They're Gonna Eat Me Alive

Leaving

Brendon hadn’t seen or talked to Ryan in a while. When he called, Ryan didn’t pick up and when he went to his apartment he wasn’t there. Brendon thought about calling Pete, but he didn’t. He knew Pete would worry if he didn’t know where Ryan was.

Brendon returned to his own apartment and found Ryan. He was sitting on the floor next to the door and when Brendon was standing over Ryan, he looked up and Brendon could see the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. He didn’t notice the empty look in his eyes though.

“Where have you been?” Brendon asked. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Ryan stood up and shrugged. He looked away from Brendon and was quiet. Brendon wasn’t sure what to do, so he just waited.

“I’m leaving,” Ryan finally said. He looked at Brendon now, but he wasn’t sure how to respond to this statement.

“What about the band?” he finally asked. It was the first thing that came to his mind. He didn’t see the hurt behind Ryan’s eyes.

“I haven’t been able to write anything, so the band will be better off without me,” Ryan said. “Do whatever you want with the band.”

Brendon nodded his head, but didn’t say anything for a minute.

“This is what you want?” he asked. Ryan hesitated.

“Yes,” he said quietly. Brendon sighed.

Before Brendon could say anything else, Ryan was turning and starting to walk away.

“You’re not going to say goodbye?” he asked. Ryan stopped and turned around. He gave Brendon a small smile, a forced smile, a fake smile. Brendon didn’t notice any of this.

“Bye,” Ryan said quietly. A moment later and Ryan was gone. Brendon didn’t know what to do with himself.
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