Chapter seven
Dylan
I hated airports. I hated the crowds. I hated the noise. I hated the stupid rolling suitcases. But most of all, I hated the fact that Devyn was standing in the middle of one getting ready to leave.
This time, it was for real. She wasn’t going to visit the school or on some family vacation. She was actually leaving. The reality of it still didn’t feel real. Maybe because I didn’t want it to be.
Devyn stood beside me holding onto my hand like if she let go, she’d somehow end up on the plane faster. Her eyes were red from crying, and I was sure mine looked the same. Neither of us had slept much the night before. There wasn’t much point.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I could think about was today and how it was going to be the day that everything changed.
“I don’t wanna go,” she whined.
Her voice cracked again and I looked away because hearing her say that shit never got easier.
“I know. I don’t want you to go,” I said.
Fresh tears filled her eyes. “I really don’t wanna go,” Devyn cried.
I pulled her into a hug. Immediately she buried her face against my chest. And just like that, she started crying again. My chest tightened with emotion because I felt some kind of way. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to keep her here.
I couldn’t stop the plane. I couldn’t change Caine’s mind. I couldn’t do anything but hold Devyn until it was time for her to board.
So that was what I did.
For several minutes neither one of us spoke. We just stood there holding onto each other while our world fell apart. Eventually she pulled back as tears streamed down her face.
“I’ll text you when I get there,” she said.
“I’ll text you every day,” I replied.
“You promise?”
“Yeah.”
“You better answer every time I text or call,” she said.
A weak smile tugged at my mouth. “You know I will.”
“You better not forget me,” she said.
The smile disappeared. “Dev.” My voice cracked just a little. “After all the time we spent together, I could never forget you. When I said I loved you, I meant that.”
More tears, sadness and heartbreak. I was so tired of all of it. Then I heard it.
“C’mon, sweetheart,” Caine said.
The words immediately ruined the moment. Devyn closed her eyes, almost like she was trying to pretend she didn’t hear him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how life worked.
“It’s time to go,” Caine added.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. It was time for Devyn to go. Time for her to leave me. Time for us to say goodbye. Devyn held onto me tighter than before. I knew she didn’t want to let me go because I didn’t want to let her go either.
Eventually, her father stepped behind her and gently she pulled away… slowly and reluctantly. It was almost like every step she took hurt. Then she turned and looked at me one last time.
The sadness in her eyes nearly destroyed me.
“I’ll miss you,” she said.
My throat burned as I forced the words out. “I’m gonna miss you too.”
She rushed back over and hugged me tightly while crying harder than before. “I hate that I’m leaving!” she cried.
“It’ll be okay. I love you Devyn,” I whispered.
“I love you too.” She sobbed.
Finally, she let go and walked away quickly. That was probably so she wouldn’t turn around again. I stood there watching her get farther and farther away. Watching the person who meant the most to me just disappear. She looked back twice and the second time she waved.
I waved back right before she disappeared. Just like that she was gone. Suddenly, my chest felt hollow, empty and my heart felt broken.
I had forgotten Rico was standing beside me until he spoke. “You alright?” he asked.
“No.”
The answer came immediately because lying was pointless. Rico nodded like he expected that response.
“You can go home.”
I laughed a short humorless laugh. “I don’t wanna go home,” I admitted.
“Then don’t.”
I looked at him. “What?”
“Don’t go home but take the day off,” he said.
“Fa real?” I asked.
“Yeah.” His expression softened. “Go clear your head,” he said.
I nodded because honestly, I didn’t know what else to do. A few minutes later I was riding through Atlanta with no destination in mind. Just riding while thinking but trying not to think.
Everything reminded me of Devyn, and I meant everything. Eventually after riding for half an hour, I ended up at a neighborhood park. The basketball court sat mostly empty, which was a good thing because I didn’t feel like talking to anybody.
I grabbed a ball and started shooting.
I shot over and over again, trying to exhaust myself. Trying to outrun the anger sitting in my chest. Trying to forget the pain I felt.
Unfortunately, none of it worked.
Twenty minutes later, a few older boys showed up. I ignored them and kept shooting and minding my business. Then one of them bumped me as I went for a rebound.
The nigga bumped me so hard that I almost fell to the ground. Normally, I would’ve let it go but today wasn’t a normal day and he didn’t even have the decency to apologize.
“Watch where the hell you going,” I stated.
The words slipped out before I could stop them. The guy looked at me with an annoyed expression on his face.
“You serious?” he asked.
“Dead serious.”
His eyebrows shot up then he laughed. That was a big mistake because my patience was already gone.
“Move around, little man,” he said in a taunting tone.
That did it.
Suddenly, all I saw was red as every bit of anger I had been carrying all day suddenly exploded… the airport, Switzerland, losing Devyn and Caine’s uncaring ass. All of it just collided and sent me into an uncontrollable rage.
The next thing I knew, the dude and I were shoving each other. Then the shoving turned to swinging as fists began to fly. The fight didn’t last long though. Mostly because I had months’ worth of frustration coming out all at once.
By the time I was done with him, the other guy wanted no parts of me. His friends pulled him away while he yelled a bunch of threats I wasn’t listening to. I wiped blood from my lip as I breathed hard. Fighting that dude did nothing to make me feel any better than before.
Afterwards, I was still angry, hurt and feeling empty. I realized after it was over that punching somebody didn’t change the fact that Devyn was gone. Nothing was going to change that. I picked up the basketball and walked back to my scooter. I climbed on and the engine roared to life beneath me.
As I pulled away from the park, I realized something. For the first time in years, the world felt a whole lot bigger because I felt completely alone.
It wasn’t until then that I realized how empty I felt without Devyn, and she hadn’t been gone a whole twenty-four hours yet.