YouTube- A Strange World

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Chloe- Max Best Friend-Mike Brother- Mr. Jackson Grandpas lawyer-Ted Dad- Sharon Mom-          Mack Maxs uncles-

Marshal Phillips- Grandfather(May)*

Aria- friendly

A strange new world

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Sitting in the church I stared at my feet as the funeral continued. Next to me sat my best friend Max. Max leaned over as he took her hand and whispered in her ear, "You holding up Chloe?"

Squeezing his hand I nodded across the aisle at my parents. It made me sick as my parents looked like they were celebrating. When the priest finished the service we followed the coffin out for the walking procession to the Graveyard. Max cut off my parents to let me be behind the coffin. As we exited the church he hand me my sunglasses he had put inside his pocket when we entered the church. Max stood behind me as I took my graveside seat. I faced forward and when the priest said, 'Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.' It hit me all at once and the tears started to fall. 

My head snapped up when I heard the coffin go into the ground. I sat staring at it until I heard my father say, "Chloe your required to be at the reading of the will at the house in one hour. Do not be late."

Max looked up at him and said, "I will have her there in time sir."

As my parents walked away I sighed and said, "It makes me sick how they are celebrating Papa being gone."

"Come on Chloe lets go," He said. "Papa knew how much you loved him and if his spirit is here it would tear him apart to see you like this."

I looked at Max and kissed his cheek, "Thank you for being here for me Max."

"You cannot get rid of me Chloe," He said. "You know I love you and would follow you into the pits of hell if I needed to."

Taking Max's hand I let him lead me to his truck. Max and I have known each other since we were in pre-school. Although there was definitely attraction between us we never jumped into that pool. We had a unspoken agreement that it would be tabled for another day. As we pulled up to my parents house Max laughed and said, "They are throwing a party while they do a reading of the will?"

We parked behind Grandpa's RV. As we walked past we ran our hand along the side. My older brother Mike came out and said, "When the will reading is over Mom is going to get rid of that thing."

Max looked at him and said, "Mike can you not be an dick till everything is over."

Mike laughed and said, "Why he was old and now he is dead. When Mom and Dad inherit Grandpa's money then I get a new car."

I reached up and slapped Mike so hard that his head jerked back, "How dare you? You will get yours Mike so help me god."

Max jumped in front of me and said, "Mike don't you started this and you know how upset Chloe is."

Mike turned around and went inside. Max took my hand and we headed inside. I saw Mike standing with his buddy's and my Dad looked at me and said, "You here early good. Go to my office Mr. Jackson, Grandfathers lawyer is waiting."

Max leaned over and said, "I will get us plates and go up to your room."

I walked into the office and saw Mr. Jackson speaking with my mother. When I walked in Mr. Jackson turned to me and said, "Chloe I am so sorry for your loss. I know you would rather be anywhere but here but you are required to be here for the reading. I promise I will make this quick for you alright."

"Thank you Mr. Jackson I would like today to be over with," I said as he directed me to the chair next to the desk.

My Father and Brother came in and everyone sat down. Mr. Jackson said, "We are here to go over the will of Marshal Phillips. Marshal has made sure this will cannot be contested. If you try to fight the will you will lose everything left to you. I need you all reply you understand."

We all agreed and then he turned his laptop around and said, "This is a quick video by Marshal. Please do not say anything while its playing."

The video started and it showed the office we were sitting in and then Grandpa sat in the chair. He looked at the camera and asked, "Mr. Jackson are we ready?"

We heard Mr. Jackson confirm the video was recording and he looked at the camera and said, "Well you all know I am dead. But you are all about to get the shock of your lives. I will be watching you all and believe me I am saying you are all about to get what you deserve. The will is written in my own words so get ready for what is coming to you. Chloe my love do your Grandpa's heart a solid and finally start a relationship with Max. That young man would follow you into the pits of hell if you asked him and I know you love each other like I loved my dear May. Believe me we are together now and we will be watching over you. I love you sweet pea and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Mr. Jackson please give Chloe the bag now."

The video ended and Mr. Jackson said, "Chloe these are journals written by your Grandfather and are for yours and Max's eyes only. Your Grandfather said only you both would understand what to do with these."

