"But this morning, there's a calm I can't explain."

The day after their high school graduation, Alex and Olivia planned on looking at apartments together. Alex had been accepted to Harvard and Olivia had been accepted to Boston University, so their intentions were to find an apartment midway between their schools. Their apartment hunting was also going to serve as a post-graduation getaway. They had never gotten a hotel room together and they planned on having a romantic evening complete with dinner at a nice restaurant followed by making love to each other until morning. The girls tried hard to be discreet, but Mr. and Mrs. Cabot saw the looks on their faces whenever they talked about their upcoming Boston trip and they knew Alex and Olivia had planned on doing much more than looking at apartments. Mr. Cabot, still worried about the purity of his now 18-year-old daughter, insisted on going with them as they looked at apartments. He told them it was because he didn't want their potential landlord taking advantage of them because they were teenagers and first-time renters, but Alex and Olivia knew it was because he didn't want them to have sex. Frank Cabot knew there was nothing he could do to stop his daughter from having sex with Olivia once they lived together, but if he could keep his daughter's purity in check for at least one more summer, he would be a happier man. What he didn't know and what he was better off not knowing is that after Alex and Olivia had officially become a couple they had sworn off sex until they were both 18, but the moment Alex turned 18, they began making love to each other every chance they were given. Sometimes they had a whole night together in Olivia's room, other times they were on borrowed time behind the bleachers of the football field. It was never about getting off or instant gratification, it was about feeling each other and sharing something that they had only ever given to each other. Alex and Olivia were falling deeper in love as the weeks passed, which is what worried Mr. and Mrs. Cabot. They knew Alex and Olivia were no different from how they were in high school, but they still worried about anyone breaking their little girl's heart no matter how much they loved and respected Olivia. Olivia was Alex's world and they shuddered to think what would happen if the two of them broke up.

Although they preferred the girls living in the dorms and avoiding adulthood for just a while longer, Mr. and Mrs. Cabot co-signed for the girls' studio apartment in Allston, which is right next to Boston University. Olivia had preferred Cambridge, not just anywhere in Cambridge, but an apartment in Cambridge that was within walking distance to Harvard. She had wanted them to live near Alex's school so she could walk Alex home from class and walk her home from the library after she finished studying for her finals and midterms. Cambridge was a safe city, but Olivia always felt better when she knew Alex was being protected and she knew no one was better at protecting Alex than she was. As happy as Alex was that Olivia wanted to protect her, she knew Allston was a better location because it was near Olivia's school. When asked why it was better to live near Olivia's school, Alex presented the argument that living near Harvard would only benefit them during midterms and finals, but Olivia was going to have late-night and early morning practices all the time once basketball season began and she didn't want her girlfriend to have a long commute after being exhausted from basketball practice or working out at the gym with her teammates. When Olivia tried to argue with her, Alex pointed out that if she insisted on protecting her, she could still take the bus or the subway to Harvard to pick her up when she had to stay late. Realizing she would still be able to protect Alex even if they didn't live in Cambridge, Olivia finally gave in.

Their apartment was the size of Alex's bedroom in Framingham, but they didn't mind because it was theirs and theirs alone. They could stay up as late as they wanted, eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and, most importantly, make love whenever they wanted.

Mr. and Mrs. Cabot were involved in every aspect of planning for Alex and Olivia's new apartment. To save space, Mr. Cabot had suggested that the girls get bunk beds instead of two twin beds. Alex told them she preferred a queen size bed for the two of them to share and Mr. Cabot nearly had a heart attack. "No teenage daughter of mine is sharing a bed with anyone. I don't care if you two have been together for over a year already," he told her. Alex agreed to the bunk beds because the bottom bunk was slightly larger and she knew the two of them could share it and use the top bunk for storage until her parents visited. That's when they'd move whatever they had on the top bunk and make it look slightly messy as if someone were sleeping there every night. Alex had a feeling her parents would see right through that, but she felt it was worth a shot.

When move-in day came, Alex and Mr. and Mrs. Cabot helped Olivia move her belongings from her bedroom to the moving truck that was parked along the curb. Mrs. Cabot was furious with Olivia's mom for not being there to help her daughter move or even crying because her only child was leaving home for the first time, but Alex told her that Ms. Benson wasn't that kind of mother. Alex and Olivia had been a couple for nearly a year and a half and she had yet to meet Olivia's mom. Olivia told her it was for the best because she worried about losing Alex's love if she had ever met her mom. Alex reassured her that nothing could ever make her stop loving her, but seeing her girlfriend start to become teary-eyed made Alex drop the subject.

