Love is Hard

So This is Goodbye?

"Go Justin!" I yell out.
"Shut up!" He shouts back, right before crashing into the water. His board flies into the air and when he surfaces, it hits him in the head. I feel arms wrap around me and I lean against the warm body.
"Someone needs lessons." I laugh, sneaking a look up at Caleb.
"He was just distracted."
"Distracted? Me? A distraction." I pull away, pretending to be hurt.
"You guys are cute." Katie comments, sitting at the table we chose. We had made up for everything that went on and she told me she felt like an idiot. We have been talking everyday again, and I finally got my bathing suit back!
"I do have to say, I miss the bikini." Caleb smirks above me, his hands around my lower stomach, holding me. The suit consists of; swim trunks, and a black and white bikini top that is still uncomfortable, but it actually covers a lot more than Katie's.
"Oh please. That thing is scrappy!" I whisper, hoping not to catch Katie's ear. He let's out a chuckle, trying to mute it by burying his face into the back of my neck. "Katie agreed to it."
"She did?" He pulls his face away, as I look out to the lake. I sure will miss this place.... I asked Katie to watch over my apartment, or in other words, she's going to move in. Mr. Flimber told me that my position at Union Newspaper is always available. Justin is going to stay at my place, but says he'll probably be over at Caleb's more often.
"Hey, I've been meaning to tell you; Justin didn't take it so well...." I turn around, standing in front of him.
"Was he angry?"
"I don't know. He kind of yelled, cried, and then stormed out." I bite my lip. "I was relieved when I got him to answer his phone yesterday."
"At least no ones in the slammer." Caleb grabs my hand, pulling me into a hug. "It will be fine. He'll understand that you're doing this for you." He kisses on my forehead, "Which you deserve."
"I'm just going to miss you guys." I murmur.
"We'll be here when you get back. Trust me, I ain't going anywhere."
"I know." I give him a passionate kiss, feeling people's eyes on us.
***
"I never thought leaving this place would be so hard."
"You're gonna have fun! You're also going to follow your dream!" Justin comes into my room. I'm packing my suitcase, but I'm leaving several items here, so I have to come back soon and get more things.
"You really think she's going to like me? What if she thinks my work is, bad?" I look up from my suitcase.
"At least you'll come back home quicker!" Justin laughs, noticing my serious look. "Izzy, their going to love you."
"But what if I miss something here!"
"Like what? Nothing happens here!" I cock my eyebrow ready to prove what he just said is completely wrong.
"What if you throw a party? What if Katie wants to move? What if someone gets arrested? What if someone loses their job? What if-"
"What if Caleb moves on?" Justin grips my wrist gently, stopping me from continuing. My mouth slightly opens, and I'm shocked.
"How-"
"You're my sister, Iz. I know everything about you." He pulls me into a hug, and I bury my face into his shoulder.
"What if he finds someone prettier, or smarter?"
"What if someone spills coffee on him on their way into work?" His voice is calm and sweet, considering how my butterflies are committing suicide inside my stomach. I pull away, tears threatening to spill onto my cheeks. "Izzy, you love him. He loves you. That's all you have to think about. Everything will be fine, and if anything happens, you'll know, okay?"
"Okay." He kisses my forehead like how he used to when I would get bullied on the bus.
"Now, you might feel better if you talk to him about this." He comments before leaving the room. I sigh, before going back to packing. I try to talk myself into calling him, but I don't want him to know that I'm scared about losing him, that might push him away. Man, I'm needy. When did I get this way? Eventually, I call him, unable to get it out of my head.
***
"Move on?" He repeats, interrupting my rambling fears. "Baby, that's not going to happen."
"But what if you meet someone." I continue pacing my bedroom floor, probably burning a hole in the carpet. "Someone prettier, smarter, closer."
"Hey!" He stands from his position on my bed. His hands fold around my face and I hold onto his arms. "There's no such thing as someone prettier, or smarter." He smiles, but being my stubborn self I add;
"What about closer? Huh. What if someone spills coffee on you that only lives several minutes away, not several states?"
"Then I'll have to warn her that I'm taken." He kisses my forehead, pulling me into an embrace.
"I can't lose you, Caleb." I whisper against his chest.
"You're not going to." We stay like this for a while, just soaking in this moment.
"But what if-"
"No." He pulls away, looking into my eyes. "Nothing is going to change while you're gone." I accept, nodding my head in agreement. He kisses me softly, and with our luck, Justin peaks his head in.
"Ew." His nose turns up, showing his disgust. I break from the haze and glace over at my brother, surprised when Caleb attacks me with more kisses. He smiles, before covering it up with his scowl and disappears. I was giggling, unable to contain my laughter. He leaves a longer kiss on my cheek, and I return it.
"I'm going to miss you so much." He murmurs.
"We have to talk, like everyday!"
"Deal. But I don't know when I can, considering I have to make up for all those shifts you made me cancel." He teases, taking my hands in his.
"Well, I'm not the one who kept 'staying' the night."
"Well, I had to make sure you were alright." He pauses, pulling a hand through his hair, "And it just so happened that I was tired, and you were warm."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
***
"Flight 47, ready to board." The speaker announced. I hug Katie, telling her not to catch my place on fire. Jackson is giving his number to some chick, and when he catches my glimpse he runs over and hugs me. I smile, knowing I'm going to miss this player of mine.
"Don't get anyone pregnant." I warn sternly when I pull away. He checks the air with his finger as if it was a checklist. I then hug my dad, his scratchy voice wishing me good luck. My mom is next, her eyes already glazing over. "Mom." I pull her close, and she laughs nervously.
"Don't have too much fun!" She murmurs. I turn to Justin who is playing angry again. His arms are crossed and I hug him through his stance; he eventually hugs me back.
"Be careful Iz."
"If you need me, I'm just a call away, okay?" I kiss his cheek, looking to see who's next. Caleb.
"He told me he was running a bit late...." Justin comments, seeing my face drop.
"I can't leave without-"
"Isabelle!" I hear my name being yelled by someone. I look at the entrance of our airport, seeing Caleb running towards us. He looks dressed up, but still casual. When he reach our little group of tearful family, I hug him feeling the tears fall.
"I thought this would be easier." I whisper, trying to contain it all.
"I got something for you." I pull away, quickly shooting a glance at the gate, seeing the line was almost empty now.
"What-?" I look back at him, seeing him holding a ring in his hand. Its a crown shaped ring, with little pink diamonds on it. He pulls out another crown shaped ring, only with no diamonds. "I thought it'd help keep 'others' away." He smiles, while I slide it on my ring finger. I hug him again, longer than all the others.
"I love it. I love you." I kiss his cheek, before hugging him again.
"Isabelle, you have to go." He whispers, almost as if he didn't want to say it. "Knock 'em dead." He adds when I pull away. I kiss his lips before finally waving at them all and heading for my plane. Each step, I felt my heart fall apart, like I was leaving bits of myself with them. When I hand the lady behind the desk my ID and pass port, she allows me to go into the long tunnel that is never ending. Before I finally take my steps to the start of my dream, I look back at those I love. My parents were crying, and Justin was holding Katie. Jackson was waving and Caleb- Caleb was blowing me a kiss. I swallow, mentally telling myself that its all going to be worth it. I catch the airborne kiss and blow my own back. He changes to waving, and I watched his lips move:
I love you.

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Thanks for reading!

I tried to make it funny, but leaving your love ones isn't an easy thing to do. Either states away, or minutes away.

- Emuna_Jasmine