There was a bothersome feeling in my chest, growing as time went on. It was probably the inevitable anticipation of Abby's departure, and how our relationship would pan out. It was still a fat question mark laying between us and I could see that none of us was willing to start the fire. I could feel that it was going to burn.

I slowly passed to our lawn, walking up to the porch. The street was lit with the first rays of dawn, and the only sound that accompanied me was the blowing wind. I slowly unlocked the door and tiptoed into the house. Firstly, I listened carefully to make sure my parents were asleep. Pushing the door close, I removed my jacket and hung it on the coat hanger.

As I was about to walk upstairs, a whisper interrupted me and made me almost shit in my pants. "George." I turned around in a panic to find my mother standing by the kitchen door with folded arms.

"Mom, why do you pop out like that?" I said, trying to steady my breathing. She seriously popped out of nowhere. I walked closer to see her clearly because I couldn't make out her expression in the dark.

As we entered the kitchen, she turned the lights on and said, "I woke up to drink water." I was anticipating for her next question because I was out at this ungodly hour and she just caught me—well, this wasn't even in the description of my curfew. Would she ground me? Fuck, she couldn't do that for this following week. "How did your night go?" She asked instead, stopping the choir in my head with her casual, carefree question. Did she know?

"You knew I snuck out?" She shrugged her shoulder with a look. "You're not mad," I continued. "Like you're totally okay that I spent the night at Abby's?"

"Well, I wish you told us—it wasn't pleasant to see your bed empty. But we thought we could tolerate this for a couple of days because I can imagine how hard it is for you at the moment." Her understanding took me off guard. This was beyond my imagination. Yes, she was always a good mother, but I didn't think she would let me walk away with this. "We will discuss this after Abby leaves." Now, this was the mother I knew.

I squeezed her hand over the table. "Thanks, Mom."

"Did you discuss what you will do when she's away?" I shook my head no. "Are you dating right now?"

"We didn't settle anything like we are just loving each other and that's it."

Her expression contorted into a pout. "What do you want to do?"

"I think we can maintain a long-distance relationship, you know." I wasn't sure about Abby, but I thought we could do it. We had been best friends for a long time and we knew each other very well. "We would Facetime every day and visit each other on holidays. I don't think it's too hard."

Though she nodded softly, I could see that she wasn't that sure about it. "What does she think?"

"I didn't ask her yet. We just started, and I don't want to pester her about the future. She has a bright one ahead and she loves me." I took a deep breath and couldn't help the worry and hopelessness fill my lungs along with air. "She wouldn't leave me, right, Mom?"

She just looked at me for a moment, and her eyes told more than her words could. I suddenly turned into a little boy, insecure and scared. Would Abby really leave me?

"Why don't you invite her over for dinner?"

"Oh, you say, live your last days wisely."

"I'm saying," she said laughingly, "that you should stop worrying. Abby is a wise girl and I'm sure you will sort it out somehow." She held my hand reassuringly. "You're my baby."

Her vote of confidence only drove me to the edge. Was it possible? Would she go like 'George, we should end this.'? Shit. "Mom," I said, standing up with her incredulous look, "I'll sleep."

"Okay, baby." I put a kiss on her forehead and climbed upstairs. When I entered my room, I threw myself on the bed with a sigh. I was so focused on the thrill of confession that I didn't calculate the aftermath. What now? This was the question I should have asked myself, but I wanted to live the time we had left as beautifully as we could. Maybe that was what really mattered after all.

My thoughts didn't really mute when my eyes closed, and sleep kicked in. They emerged in my dreams in the form of nightmares, and in the end, I woke up two hours later, sweating with my heart pounding against my chest.

I was terribly tired, but the nightmare shook me so hard that I wasn't ready to go back to sleep. I shouldn't have let this affect me too much. Abby wasn't leaving me, she didn't even say so. I decided to text her to ease my panic and heartbeats.

Abby, are you sleeping?

Want me to join you?

Ready in five mins. I'll see you outside.

