Someday The Waves ✔ *Wattys15 Winner*

Chapter Twenty Four

Late October

Caught up in the whirlwind of counting down the days until Noah left, I hadn't the time to let the severity of him, actually going properly sink in. Barley catching my breath in between helping him pack up his scarce belongings and re-living the memories we'd created in our short time together.

Weeks came and went, with each new thunderstorm and lightening strike, all the while I charged through them, making every second count until the light left the place I'd come to call home.

Because after Noah had been accepted to study Applied Science in Boston, another envelope had fallen through his door just as quickly, complicating matters further. In only the way Noah could, he had also been accepted in writing for a specialist teaching degree in San Diego. It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought he was brilliant.

Mr Allen had been keen for him to keep Boston in his sights, gently persuading him that the course was better suited to him and offered an unrivalled syllabus, with the chance to advance onto the Master's degree should he do well, which none of us doubted he would, least of all me.

Noah had become oddly quieter during this time, unsure of whose advice to take because he told me that his head was saying Boston but his heart was lost in the thought of San Diego, because it was closer. We wouldn't be that far apart, he'd whispered as we sat in his room, and I listened carefully. My chest rising every time he'd mention it. Because it offered a glimmer of hope, even if San Diego was hundreds of miles away, it was still on the same side of the country and we'd still share the same ocean, Noah had said, locking his hand in mine as the looming decision swam amidst the dwindling number of days left.

I wanted my heart to believe him but I trusted my head when it told me, that rationally Boston was his best choice, and what he deserved. And so I had told him to do what was right for him, not for us, even if it hurt like hell to say it.

"I can always come and visit." I'd said, to try and soften the difficultly I knew he was having at deciding just what was more important.

"It's not as simple as that."

"It's just a plane ride over, besides I've never been to Boston, could be fun."

"I can barley afford the airfare just to get there, Scarlett." Noah had sighed back at my obvious denial at just how not simple any of it was.

Until one particularly blustery Sunday afternoon he called to say he'd made up his mind.

"And..." I'd asked, my stomach twisted into knots. Feeling like the ground was going to give out from under me as I waited for his reply.

"Well, let's just say that Gabe isn't exactly thrilled with my choice."

"You mean..." I'd choked back.

Clearing his throat, with a slight chuckle Noah replied. "Yup, looks like I'm going to be studying in 'Americas Finest City'."

"Serious?"

"Serious, San Diego."

"Whoa, okay."

"You sound surprised Scarlett." Noah laughed, his voice low on the other end of the line.

"Surprisingly surprised that's all." I laughed back, feeling a weight lift and my feet stop wobbling because I had been sure I wasn't going to hear those words from him. I'd lowered my expectations to hear the word Boston fall from his mouth instead, and I was selfishly, so glad it hadn't.

"You thought it would be Boston right?"

"Yeah."

"I thought about it, of course but something didn't feel right and I know that you said to take you and us out of the equation when it came to making a choice but as much as I tried I just couldn't. As important as the rest of my so called 'future' is, it just doesn't make sense to not have you in it, at least not thousands of miles away. San Diego might not exactly be Pesmo but it's still not impossible to get to." Noah had explained, the familiar lightness and warmth of his voice returning as he did.

"This is why you're the smart one Noah." I'd sighed. "I knew you'd figure it all out."

"Most of it, yeah. I still have nowhere to live but oh well, at least they've got great beaches there and the same stars."

"Everywhere has stars." I had reminded him, although I enjoyed listening to the way he spoke to happily about the things that mattered so much to him. Things I'd come to enjoy and hold dear too.

"Not quite. This way when I call you late at night, when I can't sleep and tell you to look outside, we'll be under the same stars and I won't feel so far away."

"I'll look forward to those calls." I'd whispered, holding the phone close to my mouth as if he was quietly whispering them to me in person.

"I'll write too, of course."

"Really, you can just call."

"It'll be like in the old days, when men would court their lovers from distant, far away lands until the day they returned home. Except it'll just get dropped in your mailbox instead of by pigeons." Noah had teased.

"Can't wait."

And when the call ended, I'd told him I couldn't wait any longer in the day to see him because I knew that once he'd made his decision it was only a matter of weeks before it became a reality.

For all our light-hearted joking and ideas for the future, we still knew that the weight of it would pull us down and change everything, eventually.

In the meanwhile we still had time to capture, before it slipped away with the change of the seasons. Shedding all that was left of our summer skin.

. . .