Breaking free - Gracie Abrams

012 Ashtray

Ashtray
012

May 4, 2024

"you're getting better at running," glenn said, still catching his breath.

"the music does it all, friend," gabriella chuckled, adjusting her headphones. "plus, it helps me pretend I'm running from my problems."

glenn gave her a stern look.

"that was a joke," she grinned, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "running actually makes me feel like I don't ruin everything."

he smirked but didn't press further. "you've got a therapy session today, right?" he asked, sitting down on a nearby bench.

"yup. gonna pour it all out." she made a dramatic motion with her hand, mimicking an explosion. "and hey, thanks again for skipping the met gala with me. just to avoid... voldemort."

"it's okay," glenn laughed. "back to the future and salad night was a far better use of my time anyway."

a comfortable silence fell between them, the kind that only existed with years of friendship. glenn focused on catching his breath, though his furrowed brow suggested he was deep in thought. then, as if a lightbulb flickered on, his face lit up, and he smiled, his perfectly white teeth on full display.

"can we hang out after your therapy session?" he asked.

"sure. what do you wanna do?"

"just call me when you're done so I can head over," he said, brushing off the question with a shrug.

"okay," gabriella replied with a small nod, glancing at him curiously.

"my dad's birthday is next week," gabriella blurted out, the words slipping past her lips before she could stop them.

glenn turned to her. "how old would he have been?"

"fifty-eight," she said quietly.

"i didn't know he was older than your mom."

"four years," she replied with a small laugh, though it sounded forced. "insane age gap, right?"

glenn smiled faintly but didn't say anything, sensing there was more behind her attempt at humor. gabriella stared ahead, her eyes fixed on the running path.

"he'd always joke that he needed the extra years to 'catch up' to her energy," she added after a moment, remembering him. "he used to make such a big deal about his birthday—every year, even if it was just the six of us at home. i hated it as a kid. now i'd... give anything to have one of those stupid parties again."

glenn placed a hand on her shoulder, grounding her in the present.

"fifty-eight," she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "it feels so unfair, doesn't it? he deserved so much more."

glenn didn't reply. he knew better than to try to fix what couldn't be fixed. instead, he squeezed her shoulder gently, letting her know he was there.

gabriella looked down at her hands, fiddling with her shoelaces to keep herself from breaking completely. "it's weird," she said, almost to herself. "he's been gone for months, but sometimes i still pick up my phone to call him... like forgetting he's not there anymore."

glenn leaned back, looking at her like he wanted to say something but knew there was nothing that could make it better.

"let's keep running," she said finally, standing and brushing off her hands.