Come Back To Me

Watching my mother walk away from the bedroom door, I leaned against the wall and sighed quietly. I could still remember the way I had spent my last day in Tempe as if it were just yesterday…

The day had started out just like any other; hot and sunny with the promise of a good time. I was at my house getting ready for a day with Garrett and the others, which wasn’t unusual. We spent all of our time together despite what our parents thought. You see, my parents didn’t like me spending all of my time with a group of guys. They thought that the boys were poisoning me and turning their little angel into a troublemaker. Sure, we had a tendency to get ourselves into trouble with our antics, but it wasn’t anything serious.

Anyway, that was the day I had to tell them I was leaving. I wasn’t looking forward to it because I knew it was going to be hard on me. I had known the guys for most of my school days but there were still a few subjects that we never talked about. One of those was the fact that we might have to someday run away. At that point in time, my mind had been running in overdrive as I tried to think of ways to break it to the guys.

We were all at the local skating rink having fun, but it was obvious that my mind was elsewhere. John had skated up beside me backwards and was watching me think. He didn’t say anything to me, just gave me a small smile before skating off to find someone else. That was how John was sometimes. He would sit and watch you quietly before deciding that you needed to be alone, and I remember always being grateful that he took the hint and went elsewhere.

Jared and Pat were the next two people to skate past me. They seemed to be racing each other though Pat was too far in the lead for it to be considered a real race. It was funny to watch Jared pushing himself to catch up to the scrawny drummer, who in my opinion, needed to take a few chill pills. He was always hyper and ready to jump into some trouble. I laughed quietly to myself and upped my own pace as I realized that I was starting to come to an almost complete stop.

I felt a body run into me with a soft ‘oof’ as I pushed myself forward. The momentum of me pushing and the person falling sent us both face first onto the wood floor. Needless to say, it didn’t feel too good. Pushing myself to my knees, I looked over to see Kennedy chuckling. “You jerk,” I said as I stood and offered him a hand up.

“Me? A jerk? I think you must have me confused with someone else Miss Survenal.”

Kennedy stood in front of me and shook his brown hair out of his face. His eyes were a common brown color, just like his hair. I guess if one were to look at all of the guys in the Maine, Kennedy would be the one least likely to stand out. Everything about him was just ordinary, at least on the outside. I smiled and playfully smacked his shoulder.

“Tag. You’re it, no tag-backs.”

“Fuck,” he said as he skated off once more.

Watching him chase after Jared, Pat and John made me wonder where the other boy was. It seemed as if just thinking about him made Garrett appear, because he was suddenly at my side and smiling. God, that smile. I was weak in the knees just looking at him. My mind went fuzzy whenever I was around Garrett, almost as if he had a built in thought scrambler. I couldn’t think straight (if at all), but at the same time everything he said made me think.

“You okay, Merry? You’ve seemed a bit out of it all day,” he shouted over the music.

I nodded and smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. Apparently it was because he grinned and then sped off towards the group of guys that had all collided with each other across the ring. Following behind him, I stopped in time to keep myself from joining the pile of tangled limbs on the floor.

“What do you say, Merry? Do we help them up or just leave them to disentangle themselves?” he asked, his voice easily carrying over the music.

Looking between my best friend and my other friends, I just shrugged. Not taking sides was one of my specialties, even then. I watched him skate off and leave the others to pick themselves apart, which was fun to watch. Especially since they were mostly long legs and heavy feet. I knew my eyes were sparkling with laughter as I turned and skated off towards the snack bar, my stomach rumbling with hunger.

The loud slam of me colliding with the brick divider wall was loud enough to make me wince, but I shook it off and went around the wall to wait in the somewhat lengthy line for the snack bar. I tapped my fingers to the beat of the music and rolled forward inch by inch while thinking about how I could break the news to the guys. Was this what it felt like to try and tell your boyfriend you were preggo? The constant nagging at the back of your mind that was telling you to just spit it out, while your more realistic side was insisting you try to play it out smoothly? God, I hoped I never had to have that conversation with someone.

I felt rather than saw a presence behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Garrett standing there. He grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist while nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. I squirmed a bit before sighing and letting him sit there.

“Whatcha getting Merry?”

“I’m not sure yet. I was thinking about getting some pizza. Do you want a slice?"

“Mmm….sure. I’ll buy you some ice cream later to pay you back.”

“Mmkay,” I said with a soft smile. Inside, I was wondering whether or not he’d really want to when he found out I was leaving.

Scooting the both of us forward, I ordered two slices of pepperoni pizza and a medium sized sprite. After paying for both, I made Garrett let go of me long enough for us to find a table to sit and eat at. It was weird how we casually clung to each other, but I knew that there were things about my relationship with Garrett that weren’t normal. Like that fact that I had developed this massive crush on him over the past few years. Or the fact that whenever he hugged me, I felt like I was about to melt into this huge puddle of Merry.

“So… why have you been distracted all day?”

“I haven’t?”

“Don’t lie to me, Merry. You and I both know that I can tell when you’re lying,” he said before taking a bite out of his pizza. I laughed when he started hissing and took a sip of the sprite.

“I’ve just had a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

Here it was, the opening I’d been waiting for. I bit my lip and looked down at my slice of pizza, all my hunger suddenly gone. The words were there on the tip of my tongue, now all I had to do was say them without being too harsh. Garrett seemed to know that I was preparing myself for something and I watched as he sat up straighter and leaned in a little bit closer. His body posture, his expression and the look in his eyes all said he was waiting for me to speak. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking him in the eyes.

“I have to move to Chicago.”