That month went by way too fast. Before I knew it I was giving Luke a goodbye kiss before his flight to the army base.
I was the only one at the airport because Luke's father died four months before we graduated from a heart attack, and his mother died from a brain tumor when we we're in seventh grade. That's when we became so close. Because I could relate to him. My older brother, Noah, died from heart failure when I was in fifth grade. Luke and I were the only ones that knew how to treat each other. We really understood each other.
I sat in my car for an hour before I started driving home. I watched all of the planes fly away. Wondering which plane Luke was on. Can he see my car from the window seat? Is he scared? My mind eventually started asking really stupid questions. Does the person he's sitting next to smell bad?
Eventually I was brought out of my trance when my mom called to make sure everything was okay.
“Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. I just got lost in my thoughts."
I could feel here do that smile-frown-sympathizing-mom face as she said, “Okay, sweetheart. Take as long as you need. Just let me know when you're heeding home."
Don't worry, I'm about to start heading back." As I put the keys in the ignition.
“I love you, honey."
“Love you, too, Mom. See you at home." Ever since Noah died my mom acts like every conversation we have is going to be our last. It gets a little annoying, but I understand her, also.
I watched the last airplane disappear then I started heading home.
I felt so empty as I left that parking lot. I wondered what Luke was thinking about right now. I just wanted to looked into his big green eyes or run my fingers through his thick, light brown hair. So many thoughts flew through my head that it started to hurt. Luckily, the drive from the Long Beach Airport is only about fifteen minutes from where I live so I didn't have a long drive ahead of me.
My head was still pounding when I got home. I went straight up to my room, flopped onto my bed, and began to cry. With my blurry vision I opened my eyes and grabbed the picture of Luke and I at the beach during Spring Break. I held that picture so tight as I slowly drifted off to sleep.