I took the bag and placed it on my lap as Mr. Jackson sat down and started to read the will. "This is the last will of Marshal Phillips in his own words. My son Ted your about to get a shock. You get to keep the house and car. That's it you took more than you ever gave and you do not deserve much else. Also if you and Sharon ever do get a divorce it is in the will that the house would revert to Chloe and it cannot be sold if Sharon tries to get it. I just thank god you signed the prenup and Mr. Jackson has that as well for safe keeping. As I got sick and started to die it was Chloe who took care of me not you. When I requested to be moved to a hospice facility it was to escape you and Sharon as you were waiting for me to die so you could pillage the house. Well joke is on you because before I got bad I had Mr. Jackson come in and help me move the important stuff to the RV and you have no access to it. Also, before Chloe leaves that house for good she has first pick on everything in my room. She has the key and no one can go in until she is finished looking and taking what she wants. Sharon all that jewelry you wanted will never be yours. I knew you only married Ted because of my money. But as you been in the family so long I do have to leave you something so you get this cook book called cooking for dummies and $1. That's because as of today you both have to pay your own way. My Grandson Mike you have been a tormenter and bully to Chloe all her life and for this I leave you $1. You thought you could live off your parents and me and have never showed any sort of initiative in your life. Well my Grandson that is all you get. Now to my shining spot in the world Chloe. You won the mother load my sweet angel. You get the RV which has been cleaned and readied for your adventure. Inside the RV you will find all the vouchers and gas cards you will need for this. All the items and the RV have been switched to you as well as my accounts. All my investments, savings and main checking are yours. The amount is in the the 1 billion dollar range. You will have to check all the accounts which Mr. Jackson will go over with you privately. Now to all  of this there is a catch. You cannot give any of this away or loan it out. You have always been a smart girl and have worked hard. So I know you are a saver and will use the money wisely. Use this adventure to start a blog and write that book we always talked about. Remember I love you and I will see you around kiddo."

Mr. Jackson handed me a binder and said, "This is all your accounts Chloe and it also holds the RV papers including the registration and insurance. As of today all your mail will come to our offices so we can get them to you where ever you are in the world. That was handled by your Grandfather a while ago between us and my partners."

My Dad sat there and said, "If we contest the will?"

Mr. Jackson looked up and said, "You cannot. Your father paid for everything in this house prior to his death. He paid for his funeral and went before the state supreme court to make sure this could not be contested. If you file any type of paperwork to contest it you will lose the house and cars. Then you will have less than 30 days to leave without anything but your own personal belongings."

My mom was glaring at me and said, "So we own the house?"

"The house is officially Teds as of Monday afternoon when I bring the forms for him to sign," He said.

"Good," She said looking at me. "Chloe you need to be moved out and get that damned RV off my property by Monday at 1pm."

Her and my brother left. My Dad looked at me and said, "Your Mom is right you need to leave so I would get upstairs to your room and start packing. Make sure you take anything you want from your Grandpa's room when you leave as it all goes to charity this week."

He got up and left. Mr. Jackson looked at me and handed me the keys to the RV and said, "Make sure you keep it locked when your not moving things there."

Nodding I went out the door and ran into Max. He caught me and said, "Are you alright?"

"We need to talk," I said. "Did you get food?"

"Yeah I brought it into your room," He said. 

I took his hand and dragged him up the back staircase. When we got in there I locked the door and took him to the balcony after I put on my TV and turned it up. When we were on the balcony with our food he said, "Chloe what happened your mom and Mike came out pissed off. Your Dad came out and said to me I hope you can carry boxes."

"You remember when we laughed about how Grandpa had us get our license to drive the RV?" I asked.

"Yeah," He said. "We laughed but decided to do it to make him happy."

I sat there telling him everything about the reading of the will and the journals. Then I told him about the video and what Grandpa had said about how we belonged together. When I got to the adventure Max said, "I know."

"What?" I asked.

"Your Grandpa told me when he passed he wanted us to go on an adventure but not that he was financing it. I have been saving to take you down to the keys," He said.

"Well apparently in the RV there is everything for an adventure for us. No wonder he had us get our passports when we turned eighteen," I said. "But that will have to wait for a couple of days because I have to pack and be out of this house by Monday at 1pm."

