Chapter 1: THE GOODBYE
"I hope you know you're ruining my life." I said barging into the room without knocking
Evania didn't even look up from her suitcase.
"Good morning to you too."She said calmly
"I'm serious."
"You say that every ten minutes."
"Because every ten minutes you get closer to abandoning me." I said looking around the room
Evania shoved another sweater into the already overflowing suitcase.
The zipper immediately gave up and split open.
I pointed at it.
"Even the suitcase wants you to stay."
"The suitcase wants me to stop treating it like a storage unit."
"Same thing."
Evania rolled her eyes.
"You'll survive." She said holding my shoulders
"Maybe."I said staring at my shoes
"You will."
"Maybe not."
"Elodie."
"What?"
"You are being dramatic."
I put a hand on my chest.
"Dramatic? My best friend is moving thousands of miles away and you think I'm being dramatic?"
"Yes."
"Wow."
"Very wow."
I shook my head.
"Can't believe I'm being abandoned by someone who claims to care about me."
"You'll text me every day."
"That's not enough."I said with a scoff
"You'll call me every day." Evania said showing off her white dentition
"Still not enough."
"I'll literally be one video call away."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You always have an answer. That's annoying."
"It's one of my best qualities."
"No. Your best quality is buying me food."
Evania laughed.
"Glad to know where I stand."
"Right next to free snacks."
The truth was, I wasn't angry.
Not really.
I was scared.
But fear was much harder to admit than sarcasm.
Are you seriously leaving me?"I said after helping her zip up the first suitcase
I folded my arms across my chest as I watched Evania struggle to close the second overstuffed suitcase.
She sat on top of it.
The suitcase still refused to cooperate.
"Not helping," Evania said.
I laughed despite myself.
"Maybe if you packed fewer shoes."
"Excuse me? Fashion is important."
"To who?" I grinned
"To civilized people."
We both burst into laughter.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
For a moment, I could pretend Evania wasn't leaving.
The room around us was a mess of boxes and half-packed belongings. Clothes hung from chair backs, books were stacked against the wall, and family photos had already been taken down.
It didn't feel like Evania's room anymore.
It felt like a place someone had abandoned
I hated that feeling.
"You'll be back," I said softly trying to find hope
"That's not the point."
Evania's smile faded.
The truth was we had spent almost every day together since we were children.
School.
Weekends.
Birthdays.
Movie nights.
Even our families joked that we were inseparable.
Unfortunately, the students at school had their own theory.
Everyone thought we were dating.
No matter how many times we denied it, the rumors always returned.
Evania and I had learned to ignore them.
Mostly.
"Do me a favor," Evania said.
"What?" I said raising a brow
"Try not to get into trouble while I'm gone."
I rolled my eyes.
"I'm the responsible one."
Evania laughed so hard she nearly fell off the suitcase.
"That's the funniest thing you've ever said."I threw a pillow at her.
"I'm so happy, I'll be making the headlines for next week notice board " Evania said running her hand through her hair after she managed to close the suitcase.She felt like a conqueror who had finished a heinous quest.
"What do you think Sophie laurent will write "
" School lovers separated finally?"
"No it will be more like, Elodie Thompson alone once more "
"Have you ever been alone before? Evania asked with a smirk .
Of course we both knew the answer.
"I'm just guessing" I replied blushing
We were still laughing when my elder sister ,Liora slowly came in .
"Remember ,wait at the airport for me to pick you up" Liora said sternly
"Don't run off on your own
I'll be there by three in the evening" She continued
I looked at her slowly diverting my eyes to the picture frame hung on the wall.
"Do you understand?" Liora still questioned
"Yes, you can go to work now?"I said briskly grasping the frame and holding it close to my chest
It was a picture of the both of us on Evania's 14 th birthday party
sweet memories
"Are you fighting again" Evania chipped in during our quiet ride to the airport
"With whom" I said already knowing what she was talking about
"Your sister" she said and I scoffed
"She's just impossible"
We both knew Liora very well.She was something else and with Evania gone,my life will finally be over
"She's not that bad, you know"
"You don't have to lie to me"
"Well compared to my own brother"she said and we both laughed
"Your brother is so gross"I said and we laughed again
Before entering the airport, Evania suddenly stopped walking.
"What now?" I asked.
She looked at me for a moment.
Then she pulled a small bracelet from her pocket.
"For you."
I stared at it.
It wasn't expensive.
Just a simple braided bracelet we'd bought from a street vendor two years ago.
"You kept this?"
"Of course."
I swallowed.
"You're making this goodbye way harder than it needs to be."
"Good."
I laughed through the tears threatening to spill.
"You're evil."
"You're dramatic."
"Same thing."
The goodbye hurt too much.
"I guess it's time"I said handing over her pet cage to her when her flight was announced
"I'll be back"Evania said
"How do you know that? I said blinking rapidly to hold back tears
Silence.
A terrible silence.
As though a piece of my life had suddenly gone missing.
And I had no idea what to do without it.
"I will"she said letting go of my hands slowly
"Till then,Stay out of trouble, I'll call you when I get there"
She was still muttering when I saw her disappear through the security gate
Now all I had to do was wait for Liora.
Which would have been comforting if my sister had ever arrived anywhere on time in her life.
I checked my phone.
No messages.
No calls.
No Liora.
Fantastic.
My best friend had just moved across the world, and I was stranded at the airport.
Best day ever. I said sighing so loudly .
Fantastic.
I checked my phone one more time.
Still nothing.
That's when I noticed a missed call from an unknown number.
And somehow, I already knew my day was about to get worse.
I sank into my seat slowly.
