The Truths We Never Told || Peter Parker [2]

five: see ya later

Lucas shut Mom's trunk with a loud clunk. I watch as he claps his hands together in order to dust them off before climbing into the passenger seat as my mom got into the driver's. I sit in the back, taking one glance behind me at the back, stuffed to the brim with boxes.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Mom sighs as we all buckle our seatbelts.

Lucas and I murmur softly in agreement. I stare at Lucas from behind him. We haven't even left yet and his eyes are already glued to the window. I stayed out late enough last night to see Lucas arrive home, his puffy and red from crying. I watched as he sat down outside and wept softly into his hands after having to cut ties with the girl he loves.

It's quiet as Mom drives. Lucas stares out the window and I study the two of them in the front as the radio plays softly in the background. The entire ride to the airport is quiet.

Together, we help Lucas with his luggage and help ship the boxes to his dorm room. Originally, Mom and I were planning to drive to Lucas's campus and help him move in - however, Mom wasn't able to take off work and school starts the day after tomorrow. We felt awful, but Lucas promised he didn't mind.

We begin to walk Lucas to airport security. "Well, are you excited?" Mom asks, and Lucas only nods.

Mom stops and grips his shoulders. "I know last night was hard, honey. But right now I want you to focus on college - this is your life now. I want you to be excited. And who knows - maybe you and Liz will cross paths again."

Lucas smiles weakly and nods. "You're right." He's putting on an act for Mom's sake.

Finally, it's time to officially say goodbye. Lucas carries his backpack and suitcase and grins at both of us. Maybe he is excited.

Mom pulls Lucas into a tight hug. "I love you so much." Yet again, I hear her voice tremble. "I am so proud of you, honey."

I watch as Lucas squeezes his eyes shut. When he opens them, he grins with teary eyes and pulls me in for a group hug. We all laugh in between our tears as we squeeze each other. When we pull away, Lucas still holds both of us under each arm.

"Take care of Mom for me, okay?" Lucas jokes and messes up my hair. I laugh as Mom rolls her eyes and hits him playfully.

"I've got to go, or else I'll miss my flight." Lucas sighs sadly.

"I know." Mom says and wipes at her eyes. She gives him one last kiss on the cheek and Lucas reaches over to mess up my hair once more before he turns and leaves, turning and waving goodbye one last time before he turns the corner and heads for security. Tears have been streaming down my cheeks this entire time, as well as Mom. Together, we exit the airport and climb into the car in silence.

The entire ride home, neither of us say a word. Everything feels different now as she drives and I stare out the window. The hole that my father left in my heart was reopened by Lucas. I know he isn't gone forever, but it won't be the same now that he's not just across the hallway from me. It's not going to be the same when I have an existential crisis with superhero shenanigans or with something that happened at school one day. Everything is going to be different now.

Finally, we're hauling ourselves back into our thankfully air-conditioned apartment with a sigh. I watch as Mom collapses onto the couch, looking sad as she turns on the TV. Still, neither of us say a word. I feel weird as I step back into my room, and when I glance into the empty room that was once Lucas's, my heart sinks even deeper than it already was.

My bed creaks as I sit down. I stare forward at the wall above my desk, cluttered with my artwork and movie posters I had found at thrift stores years ago. Photos of MJ and I are clipped to my bulletin board, and a framed photo of my dad sits on the wall. My eyes skip over a picture of Lucas and I when we were little and over to the paper stars strung across my ceiling.