We finished eating and he took the plates and put them on the dresser. When I came off the balcony he walked up to me and put my face in his hands. Leaning in he kissed me. I did not stop it either. By the time we pulled apart we were breathless and he put his forehead to mine and said, "We will figure it out while we are on the adventure. But for now we have to get you moved out of here."

Nodding I said, "I agree."

I walked into the closet and said, "I guess I need to get boxes to put everything in the RV. There is the master bedroom I can add clothes into. Then stuff I am not using right away I can put in boxes in the bunks. Wait Max what about your job?"

He sighed and said, "Chloe I work from home remember. I can work as long as I have WIFI so I will upgrade my plan so I can do just that. Plus you should know better than anyone I do not have a set work schedule."

"So now what," I asked.

"Easy I am going to go get some boxes for you," He said. "When I get back we can take the first bunch of your clothes down to the RV. Remember I do not have a lot of clothes so I should not need that much space. If I remember right that closet is huge in the RV."

Max kissed my forehead and left with our plates. Going into the closet I started sorting clothing into warm and cold weather clothes. I kept the clothes for warm weather out for now and ready to hang in the closet. I would box up the cold weather clothes for later use. I had most of the closet done when I heard a knock at my door. Looking up I saw my mother and asked, "What can I help you with?"

"We saw Max left so we wanted to make sure you were packing. When will you be done?" She asked.

"I am working on it now and I will be done with my room and Grandpa's room by Monday at 1pm if not sooner," I said.

"Good," She said.

Stopping I looked up to her and said, "What did I do to you all to make you hate me?"

"Easy," she said. "You were born."

Laughing I said, "Well I am glad to know that I never have to see you ever again. You are a sad and bitter woman. Trust me when I say we will be packing late into the night and I will be out of here as fast as I can."

"We need your car keys," She said.

"Not until I move out," I said.

She turned on her heel and left the room. By the time Max got back he had changed out of his suit and brought in a few totes and ten boxes. He said, "Well my Mom is pissed and told me that if I am going to travel with you I need to be out by Friday of next week."

"Oh Max I am so sorry," I said.

"Don't be she is mad she will not be able to get cash from me whenever she wants it," He said. "I had already taken her name off of all my accounts and made sure all my stuff would be easy to move. So what do you need me to box?"

"All those clothes folded are winter clothes," I said. "I then need to pack all my books off of the shelves."

I took a box and put in most of my shoes in it. I kept a laundry basket free for stuff that would go in my drawers. When we had a bunch of boxes ready I grabbed the first handful of clothing and we went downstairs after locking the door to my room. When we got to the RV I unlocked it and went inside. Putting on the lights we headed to the bedroom that was shrunk for driving. Max added the books to the back of one bunk to the back. We looked at the top bunk on the other side with boxes that said, stuff for Chloe. We looked around and I said, "I guess the bunks will hold our stuff. After I move out I will go to Walmart and get food, kitchen and bath stuff while you pack. We both know I am not allowed in your mom's house."

He said, "It will be okay Chloe."

"I know," I said. "We will need to find a place to park until we leave on this adventure."

"Oh I took care of that," He said. "Uncle Mack said we can come out to the farm and park near the barn whenever we are in town. That way we can go over the journals and plan things."

I gave a sigh of relief and Max said, "Come on the woman gave me a 10pm curfew tonight. When I get home I am going to start packing. I see we can hook our gaming systems in the bedroom and living room. What I pack tonight I will bring it tomorrow before we move more of your things to the RV."

"Do you need to stop for more boxes?" I asked.

"No I have plenty in the truck," He said. "I have an alarm for 9:15 so we take one last load to the RV before I leave."

For the next few hours we continued to pack up my room. By the time Max alarm went off more than half of my room was done. When he left I went into the kitchen and grabbed a few of the sandwiches left from the funeral lunch. When I got up the stairs Mike was standing at my door. Looking at him I asked, "What?"

"I want to look through Grandpas room to see what I can sell," He said.

"No," I said. "Not until I go through it."

"You greedy whore," He said. "You made me a laughing stock and now you tell me no."

"Exactly Mike," I said. "I made you the laughing stock because you had to brag about something you did not have. Move out of my way I want to continue to pack so I can leave this place."

He raised his hand to hit me and my Dad bellowed, "Mike."

Mike jumped back and said, "This is not over."

