California

The sunlight beaming in from the window slowly woke me up. I kept my eyes shut tightly because I didn’t want to face the world today. I could feel the heat of Mikey’s body pressed up against mine and I just wanted to stay in bed with him all day. Unfortunately the world had other plans and his phone began buzzing very loudly, echoing through the room. I heard him mumble something unintelligible and sleepily answer. I heard Sam’s voice on the other end telling him that they had to leave soon. Mikey sighed and agreed before hanging up. He nudged me gently and when I didn’t respond he spoke my name. I kept my eyes shut as if my life depended on it.

“Sky, I know you’re awake. We have to get up,” he spoke.

“Can’t I just lay here with you until I die?” He chuckled at that and pressed a kiss to my lips, finally making me pry my eyes open.

“Nothing would make me happier, but I’m afraid we’d have a lot of people cross with us.” His orange hair was sticking out in every direction and his eyes expressed how upset he was to have to leave. I frowned and pulled him in for another kiss.

“I have something for you.” He got out of bed and slipped some pants on before rummaging through the suitcase. I sat up and clutched the sheet close to me, upset at how cold in here it felt. He finally produced a small box and sat down next to me on the bed. He handed it to me and smiled. I opened it carefully and tears pricked my eyes when I saw what was inside. There were two tiny silver keychains. One was in the shape of the US and had a little heart where San Diego was. It had little dotted lines leading across it. The other one was in the shape of the United Kingdom and had a heart where Ely was. It also had a dotted line and I realized when I pressed them together that the dots connected to show the path that led from my home to his home. On the backs of each were the words ‘you have my heart’.

I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand and clutched the metal to my chest. I looked up and found him smiling softly at me. I threw myself into his arms and pressed our lips together. He pulled away and kissed my temple. “If you ever miss me, you just look at this and know I’m missing you just as much.” I smiled and got up, looking through the suitcase. I found each of our sets of keys and attached them.

“I love you,” he said. He stood up and drew me into a hug, holding me close. I inhaled deeply and whispered the words back to him. After a few minutes we both knew he’d be leaving soon and my bus would depart shortly after, so we really needed to get ready, despite not wanting to. He went into the bathroom to collect our clothes from last night and to brush his teeth. I changed into one of his shirts and some leggings before combing my hair into a bun. I used the bathroom after him while he packed all of our stuff away.

We looked at each other hesitantly before we exited the hotel room hand in hand. I clung to his side as he returned our room key and paid the man. We sauntered slowly back to where the buses were parked, walking as slow as possible to drag out our limited time together. All too soon we arrived back to see everyone standing outside and exchanging hugs and pleasantries. I couldn’t keep the frown off of my face as we approached.

Joe was the first one to notice our arrival. He smiled sadly and met us halfway, wrapping me up in a hug. I clung to his shirt tightly, the tears flowing down my cheeks freely. “I’ll miss you, Savins,” I whispered.

“I’ll miss you too.” After him was Dave, who nearly crushed my bones into dust, though I didn’t mind. He made me fist bump him for good measure. James was lovely as usual and hugged me tightly. Sam was nearly as emotional as I was as we clung to each other. I could see the strong emotion in his face as he clenched and unclenched his jaw repeatedly. I made him promise to look after Mikey and he made me promise we’d play online video games together. One by one they climbed into the cab waiting for them. One by one everyone else dispersed into their respective buses.

Soon, it was just Mikey and I staring into each other’s eyes. Our foreheads rested against each other’s as our eyes poured out every emotion we weren’t able to say. He hugged me close to him and buried his face in my hair. “Are you going to give that shirt back?” he chuckled after a few moments.

I shrugged and wiped away some more tears. “I’ll give it back when you bring me another one to wear.”

“Deal,” he stated. We heard Joe’s calls that their flight was leaving soon and we both exchanged glances.

“I hate goodbyes,” I said bitterly.

“This isn’t goodbye. It’s see you later.” He wiped away one of my tears and pressed his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes and tried to commit the feeling to my memory. He lingered there for several seconds before pulling away and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. He started walking towards the cab, my heart breaking with every step he took.

“Wait!” I called out. He turned around and I ran towards him, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around him. I kissed him with as much passion as I could, letting him feel every ounce of emotion and every thought that was swarming inside of me. He slowly set me down and I saw tears stinging his eyes as well.

He sighed and whispered, “See you later.”

“See you later,” I choked out as he turned and climbed into the cab. After buckling up, he turned and placed his hand on the glass. I returned the gesture until the cab pulled away. I stood there with tears streaming down my cheeks until the cab was out of sight. I was rooted to my spot until a cool breeze sent chills down my spine. I turned and headed towards the bus, climbing on.

“Is there anything we can do?” Jaime asked softly. I shook my head and sniffled.

“I just want to be alone right now. Thanks, guys.” I headed towards the bunk area and nearly lost it when I saw some of Mikey’s left behind clothes outside my bunk. I grabbed them and climbed into bed. I pulled out my iPod and turned it on. I clutched his shirt and my keychain close to my heart.

Notes