She was the girl who was afraid of love. Terrified of it. It isn't permanent, she believed, it leaves you and it leaves you broken.
He was the boy who desperately needed it. Love--the only thing that could've rooted him to this world.
Ophelia and...
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Maria was throwing a New Year's Eve party at her parent's cabin. She somehow convinced me over the phone to come to the party, especially because, as she put it, I was leaving for home tomorrow.
I never looked forward to parties. But this one I was actually a little eager for. After all, this was my last night in Oak Valley. A party sounded a heck lot better than constantly thinking about tomorrow and how badly I'd miss everyone here when I leave.
"You should visit again, you know," Luce spoke up over the soft music that was playing from her portable speakers, the ones that I had placed on my dresser. We were having a normal evening together. She was folding up my clothes and helping me pack my bags.
"Now that you're leaving," She added. "I'm starting to realize that I sure as heck don't like living alone here."
I chuckled at that. "You can move in with Jim?"
She gave me an eye roll.
"Don't worry." I waved her off, picking up one of my sweaters. "I'm coming here again as soon as my college year ends. I'll just need to get a job or two. I'll maybe even babysit Drax if that means coming here again."
And maybe I'll get to meet Alastair too, when I come here next time.
We didn't even say goodbye, I thought as I folded my sweater. That night at the lake, things had ended just like that. I didn't want to believe that that was a goodbye, so I didn't say it. Alastair didn't either.
And then he left for Knightsridge the next day. It was Maria who told me that when she invited me to her party, not him. And perhaps that was for the best. I never knew how to handle goodbyes. They were awful.
"The annoying kid next door?" Luce asked, laughing.
"Yeah." I rolled my eyes before flopping down on my bed, looking up at the plain ceiling. "Maybe we can decorate this room a little more when I come here the next time."
I saw Luce giving me a smile. I was starting to have that familiar feeling, the one that I got whenever one of my favorite TV shows was about to end, the sadness of leaving things behind.
But that is just how life is, I told myself. You meet new people, you experience new things, you love them, and then you let them go. Because that was inevitable and there's nothing you could do about it.
"Maybe I'll bring some glow-in-the-dark stars for here next time," I murmured, still staring up at the ceiling.
"I'll make sure to remind you if you forget," Luce promised.
I smiled and closed my eyes, exhaling a small sigh.
I wasn't ready to go.
Then the doorbell rang and I opened my eyes, looking over at Luce.
