Meet You There

Meet You There - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The road trip was surprisingly fun. Fox and I took turns riding shotgun, and blasting music from our playlists. We got milkshakes when we stopped for gas, halfway there. I'd never driven this far north, out of Virginia, and it really felt amazing.

   Caleb had booked a hotel room, close to the NYU campus. It was after 5P.M. when he pulled in to the Mercer Hotel parking lot. I let out a deep sigh from the back seat.

   "Girly! We're here!" Fox yelled, turning around to see my reaction.

   My eyes were wide. They had been since we've entered the city. "I can't believe it."

   "Are you excited?" Fox asked, then went on, "I stayed in this hotel with my sister once, it was so great. We were teenagers. It really feels good to be here."

   "I haven't been back to New York since I finished school," Caleb spoke up, then turned to me. "I'm so glad we are doing this with you, Iris."

   "Me too," I said quickly.

   We checked in and then brought our bags up to the large double room. The main room was big and open with a king size bed, a sofa and a large TV. The secondary room was separated by double doors, and had a twin bed and a smaller TV, a desk and a microwave. I knew that when I was there, on my own, I wouldn't be in a nice hotel like this. But it still felt very surreal.

   Caleb and Fox decided on a diner for dinner, that was close by. They had apparently gone on a date there, once. They told me it was old fashioned and retro and had great burgers. I was hungry, so that was fine by me. Fox decided to change, and Caleb sprawled out on the huge bed, stretching out his legs while I went into "my" room. I dropped my bag onto the floor near the bed and unzipped it, pulling out my make up bag. I fixed it up a bit and then brushed my teeth before sitting on the bed, trying to take it all in. I felt overwhelmed and needed a way to calm myself. I pulled out my phone, next.

   "Hey," Bennett answered, after a couple of rings.

   "Hi," I said, taking in a breath. He felt so far away.

   "You get there okay? How is it?" he asked cautiously.

   "Yeah, yeah. It's great. We checked in to the hotel, and we're going to go for dinner soon..."

   "I miss you. So much," he said, just as I was about to tell him the same.

   "I miss you," I repeated. "How're you?"

   He let out a laugh, which surprised me. "Iris, it hasn't even been a day."

   "I... I know. But it feels like..."

   "Breathe," he told me, so I did. "I promise I'm okay. I'll just be home, in my bedroom all weekend."

   "Really?" I asked, feeling bad immediately.

   He laughed again. "My only friends are still drug dealers, Iris. I just... can't. I have to be alone. Or with you."

   "What about Kelly?" I suggested.

   "Iris." We both just stayed quiet for a minute. "She's my sister. Not my friend."

   "Okay. Well -"

   "Have fun," he said again.

   "Okay. I'll call you later?"

   "I'll be here."

   The diner was retro, for sure. It was small and dead, only two there tables were in use when we arrived. We were seated and order quickly; our server was a lady in her forties with bleached blonde hair and dark eyes. Her top was too tight, but she was sweet and our meal was amazing. I hadn't eaten all day, and I cleaned my whole place of fish and chips.

   Afterwards, the three of us walked around the area a bit. Fox and Caleb pointed out landmarks and places they knew of. I was in awe and loved every moment of it.

   The next two days flew by. They were filled with adventures in the city, a long walk in Central Park, a dorm tour, a campus tour, and a round of mini golf at the pop of amusement park. Everything about New York City was new, different, and perfect for me. Even though I was terrified of living there on my own, I was so excited for that to be my world, every day.

   When we checked out of the hotel on Monday morning, I texted Bennett that we were on our way home. We had talked on the phone a few times and texted a bunch, but I was still looking forward to seeing him. He didn't reply right away, and I sent another text when we were half way home. It was a hot, end of June day, and Caleb had the windows down rather than the A/C on in his truck. I was sweating and tired and nervous now, that he wasn't texting back. So I called him.

   "Hi," he answered, after three long rings. He sounded quiet. Tired, maybe. It was already mid afternoon.

   "Hey. I texted a couple times. You okay?" I asked him.

   "Oh, yeah, sorry." No explanation?

   "Okay. I just wanted to tell you I'll be home in a couple hours," I went on, feeling only slightly better.

   "Awesome, see you soon," he answered, without hesitating.

   "Okay," I said, and then there was a long awkward silence before he ended the call.

   I hung up with a tightness in my chest and stomach. Was he not telling me something? Or was he just sad? I put my headphones in and listening to my music for awhile, with my eyes closed. In New York, I hadn't constantly worried about Bennett. Now, I was right back to feeling sick about it.

   My stomach growled as Caleb pulled into a Charlottesville Mcdonald's. It felt good to be home and I was starving. I was sort of in a daze as we went in to eat and then drove the last twenty minutes back to the condo.

   My heart was pounding in the elevator up. I put my bag in the apartment after follow Caleb and Fox in, and then spun around and went back to the elevator, to go down to Bennett's. I knocked on the door with a big lump in my throat. Why was I so nervous? I wanted to surprise him, but no one answered.

   HEY, IM AT YOUR DOOR, I texted him a minute later.

   WHAT? REALLY? UH, COME IN. IM HERE, he answered after a couple of minutes.

   I opened the door, but the apartment was empty. Like, really empty. His parents had already done most of the packing and were barely there. The kitchen had only the appliances and the living room had nothing but the TV still mounted to the wall. It felt wrong, and strange and sad. I hated this for him, that his parents were selling their condo and moving, basically leaving him behind. He was barely eighteen. He needed me more than ever now, I knew that. And even though I was moving to New York, I was there now. I could make the next month really special and fun. And maybe we would be okay.