“Patrick—”
“And I don’t need Elias. I’ll fix this myself,” I continue, pacing again.
“Patrick, don’t do anything—”
I hang up.
Colten said he wouldn’t ignore me like this again, but this is even worse than last time! At least last time, he was stillhere.
He doesn’t get to just disappear and leave me with a note and weird glowing magic and a whole bunch of–offeelings.
I grab a backpack and the usual stuff I bring when packing for an away game, determination settling in my chest.
If Colten wants space, that’s fine. He can have spaceafterwe talk. Besides, we need to get to the combine, and it’s already less than a week away.
I head for the door, my hands sweaty enough that I have to wipe them on my pants before the knob turns. My eyes are still burning, so I just blink harder.
I’m not going to let him leave so easily. If he needs his time to think, fine, but I’ll be right by his side while he does it. I amnotlosing my best friend over the lamest superpower known to man.
With this firmly in mind, I walk into the night, determined and frustrated all at once.
Maybe I can figure out what I did wrong, so I can make sure I never do it again. I’ll get my best friend back, and we’ll go to the combine together, and I’ll go pro, and Colten will graduate and be my professional PT, just like we planned the first night we moved into our apartment.
Everything will be fine.
***
Everything is not fine.
Unlike Colten, I don’t have a car, so I take the first bus to Colten’s city that I find.
The first hour is full of overthinking as I try to figure out what I did wrong and how I can get Colten to forgive me. It doesn’t get me anything but a headache. I end up playing games on my phone.
By hour four and two transfers later, I get bored and eat all my protein bars.
By hour eight, I realize I took the wrong bus at some point, but have no idea when or where. Also, my phone is dead.
By hour fifteen, I have to sleep in the bus terminal, because I have no money for a hotel. Thankfully, I remembered to bring atub of protein powder, so dinner/lunch/breakfast is a tiramisu-flavored protein powder that Brian bought from Temo and then gave me because it tastes more like chalk than cake.
I mix it with water from the drinking fountain and enjoy my chalky coffee meals.
By hour twenty-nine, I finally find an outlet to charge my phone, but then learn that I forgot my charger. Colten is the one who always brings it.
By hour thirty-six, I don’t even know what town I’m in. There’s only one bus stop, and the bus only comes once every two hours.
Why did I get off?
Why didn’t I have Colten’s address saved on my phone??
By hour forty-nine, a kind and well-meaning person at the bus terminal tries to help me with directions. I end up in a different state.
By hour fifty-eight, I accidentally board the bus to the town with only one bus stop again.
By hour sixty-two, I cobble together all my quarters to buy a fast food burger because I’ve run out of the tiramisu protein powder and I’m starving.
Halfway through, I remember Colten isn't here to steal the pickles. I end up throwing it away because it just tastes wrong without him.
By hour seventy, a bored bus station employee spends an hour helping me figure out where I'm supposed to be. I cry tears of genuine gratitude.