"Mike if anything happens to me, Max, the RV or any of my stuff you will go to jail." I said. "The RV was serviced two days ago and nothing was wrong with it. You all want me to go away and I will be gone as fast as I can."

My Dad walked up as I unlocked the door and I said, "You here to tell me you wish I was never born as well."

"No I came to tell you I am sorry for how things worked out," He said.

"No your sorry you did not get anything but the house and cars," I said. "You let Mike bully me for ears and let Mom treat me as I was nothing. I will leave and never come back. Your inaction speaks louder than the words you say now."

He stopped the door and said, "Leave stuff for your brother after you go through your Grandfathers room."

He turned and walked away. Going into my room I sat at my desk and ate as I logged into the website I started making when Grandpa was sick. It was a blog named it A Strange New World. I was eating slow and I felt a breeze go past me. I chuckled lightly and said, "Grandpa you do not know what a mess you left."

As I turned to face him he laughed as he sat on my bed. "Oh Chloe I was there but you were upset. I tried visiting Max but he was to busy worrying about you. I will give him credit you both finally stepped over the friend line."

"Grandpa what are the journals?" I asked.

"Chloe there are things all around the world that people think of as mystical," He said. "My dear girl you and that blog are going to rip away the veil and bring it to life. Trust me when I say the items in the boxes in the RV as well as those journals will be your life line. Max and you will be going on an adventure of a lifeline and will soon forget about this place. Trust me on that."

"Will I see you again?" I asked.

"Oh sweet girl of course you will," He said. "Your gift to see everything is a great treasure. Your Grandma told me to tell you, live your life and try new things."

"Why is she not here," I asked.

"She knew we needed some visits to ourselves," He said.

"I miss you Grandpa," I said. "I would give up everything to have you here instead."

"Sweet girl I have had this planned since you were born," He said. "You never had a chance to fight this. But I do need to go now. I will be watching your adventures and Chloe, Max and you belong together."

"I love you Grandpa," I said.

"Love you to Chloe," He said as he walked up to me and kissed my forehead.

Finishing the food I had with me I started in my dresser and started to pack when my phone rang. Picking up the phone I said, "Hey Max."

"Hey Chloe how are things since I left?" He asked.

"Well Mike started crap, Mom told me I was a mistake, Dad tried to cover his butt and my Grandpa visited me and we had a conversation," I said. "How about you?"

"Oh my Mom is in rare form," He said. "I have been packing non stop and she keeps coming in asking me if I am taking everything. I told her I am taking everything but the furniture. She asked me to sell my TV and XBOX. I told her she could have the TV when I left and she finally left me alone. I was planning on relaxing by playing some games tonight but that is already packed ready for my truck in the morning."

"What are you going to do with your truck while we are gone?" I asked.

"Uncle Mack is going to store it in the Garage," He said. "I will leave the keys in case he needs it."

"Well that sounds like a plan," I said. "What time will you be here tomorrow?"

"Chloe you are going to sleep in tomorrow," He said. "You need to get some sleep and rest. I will be there at eleven and I will bring you breakfast."

"Ohh that sounds good," I said. "Maybe throw an ice coffee in there as well."

"What kind of man do you think I am to bring you breakfast without a coffee," He joked.

"I try," I said. "I have a lot of stuff to add to my dresser draws and I have a bunch of boxes as well. You will have to help me pull the furniture out to check to make sure I did not leave anything behind. I also want to go through Grandpa's room with a fine tooth comb. I know I want some of his flannels and if you see stuff of his you want take it as well. My brother wants to get in there to sell whatever is left."

"Don't worry Chloe we will have plenty of time to get everything done and be out of there before Monday," He said.

"Good," I said. "After today I want out of here as soon as possible. I did start to look over the banking paperwork and we will not have to worry about money. I also saw the chest behind the drivers seat. According to the paperwork there are vouchers and gas cards for all over the United States and Canada."

"Chloe we will worry about all of that once we park at uncle Mack's place," He said. "But I need to go for now I want to get more packed and I will see you in the morning. Love you."

"Love you to Max," I said. "Really you know I do love you."

"Well if we are being honest Chloe," He said. "I have been in love with you since we meet in preschool. I cannot wait for the adventure we are going to have."

