All Again For You

The days leading up to my departure from Tempe were insanely short. Every spare moment I had, I spent it with all of the guys. The day before I left, John made everyone cancel their plans for the night and we had a "super-epic-movie-slumber-party" as Pat put it.

"I'm gonna miss you, Savannah," Garrett mumbled in my ear after everyone had passed out in various places on the O'Callaghan's TV room floor.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Garrett," I sighed, moving closer to him. He took a hand and placed it under my chin, tilting my head up so I was facing him slightly. I closed my eyes and wiggled my way out of his grasp and lay down so my head was on his right thigh. I shut my eyes, and soon was drifting in and out of sleep. Before I succumbed to the dark, I heard Garrett whisper:

"I love you, Sav."

&&

The night I left, Garrett didn't show up at the airport like he had said he would.

He was on his way to California, sitting shotgun in the van the guys used for touring, probably blasting Ryan Adam's into his eardrums. I let out a heavy sigh as I entered the cold, packed airplane.

As I took my seat next to the window, Garrett's words from the previous night echoed in my ears. I love you, Sav. I love you, Sav. I love you, Sav. was all I heard.

"Miss?" I shot my head up to face the airline attendant. Her fake, toothy, too-white smile glared in my face as she bent down to get my carry-on bag and put it in the over-head compartment.

"Thanks," I muttered, then slunk down lower into my seat. I shut my eyes as the plane prepared for take off, and gripped the armrest like there was no future in store.

The flight itself wasn't half bad. Just the destination that was ahead was the only thing that bothered me. I had my headphones in for most of the two hour duration of hell, the mix tape Garrett had made for me at the beginning of Summer on repeat.

As the plane landed and the passengers boarded off, A Day To Remember's "If It Means A Lot To You," began to course through my ears. I resisted the urge to shed a few tears as I looked for my dad.

"Are you Savannah?" A woman no taller than my shoulder asked in a heavy accent. I tried to place it, but it was no luck.

I nodded my head, "Why?"

"I'm Sofía, your father help," She smiled brightly. I looked at her dully and followed her out of the airport.

"Your father, he is very happy you come home for Summer." She said as she took my bags and placed them in the trunk of the black Mercedes Benz parked near a cab.

"This isn't my home," I stated dryly. "And frankly, I don't consider Keith to be my father when he hasn't been in my life for the past ten years of my life."

Sofía went quiet, her lips pressing into a straight line.

"Well, I assure you that everything fine. Your father love you very much." She sighed and began to drive. "Seatbelt." She pointed to the elastic material that lay across my lap, unbuckled. I followed her orders and put my headphones back in my ears, keeping the playlist on repeat.

About an hour later or so, we arrived at Keith, my so-called "father's" house. As we pulled up, I couldn't help but gape at the sheer size of it. The monster of a house was nearly five times the size of my home back in Tempe.

Tempe. The one place where people actually cared about me. Where people didn't ditch their mothers and children for some-

"Savannah!" A high-pitched voice squealed. A blonde, a little shorter than me in a pair of slacks and a billowy top came running out of the house to the car with her arms out. "Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you! Your father has told me so much about you already."

"Yeah, the things he remembers from when I was eight." I muttered, slinging my bag over my arms.

"Nonsense!" She smiled a fake, toothy smile just like the airline attendant. "Well, I'm Alexandra, but you can call me mom if you want to."

"I would, but my real mom isn't six feet under quite yet," I snapped, and took off towards the house without another word.

"So, you must be Savannah," A voice said dryly as I came into view of the open kitchen. "I'm Kaitlyn, nice to meet you."

"Don't fake the niceness. I don't want to be here, and by the way you're already acting I can tell you don't want me here either." I rolled my eyes and sat down at the island, my bag dropping down next to me. "I could be in California right now."

"Let me guess, with your six friends and boyfriend, right?" She smirked, leaning against the doorframe. I nodded. "Knew it."

"Big whoop, you know something. Do you know where Keith is?" I asked, picking up my bag again.

"Up the stairs, third door on the right. That's his office." I followed Kaitlyn's instructions and made my way up the grand staircase in the foyer of the house.

Once outside of his office, I heard harsh whispering and a fist being slammed against something wooden. I opened the door a crack and saw Keith and Alexandra, both with infuriated looks on their faces.

"Keith," I said, not caring if I was interrupting anything. They weren't my family- what did I care?

