“Stay,” I mutter to myself, watching him throw his duffel bag into the backseat.
He throws me a charming smile and a wink before he slips into the front seat.
I cave, running down the steps. He rolls down the window, and I waste no time, kissing as much of him as I can.
“I’ll call you right when I get there.” He smiles, pressing his lips to mine again, one last time.
We finally unlock, despite how badly I don’t want to, and he starts up the engine.
“Next weekend.” He points to me.
“I’ll be waiting.” I give him a nod, stepping back.
He flashes a smile at me, and nods before slowly reversing out the driveway.
“I love you,” I say loud enough so he can hear.
“I love you!” he calls back.
He finally reaches the end of the driveway before he waves back to me.
“I love you,” I whisper again.
I watch him disappear, and for a moment, the sun seems dimmer, the world quieter, like even the air knows he’s leaving.
15
Elijah
I snap a picture of my croissant, angled so my orange juice is in the frame.
“Oh, you’re one ofthoseaesthetic types.” Katelyn jokingly rolls her eyes, peering over my shoulder.
I send the picture off to Tobias, waiting to hear the ‘swoosh’ so I know it’s delivered before I put my phone down.
“He likes to see what I’m eating.” I smile, picking up my croissant.
It wasn’t too long ago that I was barely eating at all. Grief comes in heavy waves and sometimes I’m not all that good at staying on a regular food schedule. But, I know that Tobias is counting on me to take care of myself so I’m working on it little by little. Keeping him happy is enough motivation for me.
Between classes, Katelyn insisted on us eating breakfast outside today by the flowerbeds. The weather is getting cooler every single day so while the sun still shines, getting outside is a priority.
“He really takes care of you, huh?” She glances over at me before taking a bite of her granola bar.
I nod. “Yeah, I think we take care of each other.”
Katelyn barks out a laugh, making my eyebrow arch. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing, it’s just that—” she tucks a strand of her black hair behind her heavily pierced ear. “I dated you and you’re not exactly thecaretakertype.”
“Um,ouch.” I throw a crumb at her and she successfully dodges it. “Ithink I take care of him just fine.”
“Yeah, suuuure.” She laughs, shaking her head.
“I have a completely different relationship with him than I did with you.Sorry.” I shrug, chomping off a big bite.
Katelyn’s eyes shoot up as she digests my clap back, making me smile. I mean, what does she know anyway? We only dated for a semester.
“Well, I’m excited to find my perfect someone.” She pouts, looking out at the passersby.
