The Mom Next Door

39-Lonely

*leahs pov*

It's Wednesday, and I just got to Jennifer's apartment. The moment I woke up this morning, I cried my eyes out for a good hour. I've known she's leaving for a while, but it didn't hit me until this morning since she's leaving today.

But I am glad I got my tears out this morning, because if I start crying in front of Jennifer, then she'll cry too. It would be a mess.

I take the elevator up to her floor and knock on her door. I hear her walk up to the door, and she pauses for a second before opening it.

My eyes meet hers, and I smile. "Hey." I say and she lets me in. "You okay?" I ask since her facial expression seemed a little off.

"I'm staying." She says without hesitation and I turn to her. I furrow my brows and try to understand. "What do you mean 'you're staying'?" I ask.

"Leah, I'm not leaving. I can't." She says. "Are you crazy-? What has gotten into you??" I ask. "You." She says and I tilt my head. "I'm not leaving you...Or Sofia." She says and I shake my head.

"Stop overthinking. You've been planning this for so long and everything is already set up. You can't turn back now." I tell her, walking up to her and putting my hands on her shoulders.

She looks in my eyes and I tilt my head. "You don't need me. You'll be fine." I tell her. "I-I do need you." She says and I sigh. "No you don't." I say in a serious tone.

"Stop thinking like that. Just think of all the fun you'll have. People would die to have an opportunity like this." I explain to her.

She just keeps quiet and looks at me. "Jennifer." I say. "Yeah?" She asks softly. "You're going. End of story." I say and take my hands away. I go upstairs in her room, and grab her bags, taking them downstairs.

"Now, are you gonna help me, or do I have to carry these all by myself?" I put my hands on my hips. She can't help but smile, and she grabs two of them. We get to my car and put everything in.

Then we head to the airport. "You're gonna have a great time." I say. "Yeah. A great time." She nods. "And you're gonna tel me all about it." I say. "I'll tell you all about it." She repeats.

"You'll also meet a whole bunch of great people, and make great memories." I say. "Great people, great memories. Got it." She nods.

It gets a little quiet, then she turns to me. "I'm really scared." She says. "What're you scared of. You don't have any reason to be scared. You're fine." I say and put my hand on her thigh. She takes my hand and I can tell how nervous she is by the way she's squeezing me.

Eventually we get there and we go through security. She puts her luggage with everyone else's. Then we get the number of the plane, and we sit down, waiting for someone to come on the intercoms and call for boarding.

Jennifer holds my hand in her lap and I look at her. "It'll be okay. Times gonna fly by. You won't even realize how fast." I say and she forces a smile and nods.

"I'm jealous of you." I tell her. "Why?" She asks. "You're going to France-." I giggle and so does she. "Yeah I guess so." She shrugs. "C'mon. You'll get to see the Eiffel Tower, eat fancy chocolates and baguettes." I go on and she smiles.

"Then come with me." She says and I look in her eyes. "I wish I could." I tilt my head. "I want to, but you know I can't." I say. "I know." She says.

She lays her head on my shoulder and we sit in silence as we wait.

Eventually, the thing I was dreading, finally comes. They call out that her flight is boarding. We look at eachother and I stand up. She stands up too, and that's when her eyes start to get watery.

"No, we're not doing this. Uhn-uhn." I shake my head and she tilts her head, trying her best to hold back the tears that are overfilling her eyes.

"Jennifer stop." I say in a serious tone. She blinks and tears start to fall down her cheeks. She hugs me and I hug her back. I rub her back and squeeze her lightly before we pull back.

I cup her face with my hands, and I bring her in for one last kiss. We pull away and she slowly opens her eyes.

"You'll be back before you know it." I repeat. She presses her lips and nods. "Go." I say and take my hands away. She picks up her carry on and turns to walk away. She stops and turns back to me.

"I love you." She says. "I love you too." I say softly. She walks over to the line of people boarding the plane, and I watch as she eventually disappears, then I sit back down.

I look out the big glass windows of the airport, and wait for the plane to take off. Eventually it does and I watch.

Then I stand up and grab my stuff before heading out. I know if I stayed any longer, I'd cry and make a scene, so I got out of there and I'm on my way home now.

-

I get home and drop my stuff beside the front door, then I go upstairs and change into pajamas. It sucks because I'm going to be alone all week. Sofia's at Angelo's, and Jen is gone.

I lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I try and clear my mind so I don't dwell on the situation.Then I get up and take my makeup off, and I sit at my vanity.

That's when I notice a pair of hoops on the vanity. Jennifer left them here the other night. I pick them up and just stare at them. And that's when it happens. I lay my head down in my arms and just cry.

I cry like I never have before. I stay in this position for a good 7 minutes until finally lifting my head. I look at myself in the mirror and start to cry even more when I notice how red and puffy my eyes are.

I stand up and open one of my drawers, putting the hoops away. Then I turn off my lights and lay in bed. At nine in the morning.

This is probably how the rest of my week will go. I have no one right now. I like alone time, but I hate being lonely.