Short Stories

Brave as a Noun

River had been missing for months, but his family refused to give up. For some reason, they were completely set on finding him. I don't think they had a purpose for wanting him back so bad, seeing as they were the reason he left. Notice I say he "left", because he didn't run away from home. He had plans. He told me what he would do, and I laughed because there was no way he would even try what he said he was going to try.

But something made me know he was serious.

My name is Lennie, and I've been best friends with River for 4 years. He had a pretty bad life at home; his parents mentally abused him and his brother physically abused him. He always told me that I was the only light in his life. In 7th grade, he told me what he wanted to do.

Although I didn't believe him at the time, I had a feeling that he could at least try what he was planning. That's just how he was.

Just so you know exactly what happened and how he worded what he said, I'll give you a flashback moment.

As I sat down at the lunch table just outside of the outdoor cafeteria, my good friend River threw his backpack across the table.

"I'm pissed," he stated.

"What happe-"

"Don't even get me started man. So first of all, my brother threw my phone across the room and laughed when it broke. Like, why? Would you laugh after that?" he started.

"Yeah? What did your parents say?" I asked.

"My parents? Since when the hell do they care what my brother does to me? They're just as worse, it's just that they don't find it funny. You know what? They probably do find it funny. I wouldn't be surprised."

He had sat down and placed his head on the table.

"I want to leave. I want to go somewhere that isn't here, that isn't with my family. Actually? I will. I will leave here and go somewhere nice. I'll find a place where everyone isn't so cruel. Do you think I could? I think I could,"

"That sounds kind of impossible, you're only 12, River," I pointed out.

"Okay, yeah, good point. I'll leave when I'm older, when I can drive. I'll go to Oregon. I like Oregon."

"I don't know, man. What about your friends?" I inquired.

"Friends? You're all I have and I've only known you for like, 3 months," he huffed.

"Yeah, you're all I have and I wouldn't just leave you alone."

"You'll have other friends by the time I leave. You'll probably ditch me later on and forget I existed," he reassured me.

"No, I'm not just going to ditch you. Everyone hates me, how would I make other friends?" I told him.

He stopped arguing and just sat there with his head on the table.

After I told him I wouldn't be leaving him, I never did. I did make other friends, but I never left River by himself. I never really knew if he was grateful, but that didn't really matter to me.

After he was reported missing, flyers went up everywhere as if his parents actually wanted to find him. While I walked home from school, I tore down every one I saw. I didn't throw them away.

I opened the door to my house and was instantly smothered with questions from my mom and dad. They asked, 'River went missing, did you hear?' and 'do you know anything about it?' and 'are you feeling okay?'. I ignored them and went to my room. My parents were okay, although the did bother me sometimes. Even when they did, they would realize soon enough and leave me alone. That's what they did this time, but I could hear them from my room; 'I can't believe she just walked off like that!' 'I know, that was so rude, I thought we raised her better.' 'oh, she's probably just grieving.'

When I entered my room, I instantly saw what River had left me. There was a small envelope on my empty desk that had "Lennie" written on it in really shitty cursive. He never told me that he would leave something and I knew that he wasn't just going to tell me in person that he was leaving, but I knew he wouldn't leave without letting me know where he went and how he was going to get there.

I picked it up and opened it; I was in no hurry, so I gently opened the envelope so it wouldn't tear. I liked to preserve things like this.

Inside, there was a notecard that was covered in words written by River.

lennie,

you probably already know this, but i left. i know that no one is looking for me, but i'm sure that you're wondering where i am.

in 7th grade i told you i was going to leave. i meant it.

like i said, i'm going to oregon. to be exact, medford, oregon. i bought a burner phone so you can contact me.

The number for the phone was written on the back. Immediately, I started packing. I lived in a small town a few hours north of Los Angeles, so I figured the ride wouldn't be too long. I packed a few pairs of underwear and socks, one of my only two bras, 3 long sleeve shirts, 4 t-shirts, a pair of shorts and 2 pairs of pants into my suitcase.

I put all of the other stuff I was taking into my car, a beige 1980 Volkswagen beetle. I put my memory box into the trunk along with my suitcase. My memory box contained many things, most recently the envelope. If some kind of object signified something major happening that I would want to remember, I kept it and put it in the box. I didn't want it getting thrown around too much, so I put it in the trunk.

I put a few drinks and some food into an ice chest, and I still ignored my parents while they protested against me packing stuff and asked what I was doing. After I packed everything into my car, I told my parents I was going on a road trip. They said okay, and I thought about how nice it would be if they actually cared. I got in my car and drove off. I didn't want my parents pestering me while I called River; they would overhear me talking to him and demand to know where he was.

I decided it would be best to call him on a payphone, so I found one and called the number on the back of the card.

It rang for about 30 seconds, then I heard a voice.

"Uh, hello?" It was definitely River.

"River, it's me," I confirmed, realizing that he probably didn't recognize the number.

"Lennie? What phone are you calling from?" he asked.

"I thought I should call from a payphone. It thought if someone noticed me leaving that they would get suspicious and ask me some questions. I didn't want any proof that I'd been talking to you," I explained.

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense."

We talked for a little while, and then he told me the name and address of the hotel he was staying at. I told him that I would call him at the next payphone I saw, then I hung up. I put the address into my phone and took one last look at the town I had called home all my life. I figured I wouldn't tell my parents I wasn't coming back. They probably wouldn't care too much if I told them, but I like leaving my mark on places. River and I would be the mysteries of this town. Two lost kids, two best friends go missing. That sounded cool.

A/N: This was more detailed and longer than i wanted it 2 be initially but i still like it. The title is from the song brave as a noun by ajj. the lyrics reminded me of it so i just made it the title. Im probably going to use the names Lennie and River again in my short stories and i'll probably draw what they look like at some point. i also use the names in my other story abt a girl who gets kidnapped and Rivers a girl and her and Lennie are dating. most likely their genders will always be the same int he short stories, male and female. Ill probably use Lennie in other books too, and shell probably always look the same. also lennies a female incase that wasnt clear,,, ik i didn't mention her pronouns that much in this story but shell always 100% will be a girl.