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Welcome to "Always Yours".
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Maverick
"I'm leaving tonight. I need to see you."
I send the text quickly to Elise and pace my room nervously as I wait for her to reply.
I don't have that much time before Gabe will be here to get me, and I can't leave without telling her goodbye.
She means everything to me. I don't even know how I'm going to go without her.
I look out of my window one more time, but thankfully I don't see my stepfathers truck coming yet. My phone pings and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see her reply.
Lis: Oh my gosh. I'm on my way!
I grab my bag and look at my bedroom one last time, before heading into the living room. Five minutes later there's a knock on the door and I open it.
All 5'3 of Elise stands there chewing her bottom lip nervously, looking relieved when she sees me. Her curly hair is pulled up in a bun on top of her head and she's wearing one of my sweatshirts, some jeans, and an old pair of sneakers on her feet.
She's so damn beautiful.
I don't know how I'm going to survive not seeing her face every day.
I pull her inside and wrap my arms around her. I feel her hands tighten around my waist, and I only pull back when I hear her crying.
"Shh, no, please Lis. It's going to be ok. My Aunt Stephanie said I'll be safe at her place. And I'll see you again. It's only two hours away, and I'll be back this summer, I swear," I say quickly wiping away her tears.
She nods but doesn't look convinced. "It's just so unfair. He's the asshole, why can't he leave, and you stay here?" she sobs. I kiss her forehead. "Because life just isn't fair sometimes, Lis. You know that just like I do," I say trying to sound stronger than I feel.
At 17, and 15 we both have had some rough cards dealt to us. Elise lost both of her parents in a car accident when she was just a baby and has been raised by an uncle and aunt who weren't terrible people, but definitely were raising her more out of obligation than wanting her with them.
She lived with them and 5 of her younger cousins, so she became a built-in babysitter. Her uncle is in the military, so we've always had this underlining fear that she will be moving again soon.
I never knew my real dad, but I lost my mom to cancer when I was 13 years old. When I was 11, she married a guy named Davis, who seemed nice at first, but turned out to have a nasty temper. A temper that has only escalated since my mother's death.
Hence the black eye I'm currently sporting that has kept me home from school again the past three days. I've only seen Elise and my best friend Gabe, because they know my situation.
I finally got ahold of my mother's half-sister who she barely knew. She's ten years older than my mom and has her own family in a city called Redland, about two hours from here. I only met her once at my mom's funeral, but when I looked her up and told her about my situation with my stepfather, she readily agreed to help me. Gabe is coming to drive me halfway there to meet her. I can't wait much longer, or Davis will be back home.
Elise and I stand hugging each other and I hear the doorbell again. I hold onto her and answer it. "Hey, you ready to go?" Gabe asks looking between us. I nod. "Give me two minutes," I say turning back to Elise.
She holds onto me tighter. "Listen, I can't take my phone with me. Gabe is going to hold onto it so Davis can't track me. My aunt will get me a new one though and I'll call you as soon as I can from her phone," I say quickly.
She nods. "You're going to be ok now Mav," she says giving me a small smile. "We both will be. I told you I'll be back this summer. Gabe said I can stay with him, ok?" I say rubbing her cheeks.
Fuck there's so much more I want to tell her.
I love you more than a best friend.
You're my whole world.
It's because of you moving into this shitty town four years ago that I've survived this long.
One day I'm going to marry you and give you everything you ever wanted.
It's all on the tip of my tongue.
But we still have time.
This isn't goodbye for us.
It can't be.
We do almost everything together. She's always at my house when Davis isn't here, or I'm at hers helping her babysit. I talk to her about everything..well everything besides the fact that I wish she was my girlfriend and not just my best friend.
Gabe honks outside obviously getting worried about Davis coming back. "Lis.." I say trailing off.
She moves up and kisses my cheek and I stare at her swallowing hard. "Let's go," she says taking my hand.
We walk out together, and I don't bother locking the door because I don't give a damn about protecting this house.
We drive her to her house, even though it is just down the road, and we hug one more time before she heads up her driveway. I don't move until she's inside.
I get to my aunt and uncle's home safely, and within a few days, my aunt Stephanie files a restraining order against my stepfather. It's incredibly fortunate that her husband is a lawyer and knows exactly what to do to file for temporary custody of me.
My aunt reminds me a lot of my mom, and she has two sons who are younger than me that I become close to. I speak to Elise every day, just like I promised to. But one night I call, and she doesn't answer. The next day when she doesn't pick up, I ask Gabe what's going on. He says he's not sure, so I beg him to go over and check on her.
I get a call from her 30 minutes later and she sounds very upset. "Lis, what's wrong? Talk to me," I say going in the backyard so I can hear her better.
"Mav, I'm moving."
I feel my shoulders tense and I sit down on a chair on the patio. "W-what do you mean moving? To where?" I ask already dreading the answer. I can hear in her voice that it's nowhere close.
"My uncle is being stationed in Japan, Mav. I won't be here much longer," she says. Her voice is hoarse, and I can tell she's been crying. "Lis..for how long? Can I come see you before you leave? I'll get my aunt or uncle to drive me to your house," I say feeling frantic, getting up and going back into the house.
This can't be happening. I'm just getting things together in my life. I was even just talking to Gabe about us getting summer jobs at a fast-food place when I come back so I can save up for a car. Then I could see her even more often.
But now..
How the hell could I visit her in Japan?
"His transfer isn't temporary. I'll be there until I graduate, please come Mav. I asked my aunt to take me to you, but she won't drive me. She needs me here to watch my cousins while she packs up," she says.
"Lis, it's ok sweetheart. Listen I'll be there. I'm going to ask right now, tomorrows Sunday it should be fine," I say making my way over to my aunts home office. I speak to her, and she agrees to take me the next day.
When I get to Elise's house, it's total chaos. The little kids have her running around all over the place while her aunt and her friend pack boxes. We spend all day alternating between childcare and helping pack. There's zero time for me to be alone with her, but I'll take it over nothing.
When my aunt comes to get me, I finally take Elise outside with me and give her a hug that doesn't last nearly long enough. "I'm going to miss you so much. Promise me you won't forget about me," she says looking up at me.
I shake my head. "I couldn't. Never Lis. This doesn't mean anything, we will still talk. I'll see you again somehow, and when I do, I'm going to hug you just like this," I say, swallowing hard. She laughs lightly. "Ok," she whispers.
I turn as her aunt calls for her and I know I have to leave. I kiss her forehead and head to my aunt's car. She stands and waves to me as I drive away.
I had no idea then, just how long it would be before I gave her that hug.