Where I'd Gone ⌲ River Phoenix ((COMPLETED))

Smoke

February 3, 1987

My phone rang roughly around 3 in the morning. I'm literally up for throwing a brick at whoever decided to call me.

"Hello?"

R: Hey Chris.

C: Oh! ... Hey River.

Let's scratch that last thing I wrote down...

R: I- I'm moving Chris.

C: What? You said you're moving next year!

R: We're moving to LA, to be closer to the studios.

C: What?

R: John decided we should go now since the new year just started. The flights this week are really cheap, not sure why, but today is the cheapest. And Little Nikita starts filming in a few weeks.

C: B-but- what happened to Bob Marley and Audrey Hepburn saving the world?

R: And why do you think Bob Marley is dead?

C: Because you were him. And you're leaving... Just like he left.

R: Chris, I'm going to miss you so much.

I could hear him choke up on the other end.

C: River. You can't just leave...

R: I wish I had a choice really. They just told me about an hour ago. They were hogging up the phones so I couldn't tell you right away.

C: You can't just leave without saying goodbye!

R: Goodbye...

I heard muffled voices on his end. They were trying to end the call.

C: River...

R: Our plane is going to leave. I'm sorry. Please write to me.

C: It feels as though I'm closing the chapter for good on the boy who was my first love.

R: Don't get sentimental on me Chris. We will see each other.

C: I don't wanna be that memory you won't remember!

R: ... I've got the drawing of you. The one you told me to keep, just to know who you were.

My teardrop sank into the phone, causing it to fizz a little.

R: Write me. Just like Paul did to Jane.

C: But Paul and Jane broke up. They separated- and never saw each other ever again.

R: That's only because Paul's an international rock star. He doesn't even see his own family on a daily basis.

C: You're going to be a famous actor though. You won't have time for your family either.

R: Family is my number one.

C: Guess you won't be seeing me very often then for that matter.

R: But the thing is Chris, you are family.

That's when I lost it. He was my best friend.

R: Gotta go Chris. Hopefully you'll run me over with your bike again some other day-

And he hung up. Just like that. I never gave him the book of poems...I've never cried myself to sleep. And I wasn't going to start tonight. He was the angel that came into my world right when everything started to fall apart.

I didn't go to school. It's not like Danny and his pretentious-ass girlfriend could care. Iris cared a lot though.

"Why are you not at school?" She asked me. I was a burrito inside of my blankets.