A Lasting Sacrifice

1 - Aaliyah

"I'm at the airport as we speak. My plane starts boarding in half an hour," I say, annoyed over the phone.

"Well, I worry about you being back there. After how we left---"

"I know, mom, you don't have to remind me. I was there for it. Look, I'm only staying for two days. I'm 24 and I won't be getting any younger. This could be my last time to see some of my closest friends." I say sincerely.

The thought of my friends and I growing apart gets worse every day. We barely keep in touch as is. A Halloween party with the old gang is sure to lighten my mood. I just wish my mother could understand why I want to go back. Why I came back to this city after all the things that happened to us.

"I know, honey. You miss your friends, and you didn't get to say a proper goodbye. But, there are...things in that town that could haunt you forever. Just keep a low enough profile, Aaliyah. You don't need to draw any attention."

"I know Mom. I'll be ok, trust me."

She sighs.

"Enjoy your trip. Call me if you need anything. Love you."

"I love you too, ma."

I hang up the phone and look over my IG profile. I scroll farther down my hundreds of photos until I find the one I want. A picture of the four of us on our last Halloween together. I stand in my 'Sailor Moon' outfit with a wand, Jenna is to my left in her pink 'Power Ranger' costume. She leans her arm on my shoulder as we pose for the picture.

I smile, looking at her and remembering this night fondly. But, when I look at the boy on my right, I start to feel sad. Marco is my first love and the person I was most upset to leave behind. When my mother told us we were moving from LA to Virginia four years ago, it shook my life up.

I had just gotten to my sophomore year at USC and so did Marco. We weren't highschool sweethearts but when we got to college we started dating. He took my virginity and told me he loved me more than anything. Since he grew up an orphan, I'm sure he wasn't exaggerating. We planned to move in together and start our lives, but... fate had other plans.

I moved away with no word, and I've never stopped hating myself for it. Surprisingly, Marco texted me this morning; on my way to the airport. He didn't say 'Hi', or engage in small talk. All he texted me was an address and a time. 498 Paloma ave., 7:30 pm; I don't know if I should go. Before I can ponder this any further, I feel my phone vibrate and a notification pops up.

MARCO

—Don't keep me waiting... please.

I'm still in shock that he's texting me at all. After I left abruptly, he hadn't reached out, but now he's texting me as if nothing happened. I'm sure he means well, but I have no idea what he'll say to me when we meet. Marco has always been a mixed bag of emotions. I've seen him pissed off and vengeful, but I've seen him be so sweet and endearing to others.

He rarely raised his voice to me, no matter how upset he was. We only had two major arguments. I don't remember what the first was about, but the second was about me leaving without a word. He was beyond hurt, I'd never heard him cry before then. Marco told me he'd find me and bring me home where I belonged. He said he couldn't live without me and that the separation was killing him. He was going to make me stay in contact with him so he could find me.

Ultimately, that didn't happen in the end. I did my best to stay off of social media and even changed my number. Somehow, he found me again after three years and he still felt as strongly as he did before. Thankfully, he didn't put his life on hold for me. He has been heavy into music as a rapper and he even created his own clothing line. He's actually a millionaire now, and he seems happy with what he does.

So, I guess it makes sense that he would have someone look into me to find me. He texts me every once in a blue moon to check on me or invite me to a VIP event when he's in my area, but I always decline. I want to say yes so badly, but I know he wants answers. I can't tell him what I don't know. When we left, I had been to the hospital a few days before.

My mom was the only one in the hospital with me. I didn't know how I ended up there, but my mom was freaked out. She wouldn't tell me anything except that we needed to leave immediately. My body felt drained, and I had lost a lot of blood. I still want to know what happened to me, but she won't tell me.

I hope to find some answers while Im here. I need to know what happened to me. If I don't figure it out, then I'll never be able to face my friends after this. They'll always want to know what happened and I'll never have a straight answer. Jenna was hurt when I left, as well. But I kept in contact with her.

She promised me she wouldn't tell Marco about me and I know she kept her word. We share a connection that goes as deep as sisterhood. Whenever I was down in the dumps, she was a ray of sunshine in the darkness. She keeps me informed about Marco and Zeke every day. Zeke was our bisexual best friend, who we also grew up with.

Zeke loves to have fun and is proudly open about what he likes. He used to tease Marco and act as if he would take him from me and I'd get a good laugh out of it. So would Jenna, Marco would play along and call him hubby and play up the gay love fantasy. He was always a good sport about Zeke's playful nature. We all love each other, and I know Zeke misses me as much as they do.

I wish I didn't leave back then, maybe Marco and I would have turned out differently. Sadly, I miss everything about our time together. For a long time, I had the biggest crush on him, yet I never had the courage to say anything. He was the one who spoke up first. I was so shocked that he'd be into me at all.

His preference for women has always been on the lighter-shade side. He's tasted every bit of the rainbow except the darker shades. I always assumed he would never be interested in me. I am curvaceous and thick, I'm not fat but a little plump around the middle. So, I figured that played into his reasoning for never asking me out.

Marco told me I was always his first pick but, he didn't think I was interested. We always got a good laugh out of that when we thought about it. He and I were utterly clueless, Zeke and Jenna had been waiting for us to figure it out for years. I miss our group dynamic and how comfortable we all made each other feel. Hell, we were all in attendance for Zeke coming out to his father. His mom knew, but his father was the one to worry about.

Once in college, he didn't give a damn who knew, including his dad. His dad's face turned red, and he told Zeke he couldn't deal with it. But, at least he didn't disown him. From what I understand, he's starting to come around to the whole thing. It's about time, that day was an awkward one night. We all got a five-star hotel room, got drunk, and smoked some weed together.

After six hours of back to back blunts and two bottles of Hennessy, Zeke became thoroughly distracted and fell asleep. Jenna was the first to succumb to the turn up, so...Marco and I were the only ones left awake. Marco took my virginity that night and we inseparable ever since. Our freshman year of college was one of the best years of our lives.

As I think about old memories, I almost miss the time on my phone. My plane is finally boarding, I run to the terminal with my bags in tow and present my ticket to the attendant. The woman informs me that someone has actually upgraded my ticket to first class. I tell her it must be a mistake; she shows me the time of the upgraded purchase and it's literally a few minutes after Marco texted me. Of course he did this, he always goes out of his way to spoil me.

I have no choice but to take the upgrade, so I board the plane and head to my section. The interior is amazing in first-class. It looked like it cost a pretty penny to sit up here, and I'm sure it did. Taking my seat, I enjoy a glass of complimentary champagne before the flight takes off. I'm still so nervous about going to LA, I wonder how different things will be.