Wretched Roses √

Chapter 82-Leaving

Leona's POV
I squeezed Zarah a little tighter, not wanting to let go. She sniffed and hugged me back. May joined in, crying silently and profusely wiping tears to hide it from us.

"Can't believe you're leaving tomorrow," I said.

"Who knows when we'll get another night like this," May complained, voice breaking.

"Aww, May. Who could have known you cared so much for me?"

She shot daggers at her. "Stop. Fine, I do kind of love you, and I'll miss you."

We laughed and hugged again, drenching each other's shirts in tears. She'd decided to go along with Phoebe more than a week ago, I'd been happy for her but knowing she was leaving was more difficult to accept than I'd imagined. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone or if she would even return. It depended on how things went and where life leads her, she had said.

"I know I told you to do it but I take it back, don't leave us," I said, earning a half-cry, half-chuckle from her.

"I'll miss you both so much. Thank you for being there for me these past few years, even after everything I'd done."

"Thank you for being there for us too," I said, smiling.

We held each other for a while more, May was the first to pull away, saying we needed to enjoy the night and not just cry the entire time.

"Let's go to the park," I suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

***

It had started raining when we reached the park. Since we hadn't anticipated it, we didn't bring any umbrellas. We considered going home but agreed to stay for at least a little while. It was dark outside so we stayed where there was at a tiny bit of light. I sat down on one of the benches, cringing as the wet surface collided with my already soaked jeans.

"Wearing wet jeans is far from comfortable," I groaned.

"No complaining, it was your idea," Zarah warned, taking a seat next to me.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't."

May was hovering in front of us, grimacing at the bench. I rolled my eyes and pulled her onto it so she too was sitting down. She made a face as she was forced to sit on a very much wet bench.

"You're already drenched, what difference does it make?" I asked.

"Mhm, whatever. Let's go swinging."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Swinging? Aren't we a bit too old for that?

"You're never too old for swinging, it's fun regardless of your age," May countered, standing up almost as fast as she'd sat down.

I shrugged and checked with Zarah if she was okay with it. She nodded so we strode towards a pair of unoccupied swings further down the park. It was quite empty, with a few occasional people passing by.

While Zarah took the one in the middle, May and I sat down on either side of her and began swinging our legs. The rain was pelting down on us and I was freezing but it was an indescribable feeling to swing in the dark while it was raining. I smiled as it poured down on us and picked up my pace on the swing.

"You're right," I had to shout over to the swing for them to be able to hear me, "swinging never gets old."

"Told you so," she yelled back.