"Savannah!" His face lit up, almost in a fake sense. "Come here and give your old man a hug, eh?" I stayed in the doorway and watched as he got up out of the chair and made his way towards me. His arms engulfed me into a suffocating hug, then let go as quick as it was received.

"How are you?" He asked, the same white, fake, grin plastered on his face like Alexandra.

"Terrible," I mono-toned. "I could be in California with my friends, but instead I'm in this shit hole called Colorado."

"Nonsense!" He waved his hand in the air and told me to take a seat. I remained standing, and placed my bag next to me on the floor. Alexandra, sensing the tension between us, left the room and made it look like she was busy cleaning.

The girl hasn't lifted a finger in ten years- she has maids to do whatever she doesn't feel like. I thought to myself.

"I'm not staying, I hope you know that, Keith." I spat, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

"Please, Savannah, don't do this. I haven't seen you in over ten years." He rubbed his eyes, removing the glasses that were perched on the bridge of his nose and placed them on the mahogany desk.

"No, you chose not to see me for ten years. Do you know what kind of impact that leaves on an eight year old, Keith?"

"Don't call me Keith, Sav."

"It's Savannah, to you." I clenched my hands into fists. "I bought tickets to go to California on Tuesday. You have three days to get to know what you've missed in the past ten years."

"But that's your birthday, Sav... Savannah." He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

"It's not like it matters to you, anyway." I said as nonchalantly as I could, pretending to examine a hangnail.

"It means everything to me, Savannah!" It was like he was almost pleading for my approval now.

"Because sending me things I can easily replace is caring about your first born, Keith. That's bullshit." I turned on my heel and left his office, then headed down the hall to find a guest room.

"Hi, Sofía." I gave her a weak attempt at a smile.

"Savannah, your room is right down hall on left. First." She said, doing her best to use proper english.

"Thank you, Sofía. It means a lot."

&&

Dinner that night had to be one of the most awkward experiences of my life, and not even in the awkward like John-Wearing-A-Woman's-Costume-on-Halloween kind of awkward. I was talking about full-blown, no one talking, able to head a cricket chirp awkward.

"So, erm, Savannah," Alexandra tried to make small talk. "Are you going away to college next fall?"

Yeah," I mumbled through a mouthful of food that Sofía had prepared. "At ASU."

"That's... nice. Your father went there."

"Keith, you mean." I corrected, pointing my fork towards her.

"Y-yes." She said timidly, playing a forced smile towards me. Kaitlyn smirked, knowing I was trying to make her mother feel as awkward and unwelcome by my presence as possible.

"Where is he, anyway?" I asked, setting my fork down on my plate.

"He's on a business trip, I thought he told you." Kaitlyn smiled devilishly, and I instantly shot up from the table and left the dining room. I wound my way through the house until I found the staircase, and took the stairs two at a time to get to my "room."

I sat down on the bed and pulled out my phone. I dialed Garrett's number and lay down on the comforter. He picked up on the first ring.

"Savannah? Please tell me you've thought of some master escape plan that involves me killing zombies and using an insane amount of firearms." He said in one breath.

"No, Gary, I haven't. But I do have a plan, don't worry." I could feel a smile spreading across my lips. What Garrett didn't know was that I was having John pick me up at LAX Tuesday morning at 7, and then he and I would spend the day together.

"Can you let me in on it?" He said a bit too eagerly. I heard someone in the background shout "Shut up, Garrett," and assuming it was Pat, I told Garrett to tell them to shut his "frickin' gob."

"Nice Juno reference, by the way." He laughed.

"Why thank you, thank you."

"So, how's Keith?" Garrett asked cautiously after a few moments of a comfortable silence.

"The bastard isn't even here," I groaned, not caring if anyone heard me. "I want to go home, Gar." I pouted, even though he couldn't see me.

"Quit pouting, Savannah," He smirked. "I know you are."

"You're psychic, I swear." I smiled, sitting up and peeking out the shades to see out to the back of the house. Mountains sprung up behind the pine trees, and a stream ran behind the pool. It was surreal, in a way.

"Savannah, you still there?" Garrett's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Earth to Savannah!"

"Gar, I'm still here. Don't get your knickers in a bunch," I laughed. I glanced at the clock, seeing it was almost twelve. "I've gotta go, it's almost twelve here. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Alright, I'll talk to you later." I could hear the unwilling tone in his voice, and then the line went dead.

No "I love you, Sav," like the night before. I couldn't help but wonder if he was saying it just because I was leaving for "the entire summer," or if he really meant it. I shook the thoughts from my head and climbed under the covers.