AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ll see,” she says.
We both shift with the closing of the front door.
“Kal,” Alana says, her tone less joyful than before. “He’ll take you to the airport.” She smiles, but it’s forced. The light of Alana’s spirit that glows constantly has dimmed with her words.
I get it. My light has been doused out completely.
He steps into the room, quiet and small—Kal is never small. His dark hair is combed back and his bright eyes glassy. So strange—he might as well be wearing pants.
“Ready?” he says, hands in his pockets.
I nod, meeting his gaze. I’m not ready. But the real world is waiting, and I can’t be Spontaneous Meg forever. In Hawaii I was seen, every little piece of me became visible. And I’m surprised at how difficult it is to give that up.
Alana kisses my cheek and then Kal’s, leaving us alone.
“Meg—” he starts, and that one word releases the gate of tears I’ve been holding back so steadily.
One drop falls and then another. I swat them away and charge over to Kal, finding some strength left inside of me. “Just kiss me goodbye and tell me it was the best two weeks of your life too. Tell me, Kal.”
He peers down at me, his hand brushing the length of my hair and around my face. Slow and easy, as if memorizing everything he sees there. Then his mouth drops to mine. He takes his time, like the very first time he kissed me. Pulling back, his warm, sweet breath fills my senses. “Thank you, for the best two weeks of my life.”
His hands fall from my face. His breath grows distant and cool as he takes one step away, into the real world.
This is it.
Only the distance is much greater.
He swallows then takes my suitcase by the handle and rolls the thing out to his Jeep. I clutch my beach bag to my chest, my rope and first aid kit ready to go—just in case—and ride in silence to the airport.
Kal kills the engine, but I’m not sure I can do a long goodbye. I don’t think Spontaneous Meg would go for that. And Sensible Meg is in pieces.
“Just say goodbye here. Don’t walk me in.” More tears spill from my eyes.
“You’re going?” he says as if maybe I won’t.
“Kal, I have to. I start work again in two days.”
“Can’t someone else do it?” he says, and he means it.
“I asked for this position. I applied, worked my tail off, and I earned it. The district is trusting me with this.” I shake my head, my throat burning, but I’m trying my best to hold in my sobs. “Maybe you don’t understand. But it’s important to me.”
He faces forward and nods. “I do understand.”
“I can’t be Spontaneous Meg forever.”
“Why not?”
My mouth is dry, my throat stings, and my eyes burn—all with truth. “That’s not who I am. You know that.” Add chest aches to all my other truth-bearing ailments. “Just say goodbye,” I cry through a new bout of tears. “Please.”
He turns his head, still dipped and sad, but facing me. “Goodbye, Meg.”
I lean in, pressing a fast, hard kiss to his lips before escaping the passenger door. I snatch my things from the backseat and bolt into the airport.
“So long, Spontaneous Meg. So long, Kalani Jex. I’ll never see either of you again.”
29
Meg
