Come Back To Me

Garrett was true to his word and arrived at my house early the next morning. He came into my room and helped me carry my boxes down to the U-Haul that my parents had rented. It was hard for me not to cry as Garrett helped me put my whole life into a metal container so that I could move it to a new place. We sat and talked quietly as my parents put their belongings into the U-Haul. I didn’t want this morning to end because I knew that this would be the last time I’d see Garrett for a while. Unfortunately, it was soon time to go. Standing up, I clung to Garrett as the tears slowly trailed down my face and onto his shirt. It was one of his typical zombie shirts and I felt bad for crying on it and making it all wet, but he said nothing as we hugged. His hand ran through my hair in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture; all it did was make me cry more.

I heard a horn honk and turned to see my dad behind the wheel of the U-Haul. My mom was locking the front door of our home and heading towards the car. I wiped my eyes and forced myself to stop crying so that I could actually say my goodbye.

”I’ve got to go.”

I remember watching the light fade from his eyes as I told him that. Everything that made him who he was had disappeared and had left just a cold, empty shell of a person. I hadn't thought about how hard this would be on him, not until I had said the words, “I have to move to Chicago.” My eyes were filled with unshed tears(again) just like his but I wasn't able to fathom why. Why was he on the verge of crying? It wasn’t like that was goodbye forever. Or was it?

“It’s okay, Merry. You’ll do fine in Chicago, I know you will.”

“But I don’t want to go.”

“You have to. There’s a part of you that wants to go, I can tell. You’re not sure of who you are in this world yet; for all you know, Chicago could be where you find the missing pieces of yourself. When you find out who you are… then you can come back to me. Promise me you’ll come back only after you’ve figured out who you really are.”

Once again, Garrett astounded me with how well he seemed to know me. He always knew what I was thinking and apparently, he already knew what was best for me. It sounded like he had been up all night thinking about this. When I looked up into those blue eyes, it dawned on me that he probably hadn’t gone any sleep. There were circles under his eyes, though they weren’t as noticeable as mine. I sighed and nodded, “I promise.”

My dad honked the horn again and I gave Garrett a sad smile before kissing his cheek and going to join my mother in the car. She gave me a knowing look, one that said she’d been in my place before. As we drove off, I watched out the back window of the car until I couldn’t see Garrett anymore. And just like that, he had become a part of my past.