Love Thy Neighbor

“I’ll be home before night. Don’t worry!” I called out, bolting toward the door from the kitchen table.

“Be careful, make sure you do. If not, we're leaving!” Dad reminded me.

“Sure, Dad,” I said under my breath.

My fingers gathered the bundle of keys in my pocket, spinning them around on my pointer finger. With a click of a fob, the door locks unlocked. It was a white Mazda. Relatively small, but comfortable.

Salt hit my nostrils; the windows were slightly open. The air conditioner was old; it needed to be repaired. Dad had handed me his mechanic’s contact, but I’d been too busy, school and stuff. I gambled every night to see if my Mazda would be jacked by the next morning. No one in their right mind would steal this antique. The only thing of value there was the car engine, and that was only if you had the tools to remove it.

Opening the overhead compartment, I threw the pair of navy blue sunglasses on, my finger colliding with the thick Versace logo on the side. Hand-me-downs—my father didn’t like the color anymore.

The engine whined into life. I drove from muscle memory, turning onto the freeway and passing the sign that advertised White Claw, which always gave the horizon a nice view.

“Hey Siri, text Travis. ETA is twenty minutes. Be ready,” I said, trying my best to focus on not crashing into an early morning commuter rushing to work before getting another HR violation.

California was enormous. Every driver always seemed to be in a hurry, and some jerk always caused traffic, ensuring trips always took double the amount of time.

Travis was a town away. I could have subjected him to the torture of driving to me, but he didn’t have a car. It had been towed after he crashed it into a palm tree. Turns out Pink Whitney and driving went well together.

I wondered if he would be down to catch some grub.

I approached the single-story house with orange walls, a white drooping roof, and bars covering the two windows in the front. Travis did not live in the nicest part of town. His parents were never home, always working trying to make ends meet. I remembered he threw a party sophomore year, a DIY Project X. Half the school showed up. It was the first time I’d ever gotten up close to a woman.

I honked twice, and shortly after, Travis walked out. Opening the door, he shoved a bag on the floor. The ALDI logo was prominent.

“What’s in that, Travis?” I nodded toward the bag.

“Some fun,” he said with a sly smile.

“You do realize I’m driving, right?” I asked.

“Come on, live a little, man. It’s your last day,” he said, tossing me a carton of BeatBox.

“Why, thank you. I thought we were going to drink something more classy, it being the last time seeing me and all. Also, can we eat first? I’m starving.”

“Sure, your call. FYI, it hits harder when you haven’t eaten,” he said between massive gulps of his BeatBox.

I sighed, taking the car out of park and continuing down the road. I found myself at the intersection of S. Anaheim and W. Ball Rd. El Super in big red letters was displayed proudly in front of the store. I attempted to parallel park, but when I exited the vehicle, it was not on the lines.

“I’m going to grab a couple of things. Want something?” I asked, leaving the car.

“I’ll go with you. You turned the car off, dude. Do you want me to die of heatstroke?” he said, putting his drink in the holder.

“That’s my bad,” I said, grabbing a worn-out reusable bag from the trunk.

Even the palm trees lacked the warmth they usually emitted. The California I was used to for all these years felt gray. Disneyland was around the corner. We were seasonal pass holders; now I’ll never ride anything there again. People travel from around the world to go there, and now I was turning into one of them—a tourist.

Was there even a Disney of any sort in New Jersey? I had searched what the weather was like over there; it was snowing and in the negatives. I didn’t even own a heavy jacket, for God's sake. A couple of cardigans and hoodies had sufficed over my lifetime.

I didn’t think Mom or Dad knew what they were getting themselves into. All because of Dad’s stupid work. It provided us with money, I had to admit, but it was still unfair. I was leaving the place where I was born. How I would miss this place.

I had a list of people I wanted to say goodbye to, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I should have done it before. Now I would disappear on a random weekend in December and they would never see me again.

They wouldn’t even notice.

I scanned the aisles while Travis trudged behind me; his walking was already impaired. He held onto the shelves for support.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” I said, looking back.

I reached the freshly prepared chilled section in the back of the store. It was my favorite spot to go for lunch. I reached for both California rolls all the way in the back—typically, the freshest ones were there.

I stuffed them inside the bag and proceeded to walk out the door. There were no consequences that day. No one seemed to care about us walking back the way we came in. The place was understaffed, and they didn’t do anything.

We picked up the pace once we reached the outside. The rush of adrenaline caused me to jolt toward the car, my heart pounding against my rib cage like crashing cymbals. Travis was slowly pacing behind me. I didn’t think he was going to make it.

