I don't even have time to turn around before I see my moms car pull into the driveway. Shit. I run upstairs and into my room, locking the door behind me. I throw on jean shorts and a blue tee shirt before heading back downstairs. I see her standing in the kitchen, typing something on her phone with a grin on her face. Her hair looks distraught and her tee shirt is on inside out. She looks up at me, shocked by my presence.

"Oh, I didn't see you there." she says, moving her phone to her pocket.

"Good morning to you, too." I mumble, but she doesn't seem to hear a thing.

"Jillian, I have some news." she says, looking at me. Her grin turns into a huge smile. "Elliot has asked me to marry him." Elliot? Elliot freaking Shields asked my mom of all people to marry him. "I know this is big but before I answer him I want to know what you think of him."

"Well you've only been dating for two years, which isn't a lot." I say, my voice soft.

"Jillian, I know you have some doubts and I don't blame you. But it's been an amazing two years with him and I think we can have a real future together. But I still want your honest opinion before I answer him." My head is racing. I rush to say something harsh but I stutter, choking on the words. Maybe this is our chance for hope too. Maybe with Elliot, I can have a bond with my parents. Just maybe. I mean he seems like a decent guy, he treats mom well.

"Mom, I think this could give us all hope for a better future. I say go ahead." My voice rings through my head, I sound proud and confident in my answer. It's funny how words come out the opposite of how you think them.

"Really? Wow that's amazing Jillian. Thank you." She says. She pulls out her phone and types a few quick letters into the keyboard. "I'm going to go over and tell Elliot. We talked about what would happen if you agreed to it and we want to have him move into the house. Would that still be okay with you? We'd get everything packed up today and have it moved in by tomorrow night. Tuesday will be just like normal." She says, a glimmer of hope in her face.

"Sure, that sounds great." I say, my tone flat.

"Okay great Jillian, I'm going to go tell Elliot right now, but I'll be back in a little while. Oh I'm so excited!" She says as she whisks herself out the door.

"Me too." I say, a little more nervous than hopeful now. I hear the door click and I rush upstairs. I head into the bathroom and run a bath. I go onto my phone and play my almost infinite collection of music louder than it needs to be. Relaxation is all I need right now. Steam fills the room and I go back into the hopeful state of mind.

As soon as I'm dressed in my sea green lace crop top and dark jean shorts with a full face of makeup on and my hair thrown up in a messy bun, I pick up my phone and facetime Tom. He picks up quickly, looking as if he were already online.

"Hi love, why the call so quick?" He asks, flashing me one of his magical smiles.

"Well my mom is on her way over to say yes to her boyfriend's proposal right now and he's moving in tomorrow, so yeah." I say blankly.

"Oh my god Jill, I don't know what to say. Are you happy about this? You sound kind of emotionless right now." He says concerned. I chuckle.

"Thanks." Sarcasm rings through my ears.

"No not like that. I mean I don't know what you think of this." He says.

"I just need to get out of the house for a few days, leave town while he moves in. I know it's never going to happen, but that's what I need right about now."
"Well, I guess I'll be your genie today." He says, his tone full of excitement.

"Tom Holland, what in the world do you ever quite mean?" I say making him laugh.

"Well, my brothers and I are heading up to our beach house on the Jersey Shore tonight. Last minute brother bonding thing. They're all bringing friends so I guess it's not that much bonding. From what you know about me I have no current friends nor do I plan to meet any because, no offense, your school selection of friends is complete and utter shit," I laugh at the comment, "We're heading there around five and we're coming back home Wednesday morning. So, Jill, would you do me the honour of coming to my beach house with me?" He asks, his voice cute and polite.

"I would literally kill to come with you. I'll be at your house at 4:30." I say, hanging up the phone. Maybe this new addition to the household won't be so bad if I'm gone when it happens.

I grab my freshly packed suitcase and carry on bag from my bed and walk downstairs. I walk into the kitchen and see my mom and Elliot looking at plans on paper.

"Honey, how would you think about putting an island in the kitchen?" Mom asks, both of them looking up at me.

"Sure. I'm going to the beach with one of my friends, you don't know them. I'll be back Tuesday." I say quickly and confidently.

"Okay, perfect. So everything will be like normal when you get home!" Mom says. Elliot must have her under some sort of spell, because there is no way my mother just agreed to let me go to the beach with a friend she doesn't know for days. No way.

"Okay," I say suspiciously. "Bye." I say, walking out the door. I walk over to my car, still in shock from mom's attitude. I throw my suitcase into the trunk and hop into the driver's seat. I can't believe I'm about to go to the beach with my boyfriend for three days.

As soon as I pull up to Tom's house I see Tom's three brothers and three other boys I don't know loading two cars with suitcases. I park my car on the side of the driveway, leaving room to back out. I grab my carry-on and my suitcase out of the trunk and walk over to the cars with it. Everyone is bustling around the cars and the house. I see Tom walk out of the house with a small carry-on bag in his hand. He sees me and smiles from ear to ear.

"Hi, love." he says hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. My stomach fills with butterflies as I nuzzle my head into his shoulder. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" He says laughing.

"Yeah, I know right? It's been like what, a few hours?" We both laugh. "Where should I put this?" I say, pointing to my suitcase.
"I'll take it." He says. He grabs the handle and places it into the car that's the smaller of the two. "Our car storage is bursting. We have to bring a lot of food and supplies for the beach, and we rarely ever have enough room even with Mum's gigantic car." He says, motioning to the open trunks. "We're in the car with your suitcase, and two of the boys are coming with us. You can put your bag in the passenger seat."

"Okay, I'll be right back." I say. I walk over to the car and open the door. I don't think there is one speck of dirt in the entire thing. I almost feel bad that I'm going to ruin such a perfect car by sitting in it. I place my bag down on the floor and close the car door. I head back over to Tom.

"Everyone come here." He says, motioning to the boys. "This is my lovely girlfriend, Jillian. Jillian, this is everyone! You know Harry, Sam, and Paddy already." They all wave as their names are called. "Harry has brought along his mate Simon, Sam has his mate Stan, and Paddy has his little ate Owen." The three boys shake my hand and greet me. "Okay, we have to get on the road if we want to get to the house by nine. Okay so Harry is a div of a driver, so Sam will drive Mum's car. Sam you take Stan in the front with you and take Paddy and Owen in the back. I've put a movie in the player so Paddy just turn on the screens and it should play for you. Harry and Simon, you're in the back of my car. Let's go everyone, in the cars!" He says motioning to the cars. Harry and Simon head into our car and I sit down in the front seat. Tom is beside me and he starts the engine.

"So, how long of a car ride is this?" I ask as Tom pulls out of the driveway.

"About four hours, we shouldn't hit traffic because we take a shortcut that's not on the highway."

"Great, we'll be there around nine then." I look up and smile, I can't believe I'm about to do this.