Earhart & Noonan: An "Us Club" Novel (#1)(NaNoWriMo15)

4. Heavy

I'll be okay.

Dodging a patron who thinks I'm invisible, I make it past the double-doors. I haven't been this anxious walking into the Maple Park Branch since my interview/training.

But, I'll be okay.

When I spot Kenzie doing her job...the anxiousness. I shouldn't be, but I'm flighty. Fidgety. I can't be. I know her. She's my best friend. My girlfriend. Still. I'm going to lose it soon. I'm hyperventilating. Everything's blurring.

Breathe! It's just Kenzie! You know Kenzie!

Here I am, saying "see you" to my girlfriend with a visit to the library. I could've done more. I could've planned something bigger. I could've done something...amusing. Fun. But, no. I've been pulling a Peter and Jack. I've been acting like nothing's been going on.

But, maybe that's the best thing.

"Ready to go?"

"...What do you think?" Kenzie, giving in to some tears, wraps her arms around me in a loving embrace. "Come here, you..."

It stings.

How about your gift?

"Here..."

Kenzie recognizes it. "What? Stephen, no. I...can't take that."

"Please..."

The magic word does the trick. Kenzie takes her personalized gift from me. The Lost Adventures of Earhart & Noonan.

"...Stephen...no. You're going to make me cry!" she says.

"Sorry!"

Hey! What about me?

"Heh! Stephen...I don't want to cry!"

"You think I do?" I reply, ready to break down any second.

"I'll...shoot! be right back..."

I nod. "Uh, okay."

Kenzie fades to the back. I'm left alone. Alone. With my thoughts. They're creeping back into view when she's out of it. I'm starting to feel everything again. The off feeling. The flashes. The memories. Yeah. They're hitting me from all ends. The longer she takes, the more I feel it. The more my eyes go fuzzy. I'm losing it. I'm going to break. It's going to pour out, and not even my coping technique can help.

Everything. All of it.

"One more time," I say, like I'm never going to see her pop back out.