“I don’t know if I can do this,” I muttered, sinking down in the passenger seat. Star sighed, banging her head on the back of the seat.

“You have to,” she said. “I am not facing the ‘Wrath of Elis’ alone.” I giggled slightly and sat up straight.

“You guys’ll be fine,” Kristin said, reassuringly. “I’ll be there the whole time.” She smiled playfully. “I have 911 on speed dial.” The two of us groaned, casting her two withering glares. She just kept on smiling.

“You’re evil, y’know that?” Star said. Kristin nodded.

“I can see why Kevin likes you,” I added, giggling slightly. Kristin lowered her eyelashes flirtatiously.

“No, that’s just because I’m good,” she purred. I crinkled my nose in disgust.

“Too much information, thank you!” Star said. The three of us giggled, then caught sight of a mail truck coming up the rode. For some reason, it brought us back to reality.

“Okay,” I said, “lets go. We have to do this so we might as well do it now.”

“Couldn’t we leave her a mail bomb?” Star suggested as I opened the door and slid out of the drivers seat. I rolled my eyes and yanked her door open, pulling her out with me. Kristin got out on the other side.

So, there we were. About to face our doom. There was no where we could run, nowhere we could hide, no table to hide under, and nothing we could do about our current situation except to face it and move on. So, we had Kristin ring the doorbell.

“Wimps,” she muttered as she stepped back behind me and Star. The two of us swallowed and looked at one another.

“Hello.” We both looked up at the screen door in front of us. It was Elis’s mom.

“Hi, Mrs. Wolfrum,” I said, smiling politely. “Is Elis home?”

“She’s in her room with Roxanne,” her mother said. She opened the screen door, allowing the three of us entrance. Elis’s mother had never liked me. We had talked civilly to one another on the hour long road trips to fencing every Thursday when we were in our early teens, but otherwise, we had nothing to do with one another. We reached Eli’s room. The door was closed. Before I could summon up the courage, Star reached over my shoulder and rapped lightly on the door.

“Who is it?” came a stubborn voice from inside.

“It’s me,” I said. There was a short pause and I looked at Star nervously. Neither of us were in the mood for another yelling match.

“Come in.” Turning the knob, I opened the door to find both Elis sitting cross-legged on her bed, Roxie in the same position on her floor.

“We need to talk,” I said, my eyes focused on something behind Eli’s head as the others flowed in the room behind me.

“We sure as hell do,” Elis stated. It wasn’t a nasty comment. Just a fact.

For a few moments, none of us spoke. Elis and I both knew it was up to us to start the conversation, but both of us knew there wasn’t a need for one. I finally summoned up the courage, slowly moving my gaze to meet that of Elis. We watched each other for a long moment. She knew what I had come to say and I knew she had been thinking the same thing, yet, for the first time in our lives, we were scared to speak to one another.

That was when Elis slowly moved her legs out from under her and got up from the bed. Star and Kristin retracted slightly, sure that she was going to take a swing at one of us. Roxie inched backwards, obviously with the same feeling. But, I knew her better. I could see in her eyes what she was about to do. Though, it scared me all the same.

She wrapped me in a hug and I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her back. It was an awkward embrace, but it was an awkward moment. We both knew that this would have to last us for a long time, maybe forever. A friendship that lasted for 8 years was about to come to an end. We both didn’t want it to, but it was time.

That’s when she pulled back, trying to regain composure of herself. It was difficult. Again, she looked into my eyes. Then, she began to back away slowly and leaned against the rail on her bed. After a moment, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“We should go,” Star said. I nodded at her, my eyes still on Elis. As they began to leave the room, I was still facing her.

“Take care of yourselves,” I said, softly. Roxie sat there stone-faced, but Elis nodded slightly.

“You, too,” she said. Suddenly, she smiled. A meek smile, but a smile. “Another place . . .” she began.

“ . . . another time,” I finished, giving her a smile that matched hers. It was our final departure.

The door was almost closed behind me when I heard her whisper, “I love you, Lex. Don’t forget that.” I opened the door slightly and glanced at the wall a few feet in front of me. Tacked to it was a picture from our senior prom.

“I won’t,” I said, softly. “I never could.”