Lindsay walked me home that morning.
Well, it was actually late afternoon, but since we had both just woken up we were considering it morning. I was still drunk from the night before and was mulling over how I was going to explain the news. Especially to Marshall; this was going to be hard.
We stood in front of my house for a minute. The sun was breaking though thick white clouds as wind sped passed us. It was colder than it was last night--I wouldn't have been surprised if it snowed later.
I puffed out a sigh that came out as a small cloud. "Here I go."
"Want me to wait here?" Lindsay asked, poking out her bottom lip.
I shook my head. "Nah, this'll probably take a while. And I have to see my boyfriend after."
She paused. "How do you think he'll take it?" She asked nervously.
"Badly." I turned around and sauntered towards the front door.
Inside, Claire was on the couch while the shower screamed down the hall. I looked at my aunt as she stared intently at the at the TV screen. "Where'd you go last night?" She asked flatly.
"Lindsay's." I replied simply, sitting beside her casually.
"What happened to your eye?"
I met Claire's tired gaze. "I think I'm moving out."
She laughed slightly. "Goin' in with your boyfriend?" She sounded like she didn't quite believe me.
"Across the country."
The smirk fell from her lips. She was silent for five agonizing seconds. "Why?"
"I'm going to Cali with Lindsay. She'll pay now and I'll work off what I owe. I think getting out would be the best thing for me, don't you agree?"
Claire frowned. "It's a big change, can you handle that?"
"I think I can manage."
We didn't say much of anything after that. I took the conversation as a sign that Claire was okay with my decision. Now was just the challenge of telling Bree. When I heard the shower slam off, I sucked in a breath. "How do you think she'll take it?"
"Badly." Claire answered honestly. "A main reason she came was because she knew she would have you."
I groaned and held my head in my hands. "You could've at least lied to me."
Claire turned off the TV. "Why do you want to move?" She demanded, her voice holding more emotion than I heard from her all week. "What does Cali have that we don't?"
"Are you serious?" I laughed, staring at her hard. "New opportunity? No toxic memories? The sun?"
"It's not always cloudy here." She scoffed.
I looked down and gnawed on my bottom lip. "You don't want me to go." I vocalized.
"You can do whatever you want," she returned solemnly. "You're a big girl."
"But you don't like it?"
Claire put her head down and exhaled a big sigh. "I want you to be happy." She finally decided to say.
"But only here?" I pressed.
Bree came trotting down the hall dressed in sweatpants and one of Claire's old t-shirts. Her black hair was tied in a ball on top of her head, and she was wearing a smile. "Hey, where'd you go last night?" She asked me.
"Alex has news." Claire announced, switching the TV back on.
I shot her daggers while Bree stared at me quizzicality. "What's going on?"
I jabbed my thumbs into one another anxiously; I don't know what I'd do if she started crying. "I think I'm moving out."
You could see her face drop slightly. "Oh. With Marshall?"
"No..." I tried to meet Claire's eyes for reassurance, but they were trapped on The Price is Right. "Bree, I think I'm leaving Detroit."
There was shock and disappointment spread across her features. "What..?"
"I need to do it for myself," I said, rising to my feet and taking a step forward. "This is a once in a lifetime chance. If I miss it, I'll always wonder what could've happened."
"You said we were a family."
"And we still are! But-"
"Family doesn't leave each other!" Bree ran down the hall and slammed the bedroom door shut.
I hung my head in despair. I don't think it could've gone any worse.
Then Claire said, "I told you so."
* * *
I left the house shortly after. I couldn't take feeling their disappointment and anger crawling on my back, so I decided to take a walk. I needed to go over what I was going to tell Marshall--if Bree took the news this badly, it's pretty much guaranteed that he'll take it ten times worse.
It took a few hours before I could muster the courage to drag my legs to his house. When I arrived, him and Deshaun were smoking a blunt on his front yard.
I managed a few short steps. Marshall rose from the play equipment they were lounging on and approached me. "Hey, Alex." He kissed my cheek.
I latched onto his elbow. "I need to talk to you about something big."
Anxiety rose on his features. He stared at me with his eyebrows pulled together and wrinkles forming on his forehead. "What is it?"
"Yo, are y'all makin' love or some shit?" Proof obnoxiously called before crackling to himself. "Come 'ere!"
"Will you shut the fuck up?!" Marshall raged, balling his hands into fist. He returned his icy gaze back to me, and I felt myself shrink. "What happened?"
"Ayo, don't tell me to shut up, you limp dick no bitch motherfucker!" Proof retorted, screaming with laughter.
I jerked my chin over towards him. "Lets go sit down before he shits himself."
"You're freaking me out," Marshall confessed uneasily. "What's going on?"
I stared at him sadly as I walked.
When Proof laid eyes on me, he seemed almost surprised. "Ayo, it's Alex."
I tried to smile. "Hey Proof."
I planted myself on the bottom of the plastic slide with Proof up top. Marshall was still standing, towering over us two with his arms crossed over his chest. "Alex, what happened?"
I looked from Marshall's eyes to the grey sky up above. "This has nothing to do with us."
"Here it comes." Proof muttered, dramatically sucking in air to hold his breath.
Marshall shot daggers at him but made no effort to verbally reply.
I kept staring at the clouds, feeling like a coward. "I think I'm moving with Lindsay to Cali.
Everything stopped, even the wind seemed to halt. Marshall gazed at me with a pain filled expression. Only one sentence left his lips: "What the fuck?"
"I'm so sorry," I gushed out, tears stinging my chocolate eyes. "But she offered and I-"
"Christ, you're one of the most selfish people I've ever met." Marshall seethed, his eyes bloodshot from powerful emotions. "You only think about yourself, don't you?"
"That's not true," I gaped, stunned at what he was saying. "I just-"
"We just got together, and now you're moving away." Marshall began pacing back and forth. "You're an awful person, Alex. Fuck you. You just do shit and use people just to make yourself feel better."
"You know what? Fuck you, Marshall. Don't act like you didn't fuck up our relationship just as much. You're a piece of shit."
"Now guys," Deshaun started.
"Shut up, Proof." Marshall and I both growled at the same time. He winced back.
Marshall stared back at me with hatred. "You're such a bitch. I'm sorry I ever met you."
I sneered at him and stood up. "Bye forever."