Come Back To Me

I walked along side my bestfriend Ivy who talked constantly about things I could care less about. The only thing that I was even the slightest bit concerned about was that my dad was forcing me to spend the summer and possibly senior year with my unreliable mother who has done nothing for me my entire life. I was contemplating on whether I should spend my last two weeks home enjoying myself or torturing myself with thinking about what was to come in the future.

I was pissed at my dad for even coming up with the idea of making me reunite with Tiffany. She and her new family forgot about me long ago when my parents got divorced. Every time I attempted to ask my dad why he was sending me there, he would change the subject or simply walk away. It irritated me that he wouldn’t tell me the reason.

“You know what Raina?” Ivy said interrupting my thought process. “I’m really gonna miss you this summer. I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you,” she whined.

“God, I know. I will die without you in California for… possibly an entire year,” I said making the last part quick and quiet so that she could barely hear me.

“Wait a minute.” Ivy stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at me. “You didn’t tell me that part,” she grunted. “A year? No, you’re leaving for senior year? What the hell?”

“My dad won’t tell me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m coming with you and I’ll stow away in your suitcase. We need to make a plan, okay?” The funny part is that she was actually serious. I could see her every thought projecting across her face.

“I wish.” We continued to walk toward the lockers which everyone had began to clean out. I wasn’t ready to clean out my locker yet, because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to it. What if I didn’t return next year? I’d been having the same locker since freshman year.

“Rain, when do you find out if you stay for good?”

I put in my lock combination and opened my locker taking out my Algebra II textbook. This was the last week of testing and I was planning on passing every class. “After my dad’s appointment today. He said that by the end of the day, his decision will be made.”

“Babe, that sucks. Did you tell Ty?”

“Uh… no. I don’t think I want to tell Tyler right now…”

“Tell me what?” A tall, blonde, perfect Tyler Marcel walked up behind me batting his beautiful blue eyes aligned with their long eyelashes. He walked up to me and wrapped his large, muscular arms around my tiny body. “Hey beautiful.”

“Hey Tyler,” I said as I forced a smile to appear across my face. I wished I could have stayed in his arms forever.

“What don’t you want to tell me?” he asked as he let go of me and leaned against the lockers.

“Nothing,” I reassured him as I glared at Ivy. “There’s nothing I don't want to tell you.”

I closed my locker and began walking down the hall with my two bestfriends. Tyler draped his arm over my shoulder and whispered to me. “Well, do you have something that you need to tell me then?”

“No, Ty.”

“Well I have something that I need to tell you... I-”

Ivy made her way in between the two of us as she squealed about something that I, once again, didn’t care about. I wasn’t really into her boy problems and things of that sort, because when she asked me for advice, she never used it anyway.

“Look!” she screeched into my ear making me temporarily lose all hearing.

I snatched her phone from her hand and stared at it. “What am I looking at?”

She sighed and took her phone back while glaring at me and rolled her eyes. “You were supposed to read it, fool. Justin Aguillard just asked me to go with him to the movies. I think it’s some double date or something,” she said.

“Oh cool,” I said nonchalantly. “This weekend?”

“Yeah!”

“We were supposed to be prom dress shopping, Ivy. It sucks to know that he’s more important than me,” I joked with a straight face.

“Neither of us have a date anyway.” She shrugged and continued to text on her phone.

“True.”

Tyler cleared his throat catching my attention again. “As I was saying,” he began.

Before he could get out the rest of his sentence, the warning bell rang. He sighed and shook his head defeated. “I’m sorry, Ty. Tell me after school?”

“Basketball practice,” he informed me.

“Well, just tell me later on.”

The first four classes went by extremely quick that day. I tested for all odd blocks, and I had already taken all even. I was satisfied that I was finally done with all of my exams and only could hope for the best results.

I walked into the cafeteria and met up with Ivy who was already sitting with Tyler. Tyler was talking to one of his good friends, Evan. I wasn’t in the mood for white beans and cornbread, so I just sat across from Ivy and waited for her to begin a conversation as always.

“Are you nervous?” she whispered so that no one else could hear.

I looked around then back at her confused at what she was talking about. “Um about what?”

“Your dad’s decision, duh,” she said rolling her eyes. “You are so clueless sometimes.”

I laughed at her accusation since she was the most clueless person I had ever met. “Sure. And no, I’m not nervous. I’m just pissed. Either way I’ll have to leave for the summer,” I whispered back.

“Did you tell Ty yet?”

“No! And I won’t,” I assured her. “And you won’t either… until I'm gone.”

Ivy shook her head disappointedly. “I won't tell him! I hate when you leave me your dirty work! You disgust me, Rain.”

***

I was glad to be home. I was glad that I was still here and at least had two weeks left to enjoy it. When my dad got home from his appointment, I immediately became a nervous wreck. I was hoping that he wouldn’t send me off to a state miles and miles away for his own personal satisfaction. Or even worse, my mom’s.

He walked through the door and hung his keys on the key holder that hung beside the microwave. He smiled at me and turned on the TV in the kitchen that was made into the wall. “Dad, you’re taking your time on purpose,” I said with an attitude.

He chuckled at me and shook his head. “You got me. But I’m dragging as usual. I’m so tired,” he said slowly. “I’ve been more tired lately than usual.”

“Me too dad; I've tested for an entire week, so you can’t tell me about tired! One thing you can tell me is your decision.”

He rubbed his hands together and watched me silently for a few seconds before answering. “I’ve decided to let you decide. Go down there for the summer, and if you like it stay; if you don’t like it come back. You never know what can change in a period of two months,” he replied.

“What could possibly change?” I asked rhetorically. “I think I'm perfectly happy here. You know that I'm gonna come back,” I said grinning. I was excited that he was actually letting me choose my own destiny.

“I don't know. Don’t make up your mind so quickly, Raina. You never know what who you might meet. You never know what opportunities you may get. And, you never know what the future holds.”

"Sure," i said sarcastically.

He winked at me and walked to his room, gently shutting the door behind him.