We went to the local park by his house. There was someone grilling with lawn chairs around. In the parking lot, Travis took out the sushi and the chopsticks that came inside as he served my plate.

“Pass me the BeatBox now,” I said, reaching my hand over to his side.

Passing me the carton, I uncapped it and began to chug.

“Blueberry,” I murmured.

Travis nodded slowly.

“What did you do to Alice? She was saying odd things about you,” he spoke suddenly.

“Propaganda she made to embarrass me because I didn’t want her anymore,” I said, fiddling with the cardboard in my hand.

“So she came up with you hooking up with a guy?”

“That is certainly fake. I would never cheat on her,” I said quickly, my face turning into burning embers.

“Crazy shit. I’m the messenger, not the carrier.”

“Fuck, I knew she was talking shit about me, but spreading rumors of that extent is crazy. I don’t even acknowledge her anymore. Childish as fuck.”

“Be honest with me, Brendan. I won’t say shit, and you know that. You’ve been my brother for life. I already know you’re bi, but while dating her, dude... that’s wrong.”

“I’m not trying to say I’m not bi,” I said, heat crawling up the back of my neck.

“Why?” he questioned, turning his head toward mine.

“I’m not sure. It was in the moment. I stumbled upon the guy at a local event. He added me and before you knew it, I was on top of him. I couldn’t resist. He was a part of it, too. I couldn’t look away,” I muttered quietly, looking down.

“Did you enjoy it?” he asked.

“Well, obviously. I didn’t even know how she found out, unless the guy was in on it,” I said, my fingers indenting the carton.

“Fuck, dude. Was he?” he said, almost dropping his chopsticks on the floor.

“No idea. I have him blocked now. I don’t want to know anything about either guys or girls. I’m done with relationships for a while,” I said, looking down.

The sun dipped behind a cloud, turning the cabin into a dark interrogation room. The sushi looked gray and unappetizing.

“I think I should go. Last time I’m dropping you home, enjoy it.”

I sped off after leaving Travis at his home. I didn’t wait for him to reach for his keys. I hit the gas, leaving the orange house and his judgment in the rearview mirror.

—

My cellphone rang, filling the silent cabin of the car. It was Dad.

“I need you to meet me at the address I sent you. Mom doesn’t want to drive and I need to finalize where the cars are going to go. An Uber is taking us home, then straight to the airport. It's the least they can do after robbing us in broad daylight,” he said, chuckling.

“I’ll be there in thirty,” I said, inputting the directions into my phone.

I got lost in the ocean of asphalt near the airport. I thought I saw the entrance to the car park four times, but each time it turned out to be a different company. I finally found the right spot, where Dad was already waiting outside.

“Go over there!” he called, pointing at an empty blue square on the ground.

“Hey Dad,” I said, finally leaving the vehicle. “I really don’t want to go to New Jersey. You know that, right?”

“I wish I could give you a say in this, Brendan. The job opportunity of my life fell out of the sky. I don’t think I could let this go so easily. I’m getting paid four times my previous salary. We’re going to be even more financially stable if we go. It’s not like you have other plans here; you’re almost done with high school, and there are plenty of big-name universities over there.”

“I know it’s for the better, but are you sure it’s legit?” I asked.

“Yes, obviously. I wouldn’t have placed the house on the market if I weren't sure. I already closed the lease on the house in Jersey. I can’t back out now. Think positive for me, will you?”

“Why isn’t Mom hesitant about this? We’re traveling to a new place, and we won’t even be able to visit Aunt Dorothy anymore. We don’t even have family over there, for all we know. It’s almost as if neither of you care about them,” I said.

“Oh Brendan, of course your mom was hesitant. I convinced her with birria tacos—no, I'm joking. I feel awful about taking you away from the place you grew up in. But new experiences and opportunities are out there; you can’t get them if you stay here your entire life. Weren’t you the one who always said you wanted to see the Statue of Liberty as a child? This will be your chance. As for Aunt Dorothy, we can always come back and visit, or she can come to us. We’re not cutting them off.” He smiled, trying to bridge the gap.

“Thanks. I needed that,” I murmured.

A black car rounded the corner, stopping directly in front of us.

“Uber’s here,” he said.

The ride back home was silent. When we finally arrived, Mom was already waiting outside with the last of our belongings. The drive to the airport felt long—a slow drag toward a new life. Eventually, the time came, and we boarded our one-way flight to New York.