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RACHEL
Isniffwhilewatching Mike give Hunter a tight hug. The party is over. Hunter has officially graduated. He will be leaving soon to go check out apartments in Chicago with his dad, and then he will be gone, playing in the NFL, being a famous football quarterback, traveling the world.
And I’ll be here.
With Lucas, Alex, and Seth, I remind myself.
Today went by so fast, I’m still struggling to remember everything. It’s like things happened to me and I didn’t quite participate. In the morning I attended Hunter’s graduation with the bros and Hunter’s dad. Then, while Hunter was out getting lunch with his dad, I decorated the apartment with Lucas and Alex in orange and navy blue, the Chicago Bears colors. I even found and bought Chicago Bears disposable plates, cups, and silverware online. Who knew all this NFL stuff could be so expensive? I even got orange and blue balloons, however, they were pastel colors. I think they were originally meant for a baby shower. Who uses pastel orange in a baby shower? Either way, Hunter loved it.
And now it’s all over. Everyone is leaving the party and soon Hunter will be gone.
“He won’t be gone forever,” Lucas whispers in my ear, giving me a soft pat on my shoulder.
I sniff and wipe the tears from my eyes. “I know,” I croak.
“He will definitely be back.”
I nod.
“You better fucking live it up, bro!” Mike shouts when he releases Hunter from his bear hug. “I want to see pictures of all the bitches you get with.”
I bristle at Mike’s words, my hands fisting.
“Now, now,” Lucas whispers with a chuckle, earning a very dark scowl from me. “Don’t worry about that now.”
I shake my head, just wanting this day to end.
“Have you and Hunter decided anything?”
I don’t answer Lucas, because, in truth, we haven’t. We haven’t talked about it at all, which means, I have no clue what he’s thinking now. At the beginning of the year, he was talking about us breaking up. Rather than discussing it further, we merely had sex and then proceeded to avoid the topic altogether. That was probably a very dumb idea, but oh well. We can’t go back and change the past.
Hunter laughs, and I can hear the awkwardness in his tone as he waves Mike goodbye. “I’ll keep in touch,” he says while he closes the door behind Mike. As soon as it’s shut, he turns around and leans against the door, heaving a very long sigh.
“Is it over yet?” he asks while looking around the apartment.
I follow his gaze, wrinkling my nose at the empty cups, pizza boxes, and trash bags filled to the brim. Off to the side, Alex and Seth playing a very intense game of thumb war.
“I suppose it is,” I say with a sad smile, my shoulders slumping.
Hunter walks toward me and takes my hands, pressing his lips against them. “I’m still here until the end of the month.”
I stick out my bottom lip. “That’s in three weeks.”
Hunter waggles his eyebrows. “We can still do a lot in three weeks.”
My eyes narrow, wondering what exactly is he getting at. I lean toward him, my lips nearly on him when I hear a shout to my side, seeing Seth jumping up and down on the couch, his fists in the air while he shouts, “I won! I finally beat your stupid fucking face!” He juts a finger in Alex’s direction, who rolls his eyes.
Despite looking annoyed, there is a smile on Alex’s lips. Alex turns to me, mouthing: I let him win, which makes me giggle. Thankfully, Seth doesn’t see anything, given he’s too busy dancing and shouting about his thumb war win.
“Alright,” I start when Seth has calmed down. “Let’s start cleaning.”
In unison, all the bros release one loud groan, making me cover my mouth in order to stop my giggles from erupting.
“Do we really have to?” Seth asks while sitting back down on the chair.
“Can’t we leave it for tomorrow?” Alex asks, jutting out his bottom lip and fluttering his big blue eyes at me.
“Today was so busy,” says Lucas. “Let’s just leave it for tomorrow and relax.” He rubs his temples. “I feel like I did more work today than I usually do at the cafe.”
