Summer Rain

XLII ~ The Long Road Home

{Next To Me - Sleeping At Last}

...Since we've grown, we long for concrete things, honestly, nothing felt so sure than when you were next to me...

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AVA - 1st August

        My body was covered with a thin sheet as my eyes fluttered open to the room of my family's cabin. Sleepy memories of arms carrying me and caressing my head filtered back in through my subconscious and I knew, in my heart, he would not be lying beside me. 

        His touch was still present in my mind as I felt it all flooding back. My head lay on the pillow,  as I saw the day outside of the window -- Dull and greyer than it had been all Summer.

        I turned my body, shifting my weight on to my side as I reached for the clock on my bedside table, as it told me the time had come to leave. I was a mess of emotions, but I knew that, despite what I was leaving behind, the future looked brighter.

        I could hear my family beyond the four walls of my room as they clattered around, laughing and trying not to stress about final checks for packing. A small smile spread across my lips.

        There was a strange weight resting on my leg above the sheets, like a book of some kind. Hauling my body upright, I looked down to see Elliot's leather-bound sketchbook sitting on my bed, a small rose trapped between the suede string that held it together.

        My hands grasped it like a child holding out to clutch the air, and as I opened each page, I felt my heart soar. Each page was a scene of the club or Elliot and I sketched into something concrete. Something real. He had immortalised us in his sketches and within the leather-bound pages. He had created a way for me to remember this Summer, always. 

         I wanted to stay, to look at them for so much longer, but there would be time later. But at that moment, I knew I had to get ready to leave. 

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ELLIOT

        Slamming the trunk of my car shut with the last of my things, I took in a last deep breath of the mountainous air, and readied myself for my long haul trip to chase my dreams.

         Poppy was trying so hard not to cry but, I knew, she would be okay. I had taken care of her, and she could take care of herself. I let her coil herself around me in a hug that I feared she wouldn't let me out of. She whispered her goodbyes, and I promised her that I'd get her tickets to visit soon.

        Clara and Benjamin stood waiting for me to leave, a guilty look on her face while Benjamin stood stoically. She was a woman who reminded me of my own Mother, who was blindsided by a man she loved as he took advantage of her trust, time and again, to fulfil his own desires. She felt responsible for Poppy and me now, and as much as I hated the thought of her trying to be a Mom to me, I knew she didn't know what else to do.

    "Take care of her," I said to Clara, as I let go of Poppy, watching her solemnly walk over to stand by her side.

    "We will." Clara smiled weakly as I hugged her awkwardly, having never done so before, her smell of sweet perfume becoming a memory that would stick with me forever.

    "Text me when you get there! I need to know EVERYTHING!" Poppy's excitement for my adventure had risen again, and she had a beaming grin, ready to see me drive off into the unknown.

    "You'll all be coming to visit soon, don't miss me too much." I joked.

        It came time to say goodbye to the silent figure standing beside his Mother. How could I say goodbye after all we'd been through? He was leaving this place, leaving behind a life with his Father, to be his own man. I had to respect him for that if nothing else.