The drive from New York to Boston took five hours, but it would have taken less time had Mr. Cabot known how to properly drive a U-Haul truck. Throughout the entire drive, Alex feared for her girlfriend's safety. She was following behind them in a car with her mom while Olivia was in the truck with Mr. Cabot. Alex had wanted to ride with Olivia, but Mr. Cabot had insisted on having some alone time with Olivia so he could get to know her better. He loved Olivia as one of his own and Alex knew the real reason he wanted to ride with Olivia is because it was baseball season and the two of them were going to have another one of their Yankees vs. Red Sox debates. The two of them debated over everything sports-related. Mr. Cabot loved his Boston teams and Olivia was a die-hard fan of her New York teams. When the two of them got into it, Alex and Mrs. Cabot would just sit back and enjoy listening to their significant others make fools of themselves. What Alex refused to tell her dad was that Olivia had bought her a Yankees t-shirt and she occasionally wore it when they made love. Seeing it on her drove Olivia crazy and if that's what it took to have mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex with Olivia, Alex was more than willing to convert to what her father called "the dark side."

Moving all of their stuff into the apartment took slightly less than three hours. Mr. Cabot and Olivia easily assembled their bed and Mrs. Cabot and Alex unpacked the boxes while Mr. Cabot and Olivia did the rest of the heavy lifting. The four of them relaxed for awhile before Mr. and Mrs. Cabot told the girls it was time for them to check into their hotel room. Even though they would be seeing the girls the next day, Alex's parents had already started crying. They had 18 years to prepare for this moment, but that didn't make it any easier for them. Their little girl was now a young woman and living in another state instead of down the hall from them where they could make sure she's safe and cared for.

"Take care of my girl, Champ," Mr. Cabot said and shook hands with Olivia.

"I will, sir," Olivia said and then hugged Mr. Cabot. Alex knew her girlfriend wasn't the type to hug anyone other than her and Shawn so she was shocked when the two of them shared a moment.

"I'm trusting you with my princess," he said. "Promise you'll never break her heart."

"Alex is my heart," Olivia said, finally letting go from their hug.

"If you girls need anything—anything at all, don't be afraid to ask," Mrs. Cabot told them. "New York really isn't that far. Well, it is if Frank drives and gets lost in Connecticut again."

"Very funny, Jolene," he said, trying not to laugh.

"I love you," Alex said to her parents. "I'll always be your little girl, I promise."

"Come here," Mrs. Cabot said, pulling Olivia in for a hug. "You're my little girl now, too. I didn't think it was possible to feel this way, but even though you're my daughter's girlfriend, I feel like you're part of this family. I'm sorry about your mom, but you'll always have us—always, Olivia."

Alex saw her girlfriend hug her mom closer than she had ever seen her hug anyone before. The tears were streaming down her cheeks and she couldn't get a word out other than "thanks," but Olivia's gratitude really went without saying.

Not wanting her girlfriend to feel vulnerable, Alex went over to Olivia and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you," she whispered in her ear and saw Olivia immediately start to smile.

That night, the girls slept together in the bottom bunk of their bunk beds. They were wearing their pajamas instead of wearing anything sexy or even sleeping naked like they had originally planned. Instead of making love, Alex listened to Olivia talk about anything and everything she wanted because she knew it was important for her and because she genuinely enjoyed listening to whatever was on Olivia's mind. She hadn't fully opened up to Alex but she began telling her about the anxiety she felt whenever she slept at home and how relieved she was that she wouldn't have to feel that anymore. There was no yelling, no cursing, no worrying about what type of mood her mother was going to be in whenever she saw her. Instead, there was calm feeling that Olivia said she had never felt before. She fell asleep that night with her head on Alex's chest and she was overjoyed that their apartment was peaceful enough for her to fall asleep and be able to actually hear Alex's heartbeat. Alex wrapped her arms around her sleeping girlfriend and started to cry. Her girlfriend had experienced something horrible and she may or may not ever find out what it was, but she made a promise to herself to make sure Olivia was loved everyday for the rest of her life. She knew Olivia wanted to protect her, but in reality, Alex felt as if she was protecting Olivia, too.