Waves

Chapter Twenty Six: Only a Departure

Chapter Twenty Six: Only a Departure

“There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go.” —Tennessee Williams

In life, there comes a time when we must part from loved ones. This departure could be temporary or permanent. It all depends. And sometimes, it’s out of our control. Sometimes loved ones depart in Death.

Sometimes getting up and going somewhere is good. Even if you don’t know where you’re going, just go. It’s better than sitting at home and being miserable. It doesn’t matter how you go. Walk, run, drive, swim. . . . Whatever you like. Watch the city behind you disappear and become something new. Leave your past in the dust and run toward a new future. Because it’s not healthy to live in the past. You get nothing from it. So just move on and try to make a better life for yourself because that’s all you can do.

January came and went. Lucas still didn’t sit with us. He hadn’t even really spoken to Eliza and Bianca much either. I knew that it was bothering Eliza but she didn’t say anything about it. Bianca just tried to be positive, saying that everything would work out in the end. But it would probably be a long time until that happened. It was just the three of us now and, occasionally, Cory. 

Things were going fine with him but there had been tension ever since I met his brothers. I asked him about it, but he just brushed me off saying that it was nothing. It hadn’t been the same after that. Any time I brought it up, he’d kiss my forehead and tell me not to worry about it anymore. I felt like he was hiding something from me.

When my parents caught me sneaking in that day, they demanded to know where I’d been. I told them that I was “with a friend” again. They asked who my “friend” was and I told them that it was Cory—not that they knew who he was. They told me that they didn’t want me to see Cory anymore. Now I definitely couldn’t go out and couldn’t have anyone over either. I guessed it was okay. I saw my friends and Cory at school so it was fine. Cory didn’t give me rides anymore though. Instead, my father adjusted his hours at work so that he could pick me up from school. My mother took me to school in the mornings. I supposed I deserved to be punished but it wasn’t making anything better. 

The doorbell rang after school on Friday. I didn’t think anything of it, though. I figured that it was just Hailey forgetting her keys again. But I was wrong. I got a knock on the door and when I opened it, Lucas was on the other side. It was a bit unexpected since we hadn’t really talked in a long time. Besides, I was being punished and wasn’t supposed to have anyone over yet my mother had let him in anyway. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I begged your mom to let me see you.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry for everything,” he said. “For loving you, for wasting my time. I’ll be back in Vancouver soon, so you won’t have to be bothered anymore.”

“W-What?”

“I’m leaving Southport,” he repeated.

“Why are you leaving?”

“Because I don’t belong here.”

“I thought you were going to help me.”

“How can I help you if I can’t help myself?”

“Don’t go,” I said, frowning.

“I just need to go. There’s nothing for me here.”

“Please don’t. I can’t do this on my own. You’re the only one who understands.” How was I supposed to keep going without him? I felt better when he was around even though we didn’t talk. I missed him. I needed him. I regretted everything. Why did Cory have to come back into my life? I liked him but, honestly, was it worth it? Was it worth losing Lucas as a friend?