Cabin Fever (BXB)

the day we left

"Message us if anything happens, okay?" Mr. Reynolds hugged me tight. "Call if you need anything. Anything, okay?"

"I-I will," I said, shying away from the man's hands holding me like a desperate parent. It had rained the night before, and the air was still wet that early morning, and the world still shimmered with a glint of baby green everywhere. "God, not even Cheryl was this clingy." I glanced over my shoulder to see her sitting with Simon on the hood of his car.

Mr. Reynolds smirked. "She doesn't want to make a scene. This'll be the first time in 6 years you've been away for longer than a weekend."

That didn't sit right with me. I didn't know why. We were only planning to be away for, like, three or four days, at most. "I know. Crazy, right?"

"Yes." He left his hand on my shoulder. "You'll call us if you need anything, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I drew in a breath, surprisingly, and uncomfortably, difficult compared to the others. "We should be going, though. We got a 6-hour road trip ahead of us."

"And...you're not driving?"

"I'm not ready for Simon to see how much I hate driving."

He laughed at that. "That's fair. Remember our rules of the road."

"Don't pull over for any suspicious hitchhikers unless they can answer the Questions 3."

"And what are they?"

"I don't remember."

"Good boy. Other rules?"

"Be wary of gas station restrooms, and always, always, always go to a travel plaza and not a gas station if you need anything, especially food. Only candy from gas stations."

Mr. Reynolds hummed in approval before his smirk fell. "We'll miss you, Micah."

I shifted from foot to foot. "It'll just be like when I moved into Simon's apartment."

He shook his head. "Doesn't count if you and Simon come over every night pretty much."

I sneered at him.

"Say goodbye to Cheryl before you go."

"I already said goodbye."

"I can assure you, sweet child, it didn't count."

I raised a brow and swung my foot over a puddle. "I'll call you if anything happens, okay?"

He nods, smiling.

I stepped back once, turning to Mrs. Reynolds. All of this registered to me as deeply uncomfortable, but how it was, I wasn't sure. Our goodbyes felt finite yet infinite even if I knew we'd be back in less than a week. Like an unaware hero's journey starting.

Mrs. Reynolds pushed herself off the car and moved over to me. "Simon wasn't really one for saying 'bye', considering how you said you want to be back ASAP."

I shrugged. "He wants to do what he needs to do, and come back. Like a swat team. Or you in a grocery store."

She bopped me in the head. "Watch yourself."

All of this grew like a hole in my stomach, burning with falsities. "Nah," I said, sneering at her. I grinned, glancing down. "David told me to – "

"I know. He thinks I'm more emotional about this."

"Are you?"

She drew in a breath, her lips pursed. "Kind of, but also no. I'd be more concerned if you needed to do any math calculations."

"Wow."

"You've got a good head, Micah. When you're in a bind, I don't doubt you'll figure things out." She touched my face.

I shied away from her touch.

"It's who you are. It's what we love about you."

"I'll keep you and David posted, okay?"

"Good." We hugged, and she joined her husband on the side of the parking lot.

I climbed into the car. "Won't it be nice to see them again after a couple days?"

"...yeah." Simon's voice was low, a gentle tremor underscoring his breaths.

"Hey." I tapped his hand and folded it into mine. "You okay?"

He watched me for a long while, his eyes softening, before he started the car. "If you want to drive, let me know so I can pull over, okay?"

I smiled, gritting my teeth. "Okay."

We left Alabaster-by-Sea that morning, thinking we'd be back in 3 days.