Departure

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I was currently at the review center, packing my notebooks, and textbooks into my bag, hands fumbling to secure my writing materials inside before I zipped the bag up and hoisted the backpack on my shoulder and stood up, making my way to the door.

"Reyna!" I glanced back at the sound of my name coming from inside the room where I just came from, a certain blonde head jogging right up to me, bag hanging loosely on his shoulder, still untidy.

"What?"

He grinned slightly at me and diverted his gaze somewhere else as he scratched his head at the side.

"I can't register with you today, can't we both go on Monday?"

I knitted my eyebrows at him and tilted my head to the side.

"You have somewhere else to go?" I asked him as we strode off to the exit of the Review Center, making our way outside.

"Yeah, it's a family reunion. They forgot to tell me it was today."

I raised my brow and let a small smirk grow on my lips. "They forgot to tell you? Or you forgot they told you?"

"No really! They're the ones at fault here this time!"

I smiled amused, "Suit yourself."

"Hey come on! It was really them this time!"

I shrugged him off, not letting the small amused smirk dissolved off of my face as I we made our way outside to the parking space.

When we reached a certain vehicle, I walked around the truck to the passenger door and looked at him.

"Don't screw yourself out while I'm gone."

I opened the door and held the handle, climbing up into the seat and making myself comfortable.

"Reyna!" He whined, still from the outside of the vehicle.

Through the windshield, I could see his face plastered with dismay, eyes furrowed intensely against each other like he was almost forming a unibrow.

I chuckled and just grinned, shrugging my shoulders off and gesturing him to come in already.

He puffed out his cheeks before he mimicked my actions earlier, climbing into his seat and turning the ignition to start, roaring the engine to life.

He glanced at me, face still clear with dismay, and asked me half-heartedly, "Where to?"

"The usual."

"You know, you're practically ruining my diet and my work-out sessions."

He turned the gear lever into drive and stepped on the gas, driving out of the parking lot.

"You're the one who asked, now bear with it."

"You're very obsess with food, is these what girls do when they never had a taste of romance before?"

I turned my head at him, eyes dropped into slits as I glared at his amuse smiling face, staring straight ahead the road, obviously hiding a fit of laughter, as snorts and gulps continued to resonate the air as he drove ahead.

"I want to skin you alive."

"Tell me something I don't know."

I rolled my eyes and bore my gaze straight instead into the lively sunny road of a Friday noon.

"Also—" he paused for a second, his eyes flicking from me and back to the road —"I only speak facts."

My head snapped back at him.

Raising my left foot, I kicked his side from his left, earning a surprise yelp from the blonde head.

"Hey wait stop! I'm driving! You're going to get ourselves killed!"

"Good! I'm taking you down with me!"

"Reyna! Wait stop!"

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After we had lunch that took longer than necessary, he insisted to drive me home for my car was having a change oil today so I wasn't able to use it.

I dropped it off this morning before I went to the review center, and it should probably be ready when I leave for Evanston.

Liam turned a corner, driving straight to the suburbs until a familiar sight of my house came into a view, his truck eventually halting to a stop, parking directly outside my house beside the sidewalk.

I unbuckled my seat belt and turned around to the back seat, half of my weight reaching for my textbooks on the seat, and grabbing them before I let my body plopped back down the passenger seat next to Liam.

"You really sure it's okay to go alone?"

"William, I'm not a kid."

"It's not like that, and also don't call me 'William' it's weird and unnerving to hear." He shuddered exaggeratedly, visually showing me what he meant.

I just rolled my eyes at him and hoisted my backpack on my left shoulder while the same arm was holding the text books securely at my side.

"Then what? I'm not going on Monday. I'll be behind schedule if I did."

"Screw the schedules, it won't take that long."

I raised my brow at him and give him a knowing look.

"A minimum of three-hour drive to Evanston is not short Liam."

He looked conflicted and troubled, lips opening and closing, failing to retort some reply to contradict my point.

