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Leavin' Home
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IT IS AN odd thing in western society that we cast out our teenagers into the wide world so eagerly, instead of keeping them closer as is more common in other cultures. Living in New York for much of my life, I was able to see the anxiety in the young, the knowledge that at a certain age they were expected to leave those that raised them.
My life too felt much the same. I felt that I was out a little early into the big responsibilities that I would otherwise have gotten when I was actually an adult. Everyone matures at a unique rate, everyone has different tolerance levels for risk. Those were just some of the things I often found myself thinking of whenever remembering just how different my life had become in the span of four years.
As I looked around the house that had never really felt like a home, I realized just how much I'd miss the place after leaving. That was right, Arvin said that he would pick me up today and we'd head out of town for a while, only picking up Wesley on our way out of the city.
I wasn't sure how to feel.
***
Arvin drove by Faye's house, stopping right outside. The first thing that he did before coming there was drop Wesley off to his summer camp as promised, and then he did something else - something he didn't think he'd ever find the nerve to do.
He went to his aunt and uncle's house and reluctantly said goodbye to them for the last time. He didn't let them know that he had been crying, or that this had to be the toughest decision he'd ever made. He just knocked on their door, the same way he had done for the last twelve years, waited for his aunt Emma to answer the door and just when she suspected something was wrong, he gave her a loving hug, filled with both sorrow and responsibility at the same time. His uncle, Earskell, walked in a moment later, and the two shared a firm nod, something like an understanding passed between them.
And now that Arvin was back at Faye's house, he couldn't find the will to call her out and lead her to their destination. There were just so many things that could go wrong, he constantly reminded himself. So, Arvin agreed to disagree and stayed sitting in his car.
He wanted to go inside her house and kiss Faye with all the strength that he could muster for the last time, hoping that she would understand that their goodbye was only for the better. But, of course, he didn't. Arvin so truly wanted to at least leave a note for her, telling her that he loved her . . .
But he didn't.
Ignoring the sudden pang of pain he felt in his heart, he began to drive away from her house, silently wishing her well as he turned the corner.
***
I was in the middle of packing away Wesley's clothes when I startled upon hearing a loud car engine rev. Glancing out the nearest window, I recognized a familiar Chevy 3100 speeding down the road.
Arvin's truck.
Just about then, the questions started piling into my mind. Why had he not told me before leaving? Maybe he'd forgotten something and went to quickly fetch it? Or what if -
Everything fell into place.
Against all odds and not even thinking of the possible consequences, I hurried down the stairs and pulled on my familiar red sneakers. Grabbing a hoodie, I pulled open the front door of the house and exited the place immediately, running as fast as I could after him.
From my place, the church was a couple of miles away, but I kept running without a single break...
Not knowing what horrific experiences were waiting for me when I'd get there.
YOU ARE READING
Lovers at War - (A.R.)
Ficción General"As a kid, my daddy used to tell me, 'Sooner or later, everybody gotta sit down to a banquet of consequences,' and I suppose I get my seat now." "Lovers at War" takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey with Faye Irving, a young woman determined to...
