Walking Out of Stride

Chapter Eleven/The End

Caleb settled into Kirelle's family with no trouble. Sam invited him in as a big brother with open arms, and her parents were open about him calling them whatever he was comfortable with, as long as it was respectful. Chandra and David, Mrs. and Mr. Hayes, and even Mom and Dad was offered on the table, but he wasn't ready for that. Nobody blamed him or was surprised.

His life fell into routine quickly, but he was so grateful for a safe routine, so grateful for some boredom, so grateful that there was no more standing on his toes, teetering on the edge of chaos depending on the whims of the adults he went home to. Even though, physically, he was obviously taken in from somewhere else, in every other way, Kirelle's family had become his family. A real family, like his biological one never was.

Winter ended. Spring came and went. Then it was summer, and it was only a few weeks until school was let out.

Only a few weeks until Elijah left.

He had everything set up. He was going to Scott AFB in Illinois exactly a week after school ended.

Caleb spent most of his time at Elijah's house, only ever with Kirelle's family to eat and sleep. But he knew by the way they looked at him, worried and sad, that they understood. They knew he'd be back to them after Elijah was gone.

They spent their afternoons curled up in Elijah's bed, hands entwined as they whispered promises for the future to each other. Their evenings were long and quiet, lasting late into the night, sharing kisses and touches and exploring each others' bodies.

The week between school's end and Elijah's leaving, Caleb nearly lived at Elijah's house, even doing his laundry there and helping with things like cooking dinner and washing up. And that week stretched into a perfect eternity that was over in only moments.

Elijah's dad had to be at work the day he left, so they spent the night before celebrating Elijah's success: his graduation, his acceptance into the Air Force, his attempt to go out into the world and make something of himself. Caleb knew he would be following soon, but it didn't make the temporary separation any less painful.

"It'll be like ripping off a bandage," Elijah had said. "It'll hurt, but only for a short while, and then everything will be fine again."

The bus station was a few towns over, in Phoenix proper, so Elijah's mom had to drive them. The ride was quiet, the only sound the soft music playing on the radio. Nobody knew what to say.

All three of them got out of the car when they arrived, and Elijah's mom pulled him into a tight hug. He was so much taller than her. Her head rested flat against his chest. He chuckled and wrapped his arms back around her.

"I'm so proud of you, Elijah," she said. When she pulled back, her eyes were wet, but she was smiling. "I'm going to miss you so much. But I'm so proud of you."

Caleb hung back while they said their goodbyes, watching and listening but saying nothing. Grace checked her watch. She smiled sadly and looked back up at Elijah.

"I'll let you two have the last five minutes alone." She turned to Caleb. "I'll be parked right here, okay?"

Caleb and Elijah both nodded.

"I love you, Elijah," his mom repeated.

"I love you, too. I'll call you when I get there."

She smiled and got back into the car.

Elijah took Caleb's hand, loosely tangling their fingers together as they walked toward the outside bus terminal. He already had his ticket. He was ready to go.

But Caleb wasn't ready for him to leave.

They paused and Elijah turned toward Caleb, resting his hands on his boyfriend's hips.

"It's only two and a half months," Elijah said. His hands were tight, head ducked to rest against Caleb's forehead. "Just two and a half months and we can be together again. Somewhere else. Somewhere better."

"Yeah," Caleb whispered.

"I'll get you out of here," Elijah said. "I promise."

"I'm with Kirelle's family now, so I'll be okay in the meantime. At least, I'll be better than I was."

"I'll call you every day I can."

"I love you," Caleb whispered. It was his first time saying it to anyone, platonic or romantic or otherwise, but he wanted Elijah to hear it face to face, not over the phone, not over a chatroom.

"I love you," Elijah whispered back. "I love you." He pulled Caleb into a kiss, right in the middle of the bus terminal, completely unashamed. "Less than three months," he said. "It'll be over in no time."

"Yeah." Caleb's voice caught and he cleared his throat.

The last call for the bus chimed over the loudspeaker and Elijah gently pulled away. He pulled back in for one more kiss.

"We've got this," he said.

"Hell yeah, we do," Caleb said.

"I love you."

"I love you."

Elijah finally let go of Caleb's hips and took one step backward, two, three. Finally, with one last, whispered, "I love you, Caleb," he turned around and made his way to the bus that would take him to Illinois. States and states away.

"I love you," Caleb whispered, even though Elijah couldn't hear him. His eyes watered and he covered his mouth, and he murmured to himself, "Less than three months. Less than three months."

Now that he was away from his family, now that he was finally a senior, with phone calls and emails and Kirelle and Chailyn, it would be hard, but for the first time in his life, Caleb knew he could make it.

Even if it took time, he knew that everything would be okay.