Memory's Forever

Mae packed her belongings into flimsy cardboard boxes she had found stored away in the crawl space. Some of them had miscellaneous writings in bold, black permanent marker which indicated what these boxes stored at one point throughout the years. She was glad someone had decided to keep these.

She huffed and puffed as she moved these boxes to one side of her ex-bedroom. She still had a long way to go. Mae had started to compile a neat little stack of boxes full of her belongings on this side of the bedroom, up against the wall. They would soon make their way back home to Huntington Beach, her home.

After two years of straying from home, Huntington Beach was now calling her back home. She missed everyone, most importantly her family.

Mae continued packing. She needed to be out of this home soon before the weekend came. The weekend would only bring in more heartbreak and problems between her now ex boyfriend and Mae.

Dust had accumulated on several of Mae's belongings in the crawl space below the stairs. She searched for whatever was hers and pulled it out from within. That included old books, artwork, and family pictures. She lightly blew on the cherished memories and smiled.

"So please explain to me why you two suddenly broke up and yet you now have a new boyfriend, Lilah Mae?" Mae's father asked. Mae had just walked into her home and announced to the family she had broken up with Brian, and wanted to introduce Eli to them soon this weekend.

"Daddy, I thought you didn't like Brian. Remember you said he was always up to no good," Mae said. She sat next to him on the couch as he read his daily newspaper.

"I know but now I have to worry about this new guy," he reasoned.

"Dad, you'll love him," Mae reassured him.

Mae smiled at the thought of her father; always so protective of his little girl. She would absolutely happy to see him drive up with a U-Haul in tow soon.

Placing her cherished objects off to the side, Mae began digging in another opened box. She lightly hummed her favorite song to herself and time flew by. She didn't notice Eli return home and walk around the house.

Eli didn't bother letting her know he was home. They weren't very amicable towards each other. He glanced around the home they used to share and noticed she had almost everything of hers packed and ready to go. He reluctantly let out a deep sigh.

The woman in his life was leaving him. He was glad things were over, yet heartbroken. Their flamed and burned out; lust can only last for so long.

"Did you need any help with anything?" Eli politely asked.

Mae didn't expect him to be home. She jumped a bit and hit her head on the low ceiling, "Ouch," she said and rubbed her head. As she fumbled with her head, a box containing pictures spilled onto the concrete floor. "Um, no I think I have it under control. Thank you though," she said. She saw the spilled pictures and bent down to pick them up.

Eli stepped into the tiny crawl space and offered her his help. He bent down and started handing her the pictures. "I can't believe you still have pictures of him," Eli said, referring to Brian.

"I can't either," she took the picture away from Eli. Mae glanced down at it. It was an old photo of Brian, her ex-boyfriend. It was rather faded, suffering years of abuse at the touch of her hands. She lightly placed it into the collection of photos.

A feeling rose in the pit of her stomach. Was Mae feeling guilty? She never told Brian she broke up with him for Eli. Maybe karma was finally being dealt towards Mae; Eli was leaving her for another woman.

Mae left the crawl space and raced towards her bathroom. She closed the door behind her and frantically searched for an orange bottle bearing her name. Her breathing labored and her heart contracted much too fast. It would soon explode out of her chest if she didn't do anything right now.

She found her bottle for her anxiety and quickly popped the small blue pill in her mouth. She turned on the faucet and quickly placed her head below the flow of water pouring out. She gulped more water than what was necessary.

She soon heard soft mumbles resonating through the thin walls. She heard Eli talking to someone. He was talking to her.

A sigh came out of her mouth and she went back to packing the last of her belongings. She laid out the essentials in a bag she would use for the trip home. She glanced down to her watch; only five more hours until her dad arrived. Although no tick-tock emitted from her wrist watch, each time the second hand moved, she could feel it hammer into her brain.

A door was slammed and the house stood still. Mae's now calm heartbeat was the only thing heard. It lulled her into sleep, something Mae had been neglecting lately.

The crash came sooner than Mae expected. She was soon flying high into the dark oblivion.

A non-stop ring was heard over and over. Someone pounded on the door but Mae did not wake up from her slumber. Thump, thump went the noise. Ring, ringwent the phone.

Mae stirred and colors slowly faded into her vision. She realized someone was knocking, "What time is it?" she asked herself. She got up and raced towards the front door. Mae opened it and on the other side stood her father. He was of short stature with jet black curly hair on his head. His hazel eyes showed love and excitement. His little girl was coming home.

They hugged and cried as they packed the boxes into the U-haul, "So you excited about coming back home?" Mae's father asked.

"You bet. You have no idea how much I miss the warm weather," she said as she handed him another box. Huntington Beach just wasn't the same without her, her father thought to himself.

"How are you doing? I mean, about the anxiety and stuff?" he asked Mae. She had been reluctant to first tell her mother and father about her anxiety levels.

"Better," she lied. It was in fact, much worse than before. Her father gave a bleary look at his daughter.

"Maybe the sun will do you some good," he joked. "Are you ready, kiddo?" he asked her. Mae looked back at her former home.

"Yeah, I think so. Let me just grab some quick things," she raced into the home and searched for paper and pencil. Eli had never returned home.

Thank You Mae penned on the paper. She had no idea why she was thanking him, maybe it was her being sarcastic and trying to take a jab at Eli. She placed her key onto the note and left hastily back to the waiting auto.

Huntington Beach had just gained a heartbroken girl at that point.