We hung up and I looked at the clock and it said 11:30 I decided to go till 2am and continued to pack. By the time it was 2pm I had most of my room packed and added some of the pictures of Max and I to put in the RV. I crawled into bed and set my alarm for 9am. I fell into a solid sleep. At 7am I was woken up to pounding on my bedroom door. I called out what. When no one answered I walked to the door and opened it. My mother was standing there with Mike and said, "You need to get up and keep packing."

"Mother I was up till 2am packing and am almost finished," I said. "Max will be here at 11 and by then I am hoping we will be done in here and onto Grandpa's room. Now leave me alone."

Mike went to push himself into my room and I said, "If you try to come in I will call the police Mike. You have harassed and bullied me for years and I am done with it. When I leave you will never hear from me again. Also so you know I am spoke with Mr. Jackson before he left yesterday. If anything happens to me I am leaving everything I got to the children's home in town. He will be here at noon with a judge for me to sign the paperwork. It also stated in Grandpa's will if anything happened to me before my will was filed everything goes to the same children's home. You both made your own beds now let me be so I can wake up and pack the rest of my room up so I can move."

Mike went to say something and Mom pulled him away. I watched them walk down the hall and I shut and locked my door. Pulling on the clothes I had put aside I started packing up the remaining items in my room. I added my two trunks with mementos from traveling with Grandpa and Grandma to the pile. I stripped my bed and added the sheets to my hamper and thanked god that I did laundry the day before the funeral. Folding my blankets and comforter I added them to the pile and put a new set of sheets on the pile so I could make the bed in the RV. I checked the day before and both beds were a queen. 

I heard another lighter knock at the door and I opened it to see Max here early. He handed me a iced coffee and said, "I figured you would need this."

"Thank you," I said. "Mike and Mom decided to pound on my door at 7am this morning after I went to bed at two."

"Well let's go to your balcony and eat breakfast," He said " After we eat we will move all your furniture and make sure we have everything from your room. Then we go into your Grandpa's room and pack what you want."

Sitting on the balcony I said, "This will be the last time we are out here,"

"Are you alright Chloe?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Just a lot of memories here."

"Well we will make memories of our own and when we are done with our adventure we will settle down in a home of our own," He said. "We will have to make sure we have a balcony. God the amount of time we spent on this one was insane."

We finished eating and we went inside pulling all the furniture out so we could check for things that may had fallen. When he went to move my desk he said, "Its a shame we could not bring the desk I know how much you liked it."

Looking at him I said, "We do not have room for it. But its okay I will find a better one when we settle into a house of our own."

We opened the door and Mom was getting ready to knock. She looked at me and said, "Well are you done in here?"

"My room will be done when I leave for the last time," I said. "That is when I will hand you my key, Grandpa's key and my house and car key. Now please let me get this all moved."

"Well make it fast I want to turn your room into my yoga room and Mike is going to turn Grandpa's room into a gaming room," She said. "Remember to leave stuff for him to sell."

"I will not just leave things for him to sell," I said. "He should get a job and be an adult."

She went to raise her hand to hit me and Max said, "Do not even think about it."

Putting her hand down she yelled, "Hurry up and get out of here."

We took all the stuff from my room and unpacked it or placed it in the bunks. When the last of the items were moved out of the room I hooked the keys on my belt loop and went over to my car. We took around thirty minutes to clean out the car and I locked it after I emptied it. As we were heading inside I heard my name called, "Chloe."

I turned to see Mr. Jackson and a man in a suit. "Hi Mr. Jackson. Why don't we go inside the RV. It is rather tense in the house and to be honest I will be out of here hopefully later tonight."

Mr. Jackson gave me a look and said, "Chloe this is Judge Markins and he will be the witness along with Max. Also once signed it is live and active."

Going into the bedroom I grabbed my wallet out of my purse and went back to the table everyone say down at. Before I could sit down there was knocking at the door. Opening it Mike was standing there with his Buddy's. "Chloe I need the keys to Grandpas room."

"Mike I told you when I am done getting what I want I will hand the keys over when I leave," I said. "Now if you will excuse me I was in the middle of something."

"Listen here Chloe you will give me that key," He barked. "NOW!"

Mr. Jackson stood up and came to the door. He looked at Mike and said, "Mike it looks like you are trying to dispute your Grandpa's will. Should I go inside and have a word with your parents as this could be considered them disputing the will. You know what excuse me I think I will have a talk with your parents."

