Hello, Goodbye

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It took Emersyn two more weeks before she finally finished her letter to her mom. She debated for several days on whether or not she should send it. To her, it felt more like her own journal entry. Personal and raw. And like the letter she received from her grandma's lawyer after she died willing her the house, she carried the letter with her in her pocket everywhere she went. It was addressed and stamped, and all she had to do was slip it in a mailbox. A few times she did put it in her mailbox, only to go back outside a couple minutes later to retrieve it. She didn't know if she would ever be ready to actually send it, but she always had it with her. Just in case.

Zeke didn't bring up the letter or her mom at all, and she was grateful for it. Even though she was happy she'd talked to him about it, she didn't want to dwell on her feelings. And he seemed to know that about her without having to be told. That was what was so special about him. To her, she'd felt like she'd known him for years. Like they'd spent their whole lives together and not just a few months. She was closer to him than she'd ever been to anyone else in her life. Her heart beat ten times faster when she was with him, and yet she felt so at ease. He made her feel comfortable. Safe. Happy.

It was the end of July when she realized she'd been spending so much time with Zeke that she was missing out on quality time with her two best friends. So she planned a nice hiking adventure together. All four of them. She wanted her friends to get to know her new boyfriend. Although the word boyfriend just didn't feel right to her. He was so much more than that already. Her other half, maybe? Her soulmate? She didn't know how to explain it. Didn't know if she could. How do you explain such a feeling to someone who'd never felt it before?

She checked the weather the day of the hike and saw it was going to be a perfect 85-degree afternoon. Donning a pair of ripped dark blue denim shorts, a red and blue patterned flowy crop top, and a pair of black hiking boots, she left her house to meet up with Zeke, Avery, and Axel at Ebey's Landing. Avery and Axel were already there when she arrived, and of course Avery was dressed in her black skinny jeans and a black tank-top. Not at all the color of summer, and she knew her friend would be complaining about being hot within minutes. Axel was dressed in baggy jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt with a hole in the left shoulder, his long hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. He, at least, was dressed a little cooler, although she still thought he could've done better for a hike.

"Well, don't you look cute," Avery said, a little smirk playing across her plum-colored lips.

"And you look like a gothic princess ready to die of heat exhaustion," she retorted. Axel laughed. "Seriously, you don't have anything lighter to wear? Even a gray would've been better than what you've got going on here. You're going to sweat your ass off in that."

Avery shrugged her shoulders. "It's my aesthetic, and it's dying. I've got a few more years of being myself before I have to conform to a teacher's dress code. Leave me alone."

Emersyn rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." She pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking to see if Zeke had messaged her. Strange. He was late, which was so unlike him. But she wasn't too worried. It was only five minutes after their scheduled meet up of one in the afternoon. Maybe he got held up. The three friends sat on the beach, relaxing in the summer sun as they waited for Zeke to arrive. Five minutes turned into ten, and ten turned into an hour. She was starting to get really worried, and had just pulled her phone out to call him when she heard his voice call out from about twenty feet away. She glanced up and saw him waving frantically at them, and Emersyn felt the stress evaporate from her chest.

But when he got closer, she could tell something wasn't right. Avery and Axel wouldn't be able to see it, because they didn't know him like she did. But she could see the dimness in his eyes. The half-smile he gave them when he approached the group. The paleness of his skin. He looked like a walking corpse.