Fan Fiction ❯ Of Earth and Fire ❯ Roger. June 18, 1973 ( Chapter 4 )

ROGER. June 18, 1973.

 

 

I guess I didn't think you would really show up. I mean we haven't talked really since graduation… I got my acceptance letter to NYU. Yeah, I have always wanted to go there. I'll be so glad to get out of Wimberley. It's so gray here. I'll be in New York City, Addy…just like we've always dreamed about. Can't you just see the Big Apple, now? Hm - I'm already starting to pack. Where did you say you were going to school again? - Texas State…that's right.

 

I forgot.

 

 

 

Well, I didn't bring you here to bore you to death with dull conversation…How many times have we talked about what school it is we're going to? It's been a while, I guess.

 

…

 

You know how far apart we're going to be during the next four years…and I was thinking, you know…that it would probably be for the best if we, you know, weren't really “boyfriend/girlfriend” anymore. What do you think?

 

Anything?

 

Addy, please talk to me. Just say what you feel. - Stay together? Do you know how far New York is from here? I just think being tied down like that for four years is a little crazy. I don't even know if I'll be coming back to Texas after I graduate! What if I get a great job or something in New York? We couldn't… It's just… Look Addy, I…

 

-

 

I'll be home every once in a while. I promise.

 

I take her hand and she makes eye contact with me for the first time this evening. We are standing alone on an old abandoned bridge. In the past, we had always spent a lot of time here. On cool evenings in the spring we came out here just to talk. I figure that there is no better place for us than here to talk about moving on.

 

This is so hard.

 

I can see that she is trying to hold back tears. Oh, Addy, please don't cry…I don't think I could stand it. I tell her how much she means to me, but I'm not sure if she is listening. She looks at her feet again, avoiding eye contact with me. I don't understand why she can't just look at me and talk. I gently squeeze her hand and she jerks her head up quickly, looks at me and smiles, though I can see the pain she is masking with it. She says it's fine…she says she'll be okay.

 

I don't know what to say.

 

Before I can react she is turning and walking quickly away. I do not call after her. She does not look back. I had hoped more than anything she would not be angry, but it seems I have been proven otherwise. I stand on the bridge, watching her walk away until she is out of sight. It is a ten minute walk back into town, and it is almost dark, but I do not move from the place I have been standing.

 

The sun is out of sight, and I lean back against the rail. I should head home, but all I can see is her face as she smiled sadly at me before leaving. I imagine her crying herself to sleep tonight…all because of me. I know I have done the right thing, I tell myself that over and over…I say that it will be okay. I have always wanted to go to New York…and that's where I will be going. I am happy…

 

But no matter what I say to myself, the lights of New York City suddenly dimmed just a little.