For Your Love

prologue

It's hard to believe that the only place I've ever known is an 876-person town on the coast of Oregon. Yet here I am, sitting in the parking lot of Tellis Beach as the sun sets over the Pacific. It may be early June, but the ocean breeze and evening temperatures leave the beach nearly empty. Plus, the rest of town is celebrating our high school graduation down at one of the local bars.

"I need to get out, Cate." I whisper to my best friend.

Cate glances at me from her spot on the hood of my car. Her mere glance makes my heart rip in two, the deep pity and sorrow within her green eyes pierces straight into me. "I know," She whispers back, attempting to send me a hopeful smile, but it falls short of its desired goal.

Cate, the only person in this town that I'd stay here for, has been my best friend since my eighth birthday. Back then, in our ten-person third grade class, I had invited the new girl to my birthday party. Since everyone was so close, it felt rude to excluded Cate, even though I barely knew her name. Now, at the age of 18, we're still as inseparable as the day we first met.

Cate reaches out and pulls me into her arms. The scratchiness of her Tellis Port High School sweatshirt rubs against my face as I bury the side of my head into her arm. A silent tear slips down my face, as the sun passes below the horizon, the darkening sky settling around us.

"When are you leaving?" Cate asks softly, breaking the silence around us.

"I don't know," I say, and I almost let the next sentence leave my lips, come with me, but I stop myself. I couldn't possibly ask her to abandon her family on a whim. Truthfully, I couldn't even imagine myself abandoning everything I've ever known. Yet, I know it's the only thing that will let me finally, finally, breathe.

Cate and I sit like that for a while, me on her arm, her head leading against mine. My heart weighs heavy, knowing this could be the last time I step foot in my hometown. After the sky around us fades to a deep black, the only light is the sliver of a moon, I finally lift my head up.

"Where are you going to go?" Cate asks.

I wish I could answer her questions with more than three words, which contain nothing more than uncertainty, but I can't. "I don't know."

I swear I see the glint of a tear in the corner of Cate's eye, but I don't mention it. I'm not sure why I ever thought this would be easy. Leaving Tellis Port, the only place I've ever known, leaving Cate and most importantly, leaving my freshly buried parents.

But this town leaves nothing but scars and the scars go deep into my chest, inches away from my lifeline. Yet, my heart thuds against my chest, signaling that the scars haven't cut off the one thing I need to keep living.