Page 7 of Drop Pass

“Where are you?” She sounded nearly as excited as I was.

“About forty minutes out. I’m passing Provo now.”

“Perfect. Did you get the address I sent you?”

“Yes, I’ve had my navigation directing me there from LA.” It might have been overkill. Once I got onto interstate fifteen it was a straight shot to Salt Lake, but I was excited to use my new address.

“Great. I will see you soon!” Her voice squeaked at the end and I laughed.

“See you.”

I hung up and turned up my music. I was almost there. Almost home.

When the robotic voice told me to turn into a parking garage entrance in the heart of downtown, I cheered quietly. This was an amazing location. I’d just passed the station a block before. I was within throwing distance of work! Whoever found this place was my savior.

I approached the locked gate and entered the code Lucy sent me. The parking structure was shared with the public for access to the open-air mall I’d be living above. This was seriously heaven.

I parked in the stall marked eleven-twenty and opened the door.

“You’re here!” I turned to see Lucy, Chloe, Emma, and Addison hurrying toward me with Reese, Olli, and Colin close behind.

“You guys didn’t all need to come!” I hugged each of them as they protested how crucial it was, I had a welcome party.

“We’re here to help you unload.” Colin said while looking past me to my car then back to the gate. “Where is everything?”

I popped open the trunk. “This is it. I’ve got some garment bags and totes in the backseat too.”

The guys made eye contact before smiling. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise.” Olli said.

I laughed. “I got rid of pretty much everything.”

My parents told me I was insane for selling ninety percent of my belongings, but I wanted a fresh start. I took my too-tight dresses to a thrift store and got a few hundred dollars for the torture devices. The renter taking over my unit offered me three thousand dollars to leave my furniture behind which was better than I could have expected. I didn’t want to move that much or worry about selling any of it so I was more than happy to pretend to have to think about. He made it four thousand and I walked out my front door with a few boxes of kitchen and household essentials and my remaining clothes.

Chloe looked concerned. “The unit isn’t furnished.” She turned to Lucy. “Was it supposed to be furnished?”

Lucy held up her hands. “She didn’t say.”

“Don’t worry. I planned on buying new things once I got here.”

Chloe’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh good. We can help you with that.”

“Thanks, I’ll start with a bed today and get the rest next weekend.”

The guys loaded themselves up with all the boxes and clothes so we followed behind them to the elevators. Chloe didn’t seem pleased with my plan and was already typing on her phone.

“How was the drive?” Allison asked and I was grateful for the topic change.

“It wasn’t too bad. I left LA at two am so I missed the traffic.”

“Two?” Emma cringed.

I laughed at her disgusted expression. “That’s when I’m normally up.”

“Gross.” One of the guys muttered.

I was used to these reactions. It was an unnatural time, but after years of working the morning schedule, I was used to it. I didn’t even need to go to bed as early anymore. As long as I was in bed by eight, I was fine with six hours of sleep.

We got off on the eleventh floor to soothing cream walls and marble flooring. There were only four units on each floor which would be nice for noise control. I wasn’t a big fan of having neighbors that were up and partying through all hours of the night and morning, for obvious reasons.