Drip

Note: This was originally for the leaving home contest but it expired soooo, I'm just doing this.

Tears drip down my face as I stuff things into my bag. You may be wondering why I'm stuffing my life into my Fjallraven backpack and a North Face duffel bag. I'm not going to my bestie's house for a sleepover, I'm not moving. I'm running away. Running away from my past. Not like my parents would notice. right now they're at a bar in Baltimore. We live in Vienna, Virginia. They said they would be back days ago. As if. They haven't been at home for months, they've always had somewhere to be. I rolled my eyes thinking of how I used to cook three plates for dinner and always had to throw out the food or use it for my lunch the next day. I cleaned the house and took care of everything while my mom and dad were out, going to bars and clubs, having the time of their lives. Oh well. I was leaving all that behind.

Now, where to go? I can't go to my two best friends' houses, their parents would so call my parents. If I went to my ex boyfriend's house or my ex friend's house, their parents would call too. There was only one option left. Pine. Pine is a guy on my bus who I've known since 5th grade. We've had our ups and downs, he's called me some names, I've crashed out on him but we've always understood each other. He called me the b word and a really rude word to people like me but he always apologized and we always talked and laughed after. I sighed and finished packing my bag. A creaking door froze me and every horror movie I've ever watched went through my head but it was just my cat, Leonardo. He weaved through my feet, purring. How was I gonna leave my cutie behind? A smile crept up my face and I snuck into the basement, grabbing Leonardo's pink little cat carrier. Pine loved cats and would be fine with me bringing Leonardo. He meowed strongly as I pushed him into his carrier along with his travel water bowl, food bowl and treats. His leash and mini litter box also got shoved in there. He complained as I picked up the carrier, my backpack, my duffel bag and pushed open the door. As I pictured my new life, my Uber arrived. My phone pinged as my best friend, Reagan texted me.

'Hey, where r u. Im at the bba place rn. Ur not here. Izzy's here. WHERE R U?' I smacked my head. I completely forgot we had plans to go to BOBA rn, our favorite boba place. I clicked 'mark unread' and stuffed my phone in my back jeans pocket, tears springing to my eyes once more. I opened the door of the Uber and went onto FindMy. The Uber guy asked for the address and I showed him the numbers of Pine's house. He nodded once and started up his red Tesla. I scrolled on Insta, wondering what Izzy and Reagan were doing. I clicked on Reagan's story and it had a picture of her and Izzy posted 5 minutes ago.

"Boba fr two." They were both making sad faces and I exited out of Insta, the tears coming back. I went to Messages and clicked on Pine's profile, the name was Pine Tree and the picture was of us making funny faces at our 6th grade basketball game.

'Hey, coming over rn. we gotta talk.' I sent the message as quick as I could. He answered back almost as quick.

'y'

'cause. I need to talk to u bout smthng.'

'girls are so secrtive.'

'rude'

'alrite I'm coming out rn, u coming in an Uber or r ur parents taking u.'

'u know the answer to that' I sent a pic of me in the Uber with the back of the driver's head.

'got it.'

Little Leo meowed, grabbing my attention away from the screen, we were still 7 minutes away from Pine's house. It was 30 minutes away from my house. I inhaled and exhaled then went back onto Messages. Pine had a couple new messages to me .

'Yo, wait y r u coming rn? cant u just tell me now?'

'LENAAA'

'Im gonna cook u if u dont answer rn' I rolled my eyes and laughed.

'Look, pine tree, I am gonna cook u once I get 2 ur house;)' I fire the text off to him as the red Tesla screeches in front of Pine's house. He gives me a smirk as he opens the door to the car.

"Soooo, why are you here. What's wrong??" His brown eyes crinkled and he gave me a sweet look. I shook it off, I used to like him but he didn't like me. I wasn't gonna be broken again. Not like Mateo, my ex-boyfriend.

"I can't anymore." Is all I say and he gets it, he gets me. We tell each other everything, knowing that the other would never tell anyone the secrets.

"C'mon, I was cleaning the room you're staying in. It's perfect." And his smile is just the perfect mix of proud and adorable that I feel warmth mixing inside me. But I just as easily push it back down, never again. I go into the cute little house and the cozy atmosphere surrounds me as easily as a warm blanket. A fluffy carpet in the front completes the look of the pristine white couch and white vibe throughout the house. The smooth tile is perfectly mixed in.

"My parents are never home because they both have important jobs but I'm chill with it." He shrugs.

"That's where we differ, Pine." I smile, my braces on display. Pine is the only one who gets that smile nowadays. We head upstairs, he pushes open a door to a room and I gasp. A lilac and lavender toned room now surrounds me. It smells faintly of Pine's cologne and my favorite perfume, Sol De Janeiro 59. A large bed is in the middle of the room, the sheets smelling like detergent and the comforter beckoning to me. I'm on the verge of crying when I look around the room and see a vanity, a full set of makeup and skin care items, a desk, a bookshelf stacked with my favorite books and a ginormous walk in closet. I turn to him, my eyes welling up. He's standing with his hands fidgeting and his face all nervous.

"D-do you like it?" He asks. I've never seen him this nervous.

"I love it, Pine!" I tackle him in a hug, burying my face into his sweatshirt. He returns it, a little surprised. His arms wrap around me and I sniff a little. "Oh, shoot. I got your sweatshirt all dirty." I rub my nose, embarrassed.

"It's ok." He says. "I didn't know if you would wanna share a room with me but there weren't any extra rooms so....." He bit his lip.

"It's ok, I'm fine." I shrug, secretly really surprised. I didn't know this was his room. I jump on the bed and immediately fall asleep, finally feeling at home for the first time in years.

:To Be Continued