"Hurry up, or we are going to be late, the Uber is already here!" I shouted, as I ran out the front door to the SUV parked on the side of the road. Getting everyone out of the house at the same time and on time was damn near impossible. Living with each other made us all realize how we were all still a bunch of children.

But soon we would be children with a second car, so we didn't have to fight about getting out the front door as often. At least we hoped it would help.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Aria shouted, running out of her room, trying to place the large hoop earring in her ear. She rushed past me, taking a seat in the van outside.

"What's the rush, we pay them to pick us up, they are on our schedule." Breygan groaned, rolling his eyes. He was lying on the couch, not showing any signs of moving any time soon.

"You don't have to come. After today we won't need you anymore." I snarked back. I wasn't lying. If we were able to get another car then there would be no reason for Breygan to be around. Especially since everyone was still mad at him from last night.

When we got home he didn't really try to make things better. He grabbed another beer from the fridge and locked himself in his room, forcing Aria to sleep on the couch once again. Every morning I woke up and saw Aria there a fire would start inside my chest. Breygan was such an ass at times and lately he was more ass than anything else.

"Ugh, fine!" Breygan jumped off the couch, putting a little hop in his step. Finally, we were all out the door.

I jumped in the passenger seat of the van while everyone shifted in the back. This made me feel even more like the mother of the group. I felt older than I actually was.

The driver pulled away from the curb. I gave him directions as we drove to the car lot not too far from our home. Staton and I had done some research last night about which one was the most reliable and had the best deals for cars. I didn't think any of us would be picky about what kind of car we were getting, but we needed something big enough for all of us, and good on fuel mileage.

And that's exactly what I said to the dealer that rushed over to us as soon as we stepped out of the car.

"Hey guys, my name is Mark. What can I do for you today? Which one of you is looking for a car?" His hands formed into finger guns, scanning each of our faces. A few of us flinched at the sight of his hands, while others just kicked the ground awkwardly.

"Uhh, I guess we all are." I took over, grabbing Stanton's hand for support. Why wasn't anyone else talking? Why were they all acting so weird?

"That's great, just one car between the five of you, or are we looking for multiple cars?" His hands were back at his sides. I crinkle my nose. It felt like he was coming on kind of aggressive and if we were at the bar, I would have already stepped to the side and left. He took another step towards us, and as he did so, his cologne wafted over the group. It was overbearing, but none of us were willing to react. His hair was slicked back, adding a greasy look to his black hair.

"Mark, we just need one car." Breygan interjects, throwing me off guard. He didn't even want to come here and if he wasn't putting any money in buying the car, then he wasn't putting any opinion in either.

"Yes, as he said, we should only need one car. We just need one reliable and good fuel mileage car." I responded.

"Do you have a budget in mind?" We all looked at each other with the question. Since last night had ended in a fight once again, we never discussed any of the details past the fact that we needed to go today. The tension was rising too much, asking Breygan for rides. This was just one more step to get him out of our hair. He could do what he wanted, but most of the group didn't want to babysit him anymore, and make sure he was taken care of and comfortable.

"Cheaper than not. We don't have much money to spare and were hoping to pay cash for it." Staton took a step forward, putting himself in the position of who Mark should talk to. I took a breath, stepping back to where the other two girls were standing.

"Aria what's going on with Breygan?" Julia asks, pointing towards the blonde haired boy who seemed to be pouting on the other end of the parking lot. I hadn't noticed him walk off, but the air did seem lighter so I should have known.

"I have no clue what's going on with him. One second he says he loves me, the next he says he can't stand to be around me. My head is always spinning and I'm just done with the whole thing. Back home I'd have other boys to run to when he got like this, but here it's been so difficult.

"Aria, nothing about that is healthy." I muttered, placing my hand on her arm for morale support. My heart broke for the situation she was in. This was a conversation that Staton and I had multiple times on this journey. Aria was in the definition of an abusive relationship with Breygan and it felt like even she saw that. But her emotions got the best of her and she just couldn't get away.

