The Enemy of Trade

42

-Evren Black-

"Oh, I forgot to ask, how was championships?" I say as he holds open his car door.

"I actually didn't play."

I stop and stare at him, "What? Why not?"

He just smiles, "Because I could barely function while you were out. I would probably cause them the entire tournament."

I'm quiet for a moment, understanding. "Well did we win?"

He nods, "First in state."

My face lights up and I'm cheering, clapping.

"Alright little cheerleader, in the car." He jokes.

I sit in his passenger seat as he rounds the car to the driver side.

~

"That is actually disgusting." He cringes.

"It's not. If you would just try it, you would probably like it." I hold the apple dripping in sweet and sour sauce in front of him.

We couldn't go to our diner because they were closed, so we settled on drive through and parking lot lunch.

We went to McDonald's.

"It tastes like caramel and apples." I push forward, "If you try it, I'll convince my dad to let me sleep over tonight." I wiggle my eyebrows.

He sighs and takes the apple, puts it in his mouth and tries it. His eyes light up and a small smile starts to pull at his lips.

"It's good isn't it?" I revel in my glory.

"It's fucking delicious." He mumbles with food still in his mouth.

After some time, we finished eating, so now we sit in his car, just watching each other.

"So where are you set. After you graduate?" He holds my hand in his.

I sigh, "I'm still not sure." And that was the truth. "UCLA is so far, but it's my dream school. I just... I don't know if I can be that far from my dad, Corina. You. Not for that long."

He kissed my knuckles, "I know nothing I say might change your mind, but you have to venture off at some point Ev."

I nod at the silence. He made a point, but I still don't know.

"Before I woke up," I start, "I had sort of a dream." I look up at him with glossy eyes, "I saw my mom. And not just saw her, I felt her. I spoke to her. It was so real."

I admired his listening skills, because he didn't say a word.

"She told me what I believe was her last memory of her plans for the day. What was supposed to happen instead of the crash." My eyes stung with tears, "She was going to surprise me that day. Pick me up from school, take me to the hospital, we were going to have a sort of science fair day. TJ was going to show me some stuff in his department. She was going to show me some stuff in trauma. We were supposed to have fun that day."

His grip on my hand got tighter, and I loved the reassurance of his hold.

"After the accident, I realized, I had a choice. And it wouldn't be an easy one. UCLA is where my legacy is at, I would have a fresh start. But I would continue to let myself suffer from whatever is holding me back if I went to Berkeley or NYU."

All of this was the truth.

"She made me realize what exactly the choice would be when I saw her. And as stupid as it may sound, it is the most heart breaking thing I've ever had to decide."