He left the RV and went to the door. Both of my parents were at the door and I saw the look on my Mom's face and Dad called out, "Michael get over here now."

Mike called me something under his breath as he walked away. Mr. Jackson said something we could not hear. He walked back towards me and said, "They were warned and will now leave you alone. I told them you would be letting me know if they hounded you or harassed you anymore."

"Thank you Mr. Jackson," I said. "I would like some peace as we work in Grandpa's room."

We sat and Mr. Jackson explained the will and that if something was to happen to me the remaining amount in my accounts would go to my husband if I was married or everything would be sold and go to the local orphanage if I was still single. Anything I owned jointly would defer to the other owner. He said that this could be changed anytime but for now it is what my Grandpa suggested."

After I signed, Judge Markins and Max signed. We told them we were going to be going to Max's uncles farm to stay after I loaded the RV with supplies once I moved out. They said their goodbyes and left. Max said, "Are you ready for your Grandpa's room?"

"Yes," I said. "Let's get the boxes from my room and give it one last look over to make sure there is nothing that should have been packed."

We went inside and everything was quiet. Going up to my room we went in and I looked under and behind everything one last time. I checked the bathroom and realized I forgot the hamper. Max took that out to the RV and came back in saying, "Mike is pissed but he left me alone. Lets get these boxes and if we need more I have them in my truck."

Stopping at the door Max put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I have you Chloe."

Unlocking the door we went in and I sighed. It smelled like him still. We walked into the room and I headed for the closet. Looking at Max I said, "He was just as much my Grandpa as he was yours. If you see any clothes or things you want take them."

Max laughed and said, "After you."

Walking to the back I started going through his clothes. We found all his flannels that he loved and I took my favorite ones and laid them on the bed. Max grabbed a pile as well and said, "I will run these down while you sort more."

Finding boxes of his pictures from his travels I grabbed a box and added them into the first keep box. Then I found his collection of camera's from when he was a photographer and packed those up as well. Sorry Mike you ain't getting these at all. When Max came in he was laughing, "Mike is sitting at the bottom of the stairs monitoring everything we take out of here. He saw the flannels and was so upset."

"Good," I said. "I am done with his ways. Oh all along the bottom of the closet is all his shoes. Some of them are expensive shoes so if they fit you definitely take them. There is a lot of boots as well."

Max laughed and took a box and went into the closet. Why he started that I walked over to the first bookcase and took everything I wanted from it. We continued to go through the room. Max would bring the boxes down as we packed more. He would come back laughing each time because Mike looked more and more dismayed each time he brought down more boxes. After our first sweep of the room I asked Max, "How much more room do we have on the top bunks?"

"Well the clothes that we could wear in this weather I put on the bed so we could put them away. There is some room on both sides on the upper bunks and some room in the storage closet I found. So if you want to keep more we can fit about 5 more boxes. I left the shelves free for blankets and paper goods and I put some of my Grams baskets on the top shelf so we can add our memento's from where our adventures take us." He said.

By the door there was a partially filled box and I went back into the closet and looked through the clothes one more time. I took Grandpa's second best suit and found my Grandma's wedding dress. Taking those I added them to the pile Max picked them up and said, "Lets not let these touch the ground."

When he went out the door I looked through everything again and opened the drawers and under the bed and decided to take his blanket and his slippers. Going into the bathroom I grabbed his Bathrobe and aftershave. Looking in the cabinets I found a box that held his handgun and bullets. I took that as well and put it in the box. Max came in and said, "Anything else?"

"That box," I said. "Plus his robe and blanket."

"You ready to go?" He said.

"Not yet," I said. Sitting on his bed I called out, "Grandpa is your watching me I need to ask you a question."

There was a rush of air and he appeared in front of me, "Chloe what can I help you with?"

Max sat next to me and said, "It never ceases to amaze me when you do that. Hey Marshall."

"Hey Max," He said. "Enjoy the clothes I am glad they are not going to stay here for Mike to pawn."

"Grandpa is there anything else in here you want me to take with us?" I asked.

"Did you get the safe?" He asked.

Max and I looked at each other and said, "Safe?"

