I straightened myself up after writing the letter. I braided my hair, and re-brushed my teeth. My heart was beating out of my chest, and there was nothing I could do to calm it down. I walked out of my room, and decided to make a few stops before meeting Barrymore.
First, I decided I was going to go by Anna-Jess' to say hi/goodbye to her. I knocked on her door, and surprisingly she answered (she should have been to her first class by now).
"What's up, Amy?" She said with a smile and her usual perky voice.
"Nothing! Um... why aren't you at your first class?"
"Oh.. I'm not feeling too well today. So I'm staying in. Why aren't YOU at your first class?"
"Well... that's what I came to talk to you about actually. See I... I'm going somewhere, somewhere far away. And I won't be back... for a little while. So I came to say... that I'll miss you... every second I'm gone." And the tears threatened to spill over again.
"You're... You're leaving? For how long?" I could see her own tears starting to form. Jeez this was hard.
"I don't know. I could be gone a day, I could be gone a year. It... it all depends."
"When do you leave?" She sniffled and tears were falling all down her face. Then I felt something drop on my hand and I looked down to see a wet spot. Great, now I had started crying.
"I have to leave this afternoon. This is my last time to spend with anyone."
"Can't you stay here until you have to go?" Her saying it broke by heart. I knew I couldn't though.
"I can't, AJ. I have to see other people before I go. Here, give me one last brave hug, okay?" And she hugged me really tight, tighter than I probably had ever been hugged before.
"Bye, A.J."
And she let go, and slowly backed into her room. She didn't even say goodbye back to me.
I cried the whole way to Jostlenua's room, not even caring who saw me. I had called him not too long ago telling him not to go to his classes, that I had to see him. And he willingly obliged. It felt good knowing that he did it for me without a question. I'd do the same for him, though. Man, I loved him. He was the most incredible sibling I ever could have asked for, and I could only hope to be the same. He had helped shape me since I had been here, into a much better person than I ever could have been on my own.
Once I got there, I didn't even bother knocking, I just walked in. When I didn't see him at first, I searched the room in panic, desperate to find him. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me, taking a good look into my face. We stood there in silence for maybe ten seconds before he embraced me in a hug. He rested his chin over my shoulder and held me tight. I couldn't help myself, and just cried into his shoulder. He let me, patiently standing there until I had cried myself out. After a time, he slowly started moving himself back to be able to look at me.
"What a way to spend our fifteenth birthday, huh?" He half laughed at my comment.
"Ames, What's going on?" I sighed. I didn't want to say goodbye to him, I didn't want him to let go. I didn't want to leave my brother.
"I... I have to go... for a very long time. I didn't... I don't... I don't know how long I'll be gone. And I have to leave soon."
He tensed in shock.
"Where are you going?" He said flatly. I couldn't stand it, I hated that voice in him.
"I.. I can't-"
