Crossing States

Chapter 2

around the dinner table one evening, his dad's face unusually serious. The words fell like stones: *We're moving*. Ethan's heart sank before the sentence even finished. He knew his dad had been talking about job opportunities, but he never imagined it would mean uprooting his entire life.

The next morning, Ethan broke the news to Luca. It was a quiet, cloudy day, the kind that felt heavy with anticipation. The boys sat on the swings in the park where they'd spent so many afternoons, but today was different. Luca could see it in Ethan's face—something was wrong. When Ethan finally spoke, his voice was quiet, hollow.

"My dad got the job," he muttered, eyes fixed on the ground. "We're moving... at the end of the month."

Luca's heart clenched. He didn't know what to say. He just stared at Ethan, the words feeling too surreal, too wrong. *Moving?* They had always joked about the future—about going to middle school, high school, and even college together. But now, that future was shattering before them.

"When?" Luca finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"In three weeks," Ethan replied, his tone flat, like he couldn't quite believe it himself.

The next few days felt like a blur of sadness and disbelief. Both boys tried to act like everything was normal—building forts, playing games, riding their bikes through the neighborhood—but the knowledge of the impending move lingered like a shadow over every moment. The laughter was thinner, the adventures less wild. There was an unspoken understanding between them that things were already starting to change.

One afternoon, as they sat in the treehouse they'd built together, Luca stared at the floor, picking at the fraying wood. "You're really leaving, aren't you?" he asked, his voice tight with emotion.

Ethan sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Yeah. My dad says it's a good opportunity. I don't know, Luca. I don't want to go."

"Can't you talk to him? Make him stay?"

Ethan shook his head. "I tried. But you know how he is. He says it's what's best for us." There was a pause, and when Ethan spoke again, his voice cracked just a little. "What about us? We'll still be friends, right? We'll call, text... maybe you can visit."

Luca nodded quickly, but there was a tightness in his chest, a growing knot of fear that no amount of promises could untangle. "Yeah, of course. We'll stay in touch, no matter what."

But deep down, both of them knew the truth. They'd heard the stories from other kids—friends who moved away and were never heard from again. Life would move on, and they'd both get busy with school, with new friends, with growing up. The ache in their hearts grew heavier with every passing day, even though neither of them said it aloud.

In the final week before the move, they clung to each other in a way they hadn't before. Their last sleepover stretched into the early hours of the morning, the boys lying in their sleeping bags on the floor of Luca's room, staring up at the ceiling. The moonlight filtered through the window, casting soft shadows as they whispered their plans for the future—how they would visit during the holidays, send each other care packages, and make up for the distance with endless phone calls.

"I'm never going to forget this, you know," Ethan said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're always going to be my best friend, no matter where I am."

Luca swallowed hard, the words catching in his throat. "Me too," he whispered, his hands gripping the edges of his sleeping bag as though holding on to the last moments of their childhood. "Always."

When the day finally came, the weight of reality hit both of them full force. Ethan's house was packed up, boxes stacked by the door, his parents bustling around with last-minute preparations. Luca stood by the moving truck, watching as Ethan threw his bike into the back. The tears they had been holding back began to rise, even though neither wanted to let the other see.

"I'll see you soon," Ethan said, his voice wavering as he hugged Luca for the last time. It was a clumsy, desperate embrace, the kind that comes from trying to hold onto something slipping away too fast.

"Yeah, soon," Luca choked out, though his heart told him differently.

As the moving truck pulled away, Ethan leaning out the window to wave goodbye, Luca stood on the sidewalk, watching his best friend disappear down the street, out of sight, and out of his life. He waved back, the lump in his throat too big to swallow.

And though they promised to stay in touch, both boys felt the quiet understanding that everything had already begun to change. Life, as they knew it, would never be the same.

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