"Yes safe back to the closet," He said. "In the back where there is the corner cabinet. Do you see that tab? Pull it. The code is your birthday."

I knelt down and pulled the tab and Max brought in the box. When I opened the safe there was a stack of money and a jewelry box. Looking up I asked, "Was this Grandmas?"

"Yes," He said. "It also has some pieces that were my Mom's as well. Besides the safe you found my gun. Let me look around a second."

He came back and smiled at me, "You got it all."

I left the safe open and said, "Then I guess I am done." 

Max took the box and I took the robe and blankets. Grandpa said, "I will see you kids again. Remember Chloe start the journals when your ready to start your adventure."

Looking at my phone I said, "Wow it's only 6pm. How much more do you have left to pack?"

"About another hour or so," Max said. We headed downstairs and Mike looked angry when I came out with one last box and some more things. Walking past him we went to the RV and we put everything up. I took the cash from the safe and put it in my wallet and took the keys for the house, car, my room and Grandpa's room off my key ring. Max followed me back into the house and I found them in the dining room eating dinner.

"Here," I said tossing them on the table. I am leaving now and you won't have to deal with me ever again. 

As I went to walk away Max stopped and turned to them and said, "You can't even tell her goodbye. What is wrong with you all.  You all do not even deserve her."

When we got outside I went into the RV and max came in and hugged me. I looked at him and said, "I'm okay."

He went to say something and there was a knock at my door. My Dad asked if he could come in and I nodded to Max. He came in and said, "Chloe I am sorry about your mother and brothers behavior."

Looking at him I asked, "What about yours? You agreed when she kicked me out and have let her and Mike harass me. Its like you do not even care."

Sighing he said, "Chloe I am sorry about mine as well. I will not make excuses. Your Mother and I have been on the outs for a very long time. Honestly I am thinking about going to Mr. Jackson and talking to him about a divorce. Chloe I do not know why your mom is like this and I am going to find out. I know your mine because I did a DNA test when you were a baby."

Max said, "Wait why would you do that?"

Dad sighed and said, "Because Mike is not mine. His biological Dad passed away when Sharon was pregnant. I had no doubt in my mind but Grandma suggested it to be sure. I was young and stupid. Which pretty much sums up my marriage to your Mom. I want a chance to make it right Chloe and try to have a relationship with you."

"Okay Dad we can try," I said. "I wish Mom didn't hate me as much as she does."

"That is on her," He said. "That is all I am going to say on the subject. When are you leaving?"

"We were getting ready to go in a few minutes," I said. 

He hugged me and kissed my head. Looking at me as he went to leave he said, "Send me some postcards will ya and keep me updated on where you are."

"I will," I said.

When Dad left Max looked at me and said, "That's a start. Do you want me to back her out?"

I laughed and said, "Nope I got it. Just stand out there and give me directions."

Once I had backed out the RV Max came up to the window and said, "It should not take me more than two hours to pack. I will find you inside of Walmart." 

Watching him walk to his truck I drove over to Walmart. I was lucky this location had RV parking. Grabbing my wallet I checked for the cash and my debit card. I made sure all the locks were set inside and locked the door heading into the store. I started in the bath area getting new towels and stuff for the bathroom. Since i had the closet to store them in I made sure we would have plenty on hand. I continued around the store to the kitchen area and picked up an air fryer and coffee pot. I knew we had a small oven and two burners so I picked up pans that could be used in the oven as well as a small pot set. Grabbing beach items and chairs for the RV as well I went to check out. While I was in check out Max found me and I asked, "What's wrong?"

"My Mom as usual." He said. "I am packed and ready to go."

"Okay," I said. "I just got the basics and paper products and cleaners, but have to come back in for food and health products."

After I paid we went to the RV and I opened the side hatch for the small outdoor grill, charcoal and chairs I got and put them in locking it closed. Opening the RV Max bought the last of his things and put them up and helped me unload the cart. He asked me, "Do you want to put this away or get the groceries?"

"I figured we could put everything away once we got to the farm and settled in for the night," I said. "I am so happy that this RV has a full size fridge. Remember we have a decent kitchen so we will stock up."

Going back inside we went to the health and wellness section first and got everything we would need. Then we went through the store and bought the food we would need to get us started. I had Max get an extra cart and we loaded up on all the drinks we would need for a while. After checking out we loaded everything onto the floor in the RV and headed out to Uncle Mack's place. When we pulled in he whistled at the RV and said, "What a beauty."

