close. I had been so afraid that Sadie and she would never want to be around me once they really knew me, but that fear had proved to be unfounded. Not only did they accept me and all of my quirks, they showed just how much they loved me. And all three of us had Lucas to thank for that.

Lunchtime had been spent with both sets of parents at Lucas’s house, and lots and lots and lots of embarrassing stories were passed around about the childhood antics of Lucas and me. At least we had been tortured together. And right after lunch was over, Mr. Abbott drove Mrs. Abbott to the airport and she flew up to New York to start getting our apartment ready for us. I chuckled to myself, recalling one particular story Mrs. Abbott had told about Lucas, Shawn, and a certain giant mud puddle near her garden…I’ll just say that Mrs. Abbott was worried she would never get all of the mud out of Lucas and Shawn’s ears.

Last night had been the hardest goodbye for me. Saying goodbye to Sadie, Shawn, Caleb, and Lily…I never would have made it through without Lucas right next to me. As it was, Sadie kept bursting into tears every few minutes which would set Lily off with her crying, and then get my breathing all worked up. It was a good thing we’d decided to spend the time at Shawn and Lily’s apartment instead of a public place. We would have been a sight with three upset girls and three guys clueless of how to fix things.

Sadie had decided to take it upon herself to be my friend when we’d met in our first period classroom during ninth grade. No matter how rude, irritated, or just plain surly I had been with her in that first week, she never let it bother her. She just kept talking to me and smiling at me. Her bubbly personality had overcome some of my defenses and we were able to be good friends. And now that my walls were down, Sadie and I were as close as two girls can be without actually being sisters. I was definitely going to miss my favorite red head. But I was confident that her boyfriend, Caleb, would take excellent care of her. They’d been together for a few years now and I doubted anyone could love Sadie better than Caleb.

Just before we’d left for the night, Lucas’s older brother, Shawn, had pulled me aside. He asked me to take care of Lucas and keep him from getting tunnel vision, as he was very prone to do. He told me to force Lucas to do fun stuff and not let him just focus on school and his music. He even made me promise that Lucas and I would come down just to visit his girlfriend, Lily, and him at their apartment. Shawn also asked me to never mention the conversation to Lucas. Shawn and Lucas had gotten a lot closer in the last couple of years, but neither would come right out and say just how much he cared about the other. Men could be so weird sometimes.

I turned my head to look at Lucas, noticing the way that little worry line creased his forehead as he merged us into interstate traffic. He smiled at his accomplishment once we were safely in our lane and I couldn’t help but smile with him. We were really doing this. We really moving to New York City and starting a whole new chapter in our lives. We were moving forward together.