"It's going to be fine, I promise. The trip might take some time, but by the moment it gets dark, I'm sure I'm already on my way home already. It'll be fine."

He slumped back in his seat, eyes darting away from me and staring at the windshield instead.

"Fine, update me though on the registration."

He turned his gaze back to mine. "Okay?"

I nodded, and gave him a reassuring smile, "I will."

He let out a breath, seeming to be satisfied with that, and just nodded at me. But before I could grab the handle and open the door, he called out to me.

"Reyna," I glanced at the sound of my name, eyes landing on his figure. Gaze staring into my own, brows slightly furrowed.

When I was about to ask what the intervention was about, I was stunned and startled at the next action he did.

Warm, familiar hands grabbed my free wrist, yanking me in his direction, catching me off guard, and causing the textbooks that were securely tucked in my left arm to fall out of my grasp.

My figure landed onto his own, half of my face from the nose to chin, buried into his shoulders, my eyes staring straight ahead the window of the other door, eyeballs about to pop out in shock at the sudden uncharacteristic action my best friend did.

We stayed like that for a second before I relaxed into his hold, hugging him back, and just gave into his odd demeanor that was getting more frequent lately.

"Take care." I heard him mumble, barely above a whisper.

I hummed in agreement.

"You're being weird. Well, weirder than normal."

I heard him lightly chuckle from my ear that was probably sitting directly beside his mouth.

He broke the hug and just stared at me for a second before a goofy smile cracked up into his lips, ruffling my hair harshly, pushing my head down as he did so.

"Hey!" I grabbed his arm and reached for the nearest text book that was sprawled on his seat and smacked it to his shoulders.

"Ow! Stop that!"

"You're complaining about your brain cells running out, right? Then I'll just harassed your shoulder instead."

I landed another hit on his arm, and the situation eventually escalated into a smacking contest, my textbooks being used mercilessly to land a hit on the other.

When the bickering died down, we said our goodbyes to each other. Me saying to him to have fun but not too much that could not knock his head off with the drinks, and him telling me to be careful at driving and update him on how the registration will go.

I went out of his car and made my way to the porch of my house.

Entering the front door, I announced my arrival and strode off to our living room, scanning my eyes on the surroundings, looking for my mom.

But instead of a usual reply from my mother, an unexpected voice resonating from the kitchen counter greeted me.

"You're home, your mom's not here yet, she went out to buy some groceries."

I looked up to the kitchen and saw my father standing at the countertop, pitcher and glass in hand, pouring himself a cup, eyes set on the action in hand, not directly looking at me.

"H-hello Dad, you're already here. W-welcome home."

I placed the text books down the coffee table and put my bag down the couch as I made my way to the kitchen, glancing anywhere else besides my father.

'𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.'

"Yeah, I am." I heard him reply

An uncomfortable silenced loomed the kitchen, as I opened the fridge to bring out my sandwich I made earlier this morning.

"What time, are you leaving for registration? It's already 2 pm"

'𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺.'

I blinked and cleared my throat as quietly as I could and stood up from my crouching position from the fridge, sandwich already in hand

"I'll leave later at 3pm, I'm just going to prepare my things and head to the library for a minute and then I'll be on my way."

My father was silent after my statement and I just picked up the chance to hastily grabbed my stuff from the living room and made way to the staircase.

But as I was about to take the first step up to stairs, I heard my father's voice echoed throughout the house, reaching my ears as something I could've sworn as gentleness, like it was in the past.

"Take care on your way, be careful driving."

'𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?'

I couldn't see him. He was out of my sight.

The wall was dividing the staircase and the kitchen, blocking him out of my peripheral, so I couldn't nod or smile in agreement.

I didn't want to move from my place just to let him see me nod or smile at his statement, so I just replied with an enough amount of volume that would reach him from the kitchen even if I was from the flight of the staircase.

"Of course Dad, I will."

At that statement, it almost felt like everything was the way it used to before.

Almost.

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