Only a Matter of Time // Veronica Sawyer x Fem!Reader

sixteen

"Y/n." I slowly open my eyes. My dad stands over me. I orient myself.

"Dad...?" I suddenly freeze. We're leaving. It's almost as heartbreaking as when he first told me. He looks around at my room.

"Did you pack everything?"

"Yeah," I say softly. He nods.

"I'll start bringing your boxes to the truck, okay?" I nod again.

"Okay." He pauses a moment.

"Are you okay with driving your car? I'll be in the truck with the movers." I hum in agreement. I guess I could use a long drive by myself. And I guess he senses that, too.

"Sounds good." He gently pats my shoulder, then turns and grabs two boxes. I slowly pull myself out of bed, neatly making it. I smooth out the creases, then glance over at the final box, the one with all my personal stuff. I start to head downstairs, holding it.

"Is that all?" My dad asks as he enters. I nod.

"I'll keep this one in my car." He nods in understanding. I frown. "But..." We're moving across the country, basically. "But we'll have to get rid of the car, won't we?" He sighs quietly, then nods.

"I'm sorry." I shake my head.

"No, that's okay. We can always get a new one. Hell, if the place we're headed to is super urban, I might not even need one. Right?"

"I guess so." I look down at the box in my hands. "We already got most of it. You can wait outside, alright?"

"Mm-kay." He disappears into his room. I glance around the house. Everything that made it ours is gone, and it's never coming back. It'll soon be made into someone else's home. Someone else's happy place. I slowly walk to the open door, surveying the empty house as I go. I turn around, facing the outside. I head out, opening the passenger door of my car and putting the box on the seat. I get in.

It feels so quick before the truck starts to move. I follow. We pass Chandler's house. Mac's. Everyone else is out of the way. But I wish I could have seen them one last time. It isn't too long before we reach the outskirts of the town. And then we pass by the sign welcoming us into it. I stare ahead at the road. I can't cry anymore. I don't want to. And I won't. It's a good two hours before we stop.

My phone buzzes.

"Morning, dork," Veronica texts. I look down. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Sorry, Ronnie, I can't talk long, I'm out driving with my dad." I can't bear to have another conversation like this with her. Like I'm pretending I have a future where I'll hang out with her and everyone else again. Where we'd be exploring where our relationship would go. Where she'd figure herself out with me at her side.

"Oh, shit, sorry for distracting you, then. Have fun, I'll bother you later."

"Of course."

"Bye."

"Goodbye, Veronica." And with that, I open her contact. I stare down at the delete button, then press it. There. It's done. If any of them try to text me again, I'll block their numbers. I can't deal with any of this any longer. If I'm set on moving on, I need to actually go through with it.

I'll leave. I have to. And at this point, I want to. I close my eyes, tilting my head back. I picture my friends. How they'd react to my sudden disappearance.