"I know it's not healthy, but I know it can get better. There's just something he needs to figure out. I don't know what it is yet, but once he works through tha-"

"He will have a new problem to be pissed about. Some people are just miserable like that." I cut her off. The more she tried to hold out hope that he was going to change, the harder it was going to be on her when she realized he never actually would. Breygan would always have issues like this. It was more of a question on if she wanted to deal with these issues for the rest of her life or not.

Aria was kicking at the ground and picking at her nail polish.

"I know you guys are right, but I just care about him so much." Her voice was stuck in her throat, threatening to disappear as she spoke. Julia and I could feel the pain she was feeling through the way she slumped her shoulder forward. All of us turned to look in Breygan's direction.

~*~

"Well, what do you guys think of it?" Staton asks once we pull our new car into the driveway. He told us all about it on our drive home, about how good it does on the highway, and how it hadn't been in any car wrecks. He bragged to us about the price he paid for the car as well.

"Five thousand isn't too bad for a car, and luckily we were able to find one for that." I added, trying to keep the positive vibe going in the car. It drove better than Breygan's truck, but didn't have much inside for luxury. I hadn't seen the roll up handles before. My arms were going to get a workout every single time I wanted to put the window down.

The interior was an ugly tan color that meshed way too much with the exterior of the car. The brand was, I think, a Pontiac, which was something else I hadn't heard of. I was surprised to not recognize any of the cars at the dealership.

"Dude, I don't know what you are so excited about. This thing is a shit canoe," Breygan groaned, crammed in the back seat with Julia and Aria.

"Did you help at all with picking it out?" Staton asks, looking at Breygan in the rearview mirror.

"No."

"Did you put any money into the pile to help pay for it?"

"No."

"Did you even bother to ask Mark any questions, or to care during the test drive?"

"No, what is your point?" Breygan rolled his eyes, his arms folded over his chest. It was obvious he was uncomfortable being in such close proximity to everyone else in the group.

"My point is, shut the fuck up then." Staton's hands gripped the wheel. I opened the door, allowing a waft of fresh air to circulate inside the car.

"Maybe we should get out and get some space from each other." I muttered. Everyone did so, and soon they all piled into the house, leaving Staton and I in the driveway alone looking at the car we had just purchased.

"They may not seem to care, but I think you did a wonderful job and I'm proud of us." I mumbled, leaning my head against Staton's chest, wrapping my arms around him. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you. I'm glad at least one person here hasn't lost their mind and can be supportive of a good thing." I could hear the smile in his voice. His arms tightened around me and I knew this was what we were supposed to be doing.

"Do you ever think we made the wrong decision when we left?" I couldn't help but wonder how he felt about the whole thing. Life was harder for me back home than it was for anyone else. Yet they all followed me on this journey. Staton especially, he wasn't happy with how things were going, but he knew his situation was harbored out of love.

"Why do you ask?" It seemed he was avoiding answering the question until I told him how I felt.

"I don't. I've never regretted leaving. I've questioned it, but I've never regretted it. Not having my mother harping on my every single move has given me space to show that I really am responsible and can get things figured out. It's been hard, but I wouldn't have changed anything about it."

"I think about it a lot too, and wonder what I would be doing if I was still home, and what college my parents would be paying to get me into. I don't regret it though. This feels like where I belong and anything I would be doing at home just wouldn't be what I was meant to do." Staton seemed so sure of his answer, and that made me feel better.

"Sometimes I feel horrible that I uprooted everyone's life, and we fought so much. It's been miserable for everyone. I feel like I destroyed our friendship because I needed to get away from my life."

"Don't say that. Every single one of these people made a decision. None of them were forced to come and I think it's been a good thing for every single one of us, even if it doesn't seem like it now. We've all grown and gotten to discover a part of ourselves we wouldn't have otherwise."

"You're right!" I mumbled. Staring at the car in front of us gave me some hope that we were doing things right. We were making progress. We had jobs, and now we have a car to get to our jobs easier. Staton and I put the most money in to buy the car, so it'd be predominantly ours.

"Let's head in and try to get some rest. I'm sure the three of them are in there fighting about something already." Staton kisses my head one more time.

"Do you ever feel like the parents of a bunch of children?" I question.

"Every single day!"