Remind Me That We'll Always Have Each Other

After dinner, I informed my parents of Kirstin's situation, and Jeremiah offered to drive me to her house.

I swung open the door to his car and as soon as I sat down, an awful smell hit my nostrils. "Miah, what the hell is that smell?"

He shrugged and looked at the backseat. "I don't know. I haven't had time to clean out the car in awhile."

I reached behind my seat and glanced around, trying to find the source of the smell. It took me only a minute to find an old Wendy's bag. I reached into the paper bag and nearly gagged. The smell was coming from none other than an old chili cup. I quickly shut the bag and tossed it to the back.

"That is fucking disgusting."

He laughed. "I'll throw it out after I drop you off."

I shook my head and laughed, rolling down the window. "How can you even breathe?"

"I'm a man. I'm stronger than you."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, yes; that's it."

He chuckled and turned up the radio. We continued making small talk until we reached Kirstin's house. He drove up the long driveway, coming to a stop near the front door.

"You'll call me when you're ready?" he asked.

I nodded my head and unbuckled my seatbelt. "Yeah. I don't know how long I'll be, so don't drive out too far."

He smiled. "Right."

I looked at him. "I'm serious."

He laughed and held his hands up. "I won't go too far."

I smiled and smacked his arm playfully before stepping out. "Alright then. I'll see ya in a bit."

He nodded his head. "Bye, Kaydence."

"Bye, Miah."

I shut the car door and inhaled a sharp breath of air as I looked at the two French doors of Kirstin's house. I knocked only twice, before the door was opened. I was glad to see Kirstin's face and not her mother's, like the first time I had visited. She immediately smiled and wrapped her thin arms around me.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she told me.

I smiled. "I'm glad to be here."

She stepped back and gestured her hands towards the stairs. "Come on, we can go to my room."

I nodded my head and stepped inside. "Where're your parents?"

She shrugged. "I woke up and they were gone."

I shook my head. The nerve of her parents really amazed me. I followed Kirstin up to her room and once we were in, we both took a seat on her bed.

She sighed and I looked at her. "We can talk about something else first, if you want."

She looked at me and smiled. "That sounds appealing, but I've been putting this off for so long, that I think if I don’t get it out now, I’m going to explode.”

I nodded my head. “You can start whenever, Kirstin.” I offered her a smile.

She took in a large breath of air before beginning. “I – I guess things have just been rough, lately. My parents have been arguing a lot more than usual, and do – do you remember last time you were here, I told you my sister ran off and got married?” I nodded my head. “Well, now she’s pregnant, and I think my parents are worried I’m going to do the same thing, so they’ve been keeping an even tighter grip on me. Although, I don’t know why they would just leave this morning,” she paused and furrowed her brows, “but that’s beside the point. My whole life is just spiraling out of control, Kaydence, and I feel like I’m just being dragged along, with no say so in what happens to me.” A few tears fell from her eyes and I wrapped my arms around her. “I just want a normal life, Kay. I want parents who love me. I want to wake up in the morning and not be alone. Is that too much to ask for?” Her petite body began to shake and I felt myself tearing up. I rocked us back and forth.

“No, that’s not too much to ask for at all, Kirstin. I’m so sorry that your parents are too self-centered to realize that they have a teenage daughter who needs their love and support, more than anything right now.” I felt her arms tighten around me. “Kirstin, I know things just feel fucked up right now, but you have to believe me, they’ll get better. I promise you, things will get better.”

She pulled away from me and wiped her eyes. “How do you know? What if they get worse?”

I shook my head side to side. “I won’t let that happen.”

She looked down at the carpet. “Sometimes – sometimes I think that if I lived somewhere else, in another home, maybe, I wouldn’t be sick. I wouldn’t feel the need to do this to myself. But, I have nowhere to go.”

I grabbed her hand. “Kirstin, that’s it.”

“What’s it?” she asked.

“What if – what if you went to live with your sister?”

She bit down on her bottom lip and shrugged. “I would love that, but my sister and I . . . we’ve never really been close. It would be up to her.”

I nodded my head. “Do you have her number?”

“Yeah, but-“

“Call her.”

“But-“

“Kirstin, just call her. I can’t stand to see you living with your parents any longer.”

She sighed and nodded her head. “I guess you’re right. I just . . . what if she says no?”

“Then that’s that. But, at least you would know you tried.” I gave her a soft smile.

She grabbed her phone, punched in a few numbers and looked up at me. “I hope she says yes.”

“I do, too.”

“D – Dana? It’s Kirstin . . . Um, I – I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes . . .”

I stood up and motioned that I was going to stand outside. I figured that she would want privacy. I closed the door and glanced down the hallway, decorated with expensive paintings and vases. It was funny to think of how filled this whole house was, but at the same time, it was so empty and hollow. I pulled out a piece of gum from my pocket and popped it into my mouth. I checked my phone and saw that it was nearing six-thirty.

After a few minutes, the door opened behind me and I turned around, facing a glowing Kirstin.

“So, what’s the verdict?”

She jumped up and down. “Dana said she would love for me to move in with her!”

I gasped and pulled her into a hug. “That’s great, Kirstin! I’m so happy for you!”

She laughed. “Thank you! I’m happy, too.”

I smiled. “So, when are you thinking about leaving?”

“As soon as I tell my parents. Dana offered to pay for my flight and everything, if my parents didn’t want to. Although, I have a feeling they’ll be happy to be getting rid of me.”

I sighed. “I’m still sorry about them.”

She shrugged. “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad to have the opportunity to get away.”

“I think that’s all that matters, right now.”

She smiled. “Yeah. I think so, too.”

After another half hour or so, I called for Jeremiah to pick me up. Kirstin’s parents had arrived home, and she had told me she was going to talk to them about her leaving. I wished her the best of luck and soon after, Jeremiah arrived.

“How’d it go?” he asked, pulling out of the driveway.

“Really good, actually. She might be moving in with her sister.”

“Oh, yeah? Why?”

“Her parents aren’t exactly, well, parents to her. I think she’ll be much happier leaving that place.”

He laid a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. I looked at him and smiled, before leaning my head against the window. Kirstin, hopefully, would be living with her sister soon and on her way to recovery. And John would be returning to me soon, as well. For once, things felt like they were finally falling into place.