Goodbye

Just Tell Me

Chapter 6

I wake up to a cold breeze coming in from my window. When I look at the time I jumped out of bed to get ready for school. As I went downstairs I saw a note on the counter.

'Have a great day at school :) I had to catch my flight and you looked so tired from last night so I hope you don't mind I didn't wake you. I'll see you again soon, I LOVE YOU!

- XOXO Mom '

I put it in my pocket and rush out the door. When I got to school Aron was at the entrance of my class with a coffee. "Hey babe I brought you your favorite." I look at the time on my phone and then up at him with a smile. "I missed you this weekend."

"I know I was distant a bit, I'm sorry." I give him a quick peck on the lips, "I'll text you? I don't want you to be late." I rush into my class without another word and sit down in my seat. Ten minutes after the bell Mark walks in with his hood on looking like he hasn't slept in days. The teacher called him out for being late and he just scuffed and sat down. I decide to text him and ask if he's ok, but when he saw my text he looked back at me then proceeded to delete it.

After class I hurry to catch him in the hallway and pull him aside. "What do you want Grace?" I looked at his eyes and they were red, he looked like someone had sucked the life out of him. Looking at him I felt a naught in my throat while my eyes started to water. "What are you going to cry? Or are you going to say what you need to say so you can fucking leave me alone?"

"I⏤ I" The words weren't coming out of my mouth. It was like I didn't have a voice and no matter how bad I tried to talk nothing would come out.

"Stop waisting my time, ok?!" He walked away leaving me there in the middle of the hallway, frozen in place. I guess some of the boys from the soccer team saw what had just happened and called Aron because he showed up and walked me to the parking lot. Once I got to my car and felt his arms around me I broke. I cried non-stop while he just held me tightly until I calmed down.

We got in my car and sat there for a while before he asked me, "Do you want me to drive you home?" Sitting there I took a deep breath before shaking my head. I didn't want to be anywhere I just wanted to disappear at this moment. Mark isn't the type to cause a scene like this, maybe I overstepped and deserved his screaming. "He had no right to scream at you like that."

"It was my fault." Closing my eyes I try to breath in and out so that I don't breakdown. I care a lot for him and he cares for me too, but I can be a little too much sometimes. He just needs space and then maybe he'll want to talk.

"Grace." Aron was looking at me with hurt in his eyes. "No one has the right to treat you like he treated you in there. I don't care if he's my friend, I don't care if he's your best friend. He had no right. I don't want you to think this was ok and I don't want you to let him keep doing it. I know you might not like me saying this because he's like family to you, and you might feel like you have some duty to be there but if I see him do something like he did today I will step in and⏤"

"Stop." I close my eyes for a moment and then look at Aron, he was right. "Mark is my family and believe it or not he's never done this before. It hurts me to see him like this, like he's killing himself slowly, so I'm sorry if you don't think I should keep trying. I care too much for him to stop. But you're also right, he has no right to treat me that way especially after everything we've been through together. I think I know what to do."

Aron holds my hand tightly. I told him my plan to help him the only way I knew I could. I called Marks mom and told her he was having a hard time. She knew since I called it was bad and told me should would come home as soon as possible. Once I hung up from talking to her I reach for the note in my pocket that my mom had left this morning and reread it. I look over at Aron who had not let go of my hand the whole time, he was looking out the window letting me have a moment. I knew what I wanted at this point.

I went home and waited for Mark to come from school. When I saw his car pull up I went over to talk to him. "Hey." I walk in after him slowly, "Before you ask me to leave I just want to tell you⏤" I hesitated for a moment, but thinking back I knew it was the right choice. "⏤ I called your mom. I know I always told you I wouldn't call her to try and convince her to come and be with you, but I don't think you're going to let me help you this time. I can't let you keep doing whatever you've been up to anymore because even if you don't think you are, you're slowly killing yourself and I won't let you."

"Gracie⏤" He reaches for me, but I pull away.

"Stop. I came to tell you something, so please just let me finish." At this point my tears came out and I feel some relief. "I came in earlier and left my key to the house on the counter. I broke up with Aron and now that I know you'll be ok when your mom gets here in a couple hours I decided to move to New York and live with my mom. I really hope we get to reunite after you get better because you know how much I love you. I also hope you forgive me because I know you probably hate me right now."

"I could never hate you." He lets out in a very low voice. "I'm sorry for everything, but I hope you get to be happy with your mom in New York." He turns to go upstairs, but I stop him for one last thing.

"I wanted to give this back before I left." I walk up to him with the sweater he had let me borrow.

He looks at it then at me, "Why don't you keep it? I heard New York can get a bit chilly." He gives me a tight hug. "I really am sorry... I love you."

"I'm sorry my love wasn't enough after all." I walk away from him and go back home to finish packing. I tell my mom to get me the first flight in the morning, so that I knew his mom was already here when I left.

His mom had gotten there around midnight and I ran outside to meet her when she came out of a cab. She seemed to look worn out and tired. "Grace? You've grown so much."

"Ms. Martinez? You look⏤"

"I know, he called me on the way here, he said you were going to live with your mom in New York. I just I want you to know I called every year on his birthday, but he wanted me to tell you that he never told you because he didn't want you to feel sorry for him or try to convince him to come live with me. He didn't want you to know that it was his choice to not want to see his mother slowly die of cancer until I got better, but it looks like after 3 years of chemo I've lost the battle."