𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, kate martin

TWENTY. prove them wrong

tuesday, april 23rd, 2024:
iowa city, iowa

Tatum walked into the apartment, greeted with the sight of boxes scattered across the floor, some full and some not quite.

Her decorations were taken off the wall and stored away, the grey colors lacking the splash of Kate's smile, a radiance that had never been limited to live inside a picture frame. Only Will's minimal belongings lingered around the living room, making it look like a ghost town.

Tatum turned to look over her shoulder to see the hot sauce bottles on the top of Kate's cabinets were gone. It was strange to look up at the top of her kitchen and find her once massive display residing empty.

It was all so surreal.

She straightened her shoulders as she moved further into the apartment and down the hall, heading in the direction of Kate's bedroom, a path she knew all too well from however many countless times she'd been over to hang out. The younger girl shook her head lightly, to get rid of the thoughts and nerves that coursed through her. She needed to stop thinking about it all and be in the moment. There would be no point in dwelling on things anymore.

"Kate?" Tatum called to let the blonde know she was there.

Tatum peeked her head through Kate's bedroom door. She noticed the heaping pile of clothes resting haphazardly on top of her bed, which lacked her comforter — the same one they had shared many laughs and memories in, spent just basking in one another's company.

Her eyes landed on the blonde's head, her hair cascading down off her shoulders as she leaned over, stuffing something into a bag. She rose to her full height and tucked the hair from in front of her face, catching sight of Tatum.

"Oh hey! I didn't know you were coming over."

Right.. She probably should've told her that before she arrived. But Tatum had gotten so swept up in the realization that Kate's flight was sneaking up on them that the thought hadn't even occurred to her. The emotions had all crept into her throat and nearly made her heart stop, which had been enough for her to find herself in front of Kate's door in the first place.

The hadn't spoken much outside of over the phone when Kate followed up her text she sent Tatum with multiple ones in efforts to make up for it. As a matter of fact, she had texted Tatum nonstop for the rest of the weekend. It was something Kate had hoped she could do to help keep the junior's mind off the opinions about her in the media.

But still, they hadn't seen each other since..

"Jada told me you were packing so I figured you could probably still use some help."

"Uh, yeah, actually," Kate surveyed the space around them. "I could really use some of your organization skills right about now in case you couldn't tell."

"Trust me, I noticed." I've noticed every detail about you. She cleared her throat, attempting a light-hearted laugh, "Dude, you leave tomorrow. How in the world are you just now packing?"

Kate waved her off, saying, "Don't worry, pretty much all I got left are my clothes. Otherwise everything else should be all set."

"What about the sheets on your bed?" she gestured.

"Those are Will's I'm borrowing. Mine are already put away."

"Oh," Tatum said. She was nearly moved out. The younger girl tested a smirk on her lips, raising a brow as she joked, "That's brave of you."

Kate laughed lightly at that. "I know. Kinda risky of me I guess but it had to be done."

Tatum glanced around the room reluctantly, finding that Kate was right. It may not be what she meant but still.. She was nearly done. Done with it all.