Jogging would clear out my mind and being with her would stop my paranoiac thoughts. I quickly pulled on a suitable outfit and filled my bottle. When I was ready, I exited into a beautiful summer morning. While I stretched my legs to prepare for jogging, Abby also exited her house and looked at me from her porch. When she waved, I approached her with fast steps and pulled her for an immediate hug.

"I missed you," I groaned, burying my face into her neck.

A chuckle rose from her chest. "We were together only two hours ago."

"It's been two long hours," I corrected her, pulling back to look into her eyes.

"Did you come here to jog with me or distract me?" I shrugged my shoulders when she pulled me forward and started jogging at a slow tempo. I had the opportunity to take her in within the short period she was ahead of me. She was in green clothes with her hair in a ponytail. I didn't want to think about the future, but it was extremely limited. She was leaving in two days—in fact, we only had one day left.

"George." I blinked when she suddenly halted and turned around to look at me. "You're so slow." When she saw my expression, however, it looked, like her eyebrows were knitted. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I said breathily, trying my best to hide my thoughts. She didn't seem to buy that, so she approached me. "I'm fine." Then, I started jogging again before she could ask me further questions. She caught up with me easily, running along with me and after she cast a brief glance at me, she focused ahead as well.

We ran without a word for a while. I was trying to float within the ocean of my thoughts, but an iceberg was approaching, and I didn't know if we could maneuver on time. I didn't notice how jogging wore me down until I lost my breath and had to stop for a while, bending with my hands on my knees.

"What, Shaw? Are you giving up?" When I lifted my gaze at her, she was smiling at me. How could she be so relaxed and happy? What was running in her mind? Maybe she already made her decision and was waiting for the last minute to let me know. Fury suddenly hit me, but I managed to swallow it down before a sudden outburst.

"I'm tired, Abby."

"I was just kidding," she replied, sort of taken aback. "Wait, are you offended?" She cupped my chin to lift my face. "Look at me. George, are you really okay? What's up?"

When her worried eyes touched me, all the fury was gone in the wake. However, I couldn't ask her the questions I wasn't ready to get answers to. Instead, I grabbed her face and kissed her breathlessly. She soon wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer. When we finally drifted apart, she looked at me. "What was this for?"

"Can you come over for dinner? Mom asked me to invite you."

Though it wasn't her answer, she didn't say anything else on that matter. "That'd be great," she replied smilingly. "Susan was asking me to join her tonight because Dad will be in a business meeting. This can be a valid excuse." Then, she held my hand and intertwined our fingers.

I didn't make a sound as we walked back home. This trip taught me to be patient and not to push the matter. I was going to wait until she was ready to talk about it. I was still thinking about this stuff when we reached the neighborhood, and I only understood that when she let go of my hand. I looked into her eyes and she offered me a soft grin in return.

Don't leave me, Abby. I could have said that if I was selfish enough. Abby was an amazing student and she was going to ace psychology. She fucking got accepted into Columbia. I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that. We came to a halt on the sidewalk, our eyes meeting simultaneously. I wanted to say something, but no words came out.

"So, um, see you at dinner," she murmured, looking down at her feet. The air shifted so quickly that I didn't even notice. I tossed a stone and looked at her face to examine her expression. She looked timid like she knew what was coming next and she didn't want to face it. I was keen on waiting as long as she was ready to talk about it.

"Don't be late," I replied smilingly, and my cheerful tone caused her to look up. I hugged her tightly before letting her go. We shared a brief glance before she turned on her heels and headed to her house. I walked onto the porch slowly and unlocked the door. The smell hit me first when I entered, and I heard my mother in the kitchen next.

"Mom, we have a guest," I yelled, putting my snickers on the left, and walking inside. She welcomed me with a smile in between her cooking. She looked really busy as if she had already known Abby was coming tonight. "But seems like you already know it."

"I had a hunch," she replied, stirring the soup. "Come here." I approached her in question, leaning against the counter beside her. She suddenly brought the spoon to my mouth and said, "Is it tasty?"

The taste of tomato soup filled my mouth. I licked my lips and replied, "Yum."

***

Hello!

We are nearing the end—are you ready for it? Can you predict what happens next? 😌

❤️💔

Sev xx