I swallow.
“Well,” I say, forcing brightness into my voice, “do you need help with anything?”
Eli hesitates, then shakes his head. “Honestly? Everything’s planned. Like…reallyplanned. There’s no need for you to come out there and bore yourself right along with us.”
He means it kindly. I know that.
“Yeah,” I say. “That makes sense.”
I walk him to the door. He hugs me again, tighter this time.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“I know,” I say. “Have fun.”
He heads down the stairs, already pulling his phone back out as the door clicks shut behind him.
The apartment goes quiet.
I stand there for a moment, staring at the closed door, listening to the sounds of the street below. Cars passing. Voices drifting away.
Everyone going somewhere else.
I sink back onto the couch and wrap my arms around myself.
It’s not that they don’t love me. And I know they didn’t forget me.
But it sure is starting to feel like it.
It’s not like I haven’t been reaching out. I have. I’ve messaged someone every day. And the responses are always short and sweet. If I get one at all.
I hear Skip’s bike drive away with my best friend on the back, and I close my eyes and pray that I’m just being paranoid and that everything is just my imagination going wild.
But my heart tells me that it’s not.
So, I sit here, and I cry…alone.
***One Day Later***
“Hey, guys. Just checking in. Miss you. Can’t wait to see you all tomorrow.”
I stare down at the message I sent this morning and let the tears fall.
Riley: Miss you, too.
Sunny: I’ll try to come by for a visit later today.
Lila: I’ll be back at work next week.
Eli: I just saw you yesterday, silly woman.
It’s probably just my imagination.
But it feels like I’m being forgotten.
I stand at the compound gate, watching with bated breath as my family sits around the outdoor Christmas tree, laughing and opening gifts together.
My throat tightens.
