Rose's Journal

Chapter 27: The Sacrifice

Flynn, Luke, Alex, Willie, and Rose walked out of the ghost club and back through the hallways. They exited the building, and as soon as they got outside, they saw Reggie standing there casually as if nothing had happened before.

"Hey guys," he said, putting up a peace sign with one hand and holding his whiteboard with the other.

Alex sprinted over to him and immediately wrapped him in a hug, "Reggie! I missed you so much," he yelled as he squeezed him tightly.

"Dude, I was only gone for one day," he said, sounding like he was choking, "Alex, my circulation, I can't-,"

"Oh sorry," Alex said, then he hit him on the arm.

"OW! What was that for?"

"For running away without telling us where you were going! We were worried sick about you."

"I sorry I just-" Reggie shifted his eyes to make eye contact with Luke, who was keeping his distance for a minute and looking at him like he was injured. He hated when people gave him sympathy, but Luke's eyes looked so cute when he looked at him like that. "-needed some time to handle things."

"Valid but tell us next time!" Alex said as he went back to hug Reggie again. Reggie hugged back this time. He really missed Alex.

"Waaaait is Reggie back?" said Flynn, pretending to be shocked, but not believably. "Wow, welcome back buddy, it's been a while." Luckily, they were all too focused on Reggie to see her lame attempt at a cover up. Flynn realized that Luke and Reggie needed to talk alone. "So, my car only seats four, so Rose, Alex, Willie, and I can go in the car back to my house, and Luke and Reggie, you can meet us there."

"Wait, can't we all just poof over there?" Willie wrote. Flynn glared at him, then looked in Luke and Reggie's general directions, then glared at him again. "Never mind, that sounds like a great plan, Flynn." He didn't know if it was a great plan or not, but he was too scared of Flynn to contradict her. The four got in the car, leaving Luke and Reggie alone outside.

They stood there, both avoiding eye contact with the other. There was this mutual feeling that if they looked at each other, the necessary barriers for their survival as friends would fall, and they wouldn't be able to hide the truth.

Luke spoke first. "So, where did you go?" he said.

Reggie looked dumbfounded, "That's all you're gonna say?"

"Is there more you want me to say?" Luke asked, messing with the bracelets on his wrist. He didn't know what he wanted Reggie to say, or what he'd do if he said any of the things Luke thinks he might say in reply, so he just looked at the bracelet he's seen a thousand times, examining every detail just to keep from looking into his eyes and having his judgement further clouded.

"I went to visit my dad," Reggie said, "He wasn't there with my mom, which I expected, and I just... needed to know."

Luke turned to look at him, choosing to focus in on his forehead. "Did everything go okay."

Reggie continued to look down at his shoes. "Yeah, I guess," he said with a sigh, "I never actually got to see him though. I poofed away before I could see him." Luke could hear the subtle shame in Reggie's voice.

Luke moved towards him, with no knowledge of what he was going to do next. Typically, he'd hug him, but things had changed from the typical for a multitude of reason. Yet, he still felt himself drawn to Reggie as he inched closer and closer. "Reg, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You know how hard it was for me to see my parents for the first time. You can do it at your own pace. You can feel what you're feeling on your own schedule. For now, you have a family in all of us"