The Locket

Chapter Nineteen

I wake up the next morning feeling tired. I wanted to sleep last night to see if Susanna would come again and give me more answers but I couldn't. I just kept thinking about what she had said. Be careful, he's not who he seems. What does that even mean? It would be easier to avoid getting killed by this mystery person if I knew who they were. I have no energy to get out of bed but today Brooke is leaving and I need to be there for her.

I force my to get out of bed and I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I let the steam surround me and loosen up my muscles. I feel safe in the shower, like the steam is a blanket that is protecting me from all that exists in the outside world. I don't want to leave the safety of that moment but I know I can't spend forever in there. After I get out of the shower and dry off, I throw on some jeans and a shirt. I grab shoes and my necklace. It's weird, ever since I started wearing the locket, I feel naked and lost if I don't wear it. It's like it's a part of me now.

I head downstairs and find Brooke and her parents in the kitchen eating breakfast. Her mom made a lavish breakfast this morning, probably because Brooke is leaving today. I grab a plate and fill it with eggs and bacon. I fill my glass with some orange juice and I sit down at the table with Brooke.

"Good morning," Brooke says to me.

"Good morning," I say. She seems quiet this morning. Usually she's very chipper but today, she's very somber. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that now that the day has arrived, it feels more real. It's kind of scary actually. Leaving this town, heading down to a city that I've never been to," She says.

"You'll do fine there and pretty soon you'll be an expert at the big city." I'm hoping my words will cheer her up.

She gets up and wraps her arms around me. "You're right. I'm just going to miss you so much. We've never been separated before and now, we'll be separated for months."

She's right. Ever since we were little, we've always been best friends. We would do everything together. When her family would go on vacation they would take me and when my family went on vacation we would take her. We've grown up like sisters and watching her get ready to head down to New York is hard to think about. It makes me sad but I know that this is an amazing opportunity for her and I would hate myself if I made her stay.

She heads upstairs to finish grabbing her bags. I stay in the kitchen and clean up from breakfast. I start to think about tomorrow; what it's going to be like without my best friend by my side. I'll probably feel empty. Brooke walks down the stairs with her final bags in tow. She places them on the floor and her father brings them out to her car.

"I can't believe this is it," I say. It feels like just yesterday we were playing on the swing set.

"I know. I can't believe I'm about to head off to college. I don't feel old enough yet." She smiles but I can tell that she wishes I were coming with her. I wish that too but for right now, it is not in the cards for me.

Brooke's dad walks in with a satisfied look on his face. "Alright. The cars are all packed. I can't believe it's going to take two cars to bring all your stuff down, are you sure you have everything? If you don't, then, well you'll have to leave it here because we have no more room." Her father puts his arms around her and kisses her on the forehead.

Brooke laughs at her father as she walks over to me. "I guess it's really time then," she says.

"Yeah, I guess so," I say. I pull her into a hug and we just stand there for a moment. I never imagined what this day would be like, the day when Brooke and I go our separate ways. It's a lot harder than I imagined. We pull apart and I can see tears in Brooke's eyes; I can feel my own eyes welling up too.