Cracks

010 | orange he glad

O R A N G E

—

          Yu Na had insisted on taking Avery, something he was eternally grateful for, as it saved him the hassle of hauling a duffle bag around on buses. Or in the back of Rachel D'Amico's smart car. So he sat in the passenger seat, watching buildings, people and ads blur together into streaks of vibrance as he thought about that morning.

        Leaving the home had been hard, keeping it together for the sake of the others had been even harder. Yu Na and he had decided to tell them that he had been given the chance to study farther away. Some of them had taken it ok, making him promise to come visit. While others, particularly Sylvia, had taken it awfully, bursting into sobs and grabbing onto his leg to keep him from leaving. It had taken Avery twenty minutes alone to console her, to promise her that he would be back, that he wasn't leaving her forever. Sylvia never had believed that line very well.

          They took a left and a white and bronze sign came into view. Then a moment later, Tulsa University popped up, surrounded by a massive brick wall. The heavy-duty gate was propped open, allowing passage way for entering students. Yu Na drove through the entrance and slowly to a visitor parking lot, where she parked the car and turned it off. Neither of them moved, both realizing that this was both very real and actually happening.

         "This is it." Avery said, verbally acknowledging what was about to be his new reality. Yu Na let out a breath and turned to him with barely-masked emotion, gripping his hand tightly in her own. Avery took in her expression, filled with worry, sorrow, and something else he couldn't quite decipher.

        "Promise me", She started, her hands shaking a little as she held onto his, anything to keep him in the car as long as possible, away from the threat outside. "That you'll be safe, that you'll be careful. Please Avery, I need to know." Avery let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, looking her straight in the eyes and attempting to keep himself from breaking down.

        "I promise." Then, with a second thought. "Yu Na?"

        "Yes?" Yu Na replied, blinking rapidly to clear the water from her eyes.

        "Thank you. For everything, I really mean it." Yu Na felt her heart clench at that, her emotions overpower her. She pulled him into another hug, wrapping her arm around around his neck as her cheek pressed against the side of his head. A long moment later, she pulled back, tears steadily rolling down her face, and put her hand against his cheek. "I'm going to miss you, dear boy." That was when it really hit Avery. That in a few moments, he was going to get out of the car, and that would be that. Yu Na would be gone, the life he knew would be gone. He would still visit her but because of school rules, it couldn't be often. He felt so lost, wrapped up in the realization that in a few moments, he was going to be so utterly, alone.

       So he relished the moment, carefully taking in everything from the beat-up interior of Yu Na's minivan to the sorrow displayed on her face. Outside, hundreds of people were bustling about, laughing, crying, and running around–but all of that had faded from view. Avery focused only on what was in front of him, on who was in front of him. He then inhaled a shaky breath, giving her a response that she needed.

      "I'm going to miss you more than you'll know." Yu Na smiled through the tears, noticing the many cars leaving in the corner of her eye. "You should probably go join them." She whispered, indicating with her head towards the mass of students. Avery nodded, silently picking his navy duffle back off the floor, opening the door, and slinging the strap onto his shoulder. As he turned back to her, he grimaced, pain in his heart and sorrow in his eyes that made Yu Na want to grab him and leave as fast as she could.