COSMOS | Complete

CHAPTER 62: ASHER

A few weeks into summer, Dad and Heidi's arguments don't ease up at all, and instead, take a turn for the worst. It's constant, day and night, that they're at each other's throats. Even after my surgery, they disagreed over everything – when to return to school, whether to return to school at all. Little things, and big things, like color swatches for the wedding, and whether they should get married at all. Heidi took a few breaks from the house, but it didn't seem to fix anything.

In July, Heidi announced that she's leaving. "It's been a good run," she said with a small smile, reliving countless memories. She had been with us since I was six, and to see her leave ... it was like waving my own mother good-bye. She packed all her belongings into a few bags, and baked on last batch of cookies. We drove her to the airport, and now, standing outside her terminal, her departure suddenly seems very, very real.

Aaron said his good-byes last night – strangely enough, Heidi told him first. I should be offended, but over the year, he's developed a relationship with her that even I don't have. "She's like a second mother to me," Aaron told me one summer afternoon. Then, quickly, with a face: "But I'm glad she's not. Incest is gross."

Dad even manages to look sad to see Heidi go. Throughout all their fall outs, Heidi has been a big part of our lives, and he knows it won't be the same without her. "Thank you," he says, pressing a light kiss on her cheek. "I know we had our problems. I just wish it could've ended differently."

Heidi lets out a small sigh in agreement. "Yes. Perhaps, later in our lives."

"It's pretty late," I joke. Heidi swats my shoulder. "I'll miss you, too," she mocks with a roll of her eyes.

I realize that, along with the person I share all my secrets with, I'll be losing the daily, playful banter with the only motherly figure in my life. Heidi said her door is always open for visits, but she's moving to a different state. With college coming up, I'm not sure when I'll get to see her in person again, besides vacation days.

I wrap her in a hug, pressing my cheek against hers. She smells like flour and a hint of lavender. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you."

"Big things," Heidi assures. She pulls back with a smile. "Big things."

I wipe hastily at my eyes. If I start crying, it will trigger my father and Heidi to do the same, and the last thing I want is for her to board the plane with wet eyes.

By now, the time window for boarding is beginning to close. Heidi presses one last kiss on my forehead, and squeezes my father's hand. "Thank you both," she murmurs. "You have truly made my life into one like the movies."

I want to tell her that it better not be a tragedy, since that would be twelve years wasted, but I hold my tongue. This isn't good-bye, this is hello – to a new world.

"We're not the end credits," I whisper. My lips curve into a smile. "We're the new beginning to the second film."

We wave to her as she enters the hall that leads her to the airplane, two carry-ons following her wake. Before crossing the threshold, she turns back to us, and blows us a kiss. I do the most cheesy thing I can think of and pretend to catch it. She lets out a silent laugh, and with a brilliant smile, she disappears.

Dad and I wait in the terminal until the airplane departs. We watch the gigantic machine roar down the runway, let out a mighty gasp, and reach for the air. We watch it flap its great, metal wings, and disappear into the cloudless sky.

"My God, I'll miss her," Dad mutters, choking on his last word. I share a watery smile with him, and hold his hand. Once we arrive home, it will just be us and Sofia, and a big, giant house. Quiet, but louder. Never have I felt so lonely, but never have I felt so alive.

Like I said – this is the end of a movie, but a beginning of a new one.