Max went over and shook his hand as I got out. Mack came over and hugged me saying, "Baby girl I am so sorry about your Grandpa. You know you are always welcome here. What do you need from me to help."

"Mack, your doing it," I said. "Now that I am out of my parents house I have to go over everything the lawyer gave me and after that is done I have to start the first journal to see where we are to go first."

"Well you kids take your time," He said. "Max your Mama called me and was hopping mad with you moving out. I tried talking her down but you know how she is. She is more mad she will not get the rent you paid her more than anything."

"Since the ground is packed I am going to start putting out the extensions for the room and living room," I said. "I am so tired it is going to be dinner and sleep tonight."

"Well you kids go get settled," He said. "I will check on you in the morning."

We went inside and Max said, "Okay boss lady do you want me to set up the gaming systems while you unpack?"

"Yes," I said. "But first can you help me find the laundry detergent so I can do a load of laundry. I know the gray water tank is empty and the water is full so we should be good."

"Well uncle Mack has a gray water collection system near were we are parked and a hose so we can fill the regular water tank." He said handing me laundry detergent.

I started the laundry that was in my hamper then started to unpack everything. Putting food into the cabinets and fridge I organized everything and by the time Max was done setting up the gaming systems we were ready to make dinner. Max asked, "What are you going to make for dinner?"

Looking at the meat in the fridge I said, "I am going to make chicken taco's"

"Oh," He said. "I love Chicken Taco's. What can I do?"

"If you want to cut up some of the vegetables for me," I said. "I will handle the meat."

We both worked on the toppings and I cut up the meat and made the sides. When everything was ready we sat at our table and made our plates. Looking at Max I said, "Wanna play some Call of Duty while we eat?"

He jumped up and grabbed the remotes saying, "Yes."

We logged into our accounts and started to play while we ate. When we finished eating we cleaned up and went to get ready for bed. We stood at the bed and he said, "Chloe I do not want this to be weird. I can sleep in the living room."

"No its okay," I said. "We have shared a bed before just not as a couple."

He walked over to me and hugged me. "This is not a big deal we just started our future together we have all the time in the world. Just remember if you start to snore I will push you off the bed."

Looking up at him I asked, "Wanna fall asleep to a movie. After the last few days I am sleeping till I naturally wake up."

We laid in bed and fell asleep to Harry Potter playing. We slept soundly until we heard pounding at the door. Max sat up and said, "Stay here I will see who it is."

He left and I heard him open the window to the door. I herd muffled voices and when Max returned he said, "Stay in bed uncle Mack is going to teach me how to run the water and blackwater lines to the RV as well as the electric cord not to use all the batteries in the RV so we do not have to use the reserves."

Closing my eyes I turned over and went back to sleep. I woke up a while later to Max pushing my hair back and saying, "Chloe do you want some coffee. Sit up I have you a cup here."

I sat up and said, "What time is it?"

"Its going on one in the afternoon," Max said. "Uncle Mack and I went over the hook ups and sliders and he taught me everything including the solar panels and how to read everything."

"Oh and I slept all day," I said. "I feel awful."

"Don't say that you have been through a lot," He said. "I had an idea. We have a lot of room left in the RV for the freezer, fridge and pantry. Do you want to go to the farmers market? I know you want to get more vegetables and then we can go to Aldi after to get all the stuff you like. Today is the night market also when you get up a bit I was going to make you a vegetable panini."

"Well how about this," I said. "After everything we did this week. Why don't we go to Panera, then to Sam's Club to stock up on drinks and snacks. Bring them back and then go to the Market and Aldi."

"Well I am good with that if you let me buy lunch," Max said.

"Its a date," I said. "Is it warm out?"

"Yes," He said. "Definitely a shorts day. By the way I think we need to look through everything your grandpa left in here tomorrow for our adventures. But I had an idea if you don't mind."

"Sure," I said.

"I think we should make this a unscheduled trip so you do not stress," Max said. "Besides you need to work on your blog today. I think we should also do a YouTube channel to go with it."

"Max that is a great idea," I said. "I guess I will be working when you work tomorrow?"

Taking my hand he said, "We got this."