Off Limits

Chapter 16: Goodbye

Six weeks disappeared.

Riley had expected the days to drag once the date was fixed.

Instead, they seemed determined to move faster.

Her room slowly changed as she packed. Clothes disappeared from her wardrobe. Books were sorted into piles. Important documents went into a folder her mother refused to let anyone touch.

Ethan complained about the amount of luggage.

“You’re going for school, not moving the entire country.”

Riley zipped another bag.

“I’m going for two years.”

“You don’t need eight pairs of shoes.”

“I need them.”

“For what?”

“Different occasions.”

Owen, sitting on the floor, looked at the shoes.

“She’s right.”

Ethan stared at him.

“Don’t encourage her.”

Riley smiled.

The night before her flight, nobody wanted to talk about tomorrow.

They ate dinner together.

Mrs. Parker cooked too much food.

Mr. Parker had flown home especially for the departure.

He spent most of the evening reminding Riley to stay safe, keep her documents secure, and call whenever she needed anything.

She listened.

She promised.

But her eyes kept moving toward Ethan and Owen.

After dinner, the three of them went upstairs.

Riley sat on the floor between them.

“So.”

Ethan looked at her.

“So?”

“I leave tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“I just wanted to say it.”

Owen smiled faintly.

“You’ve said it about twenty times.”

“I know.”

Silence followed.

Riley looked down at her hands.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like.”

Ethan answered immediately.

“Neither do we.”

“What if things change?”

“They will,” Owen said.

Riley looked at him.

He continued.

“But changing doesn’t mean disappearing.”

She smiled.

“That’s a very Owen answer.”

“I’ve had practice.”

Ethan leaned against the wall.

“Nothing is going to happen to us.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can promise we’ll still be here.”

Riley swallowed.

She didn’t want to cry.

Not tonight.

She had spent weeks pretending she was excited enough not to be afraid.

Now that tomorrow was here, the fear had finally caught up with her.

She leaned forward and hugged Ethan.

He held her tightly.

Then she hugged Owen.

He hugged her just as tightly.

When she pulled away, she laughed through the tears she had tried to hide.

“Don’t make this weird.”

Ethan smiled.

“You’re the one crying.”

“I’m not crying.”

“You absolutely are.”

Riley wiped her face.

“Shut up.”

Owen laughed softly.

For a little while, they sat together without speaking.

Then Ethan stood.

“Come on.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.”

He led them downstairs and outside.

The backyard was dark except for the porch light.

Ethan had placed three chairs beneath the old tree where they used to sit as children.

Riley smiled.

“You remembered.”

“Of course.”

They sat beneath the tree.

The same tree.

The same three people.

Only older now.

Owen looked toward the house.

“Remember when Mum found us hiding here after we broke the window?”

Riley laughed.

“She blamed Ethan.”

“She always blamed me.”

“Because you usually deserved it.”

Ethan shook his head.

They stayed there until their mother called them inside.

Tomorrow came too quickly.

At the airport, Riley stood beside her luggage while her parents gave her final instructions.

Ethan hugged her first.

“Call me when you land.”

“I will.”

“Immediately.”

“I promise.”

He pulled back.

“And don’t forget us.”

Riley’s eyes filled again.

“I couldn’t if I tried.”

Owen stood in front of her.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then he hugged her.

“Take care of yourself.”

“You too.”

He nodded.

Riley stepped back.

She looked at the three people who had been her entire world for most of her life.

Then the announcement came.

Her flight was boarding.

She took a breath.

“Goodbye.”

Ethan shook his head.

“Not goodbye.”

Riley smiled sadly.

“Okay.”

She picked up her bag.

“See you later.”

She walked toward the departure gate.

Halfway there, she turned around.

Ethan raised his hand.

Owen did the same.

Riley smiled.

Then she disappeared through the gate.

For the first time since they were seven years old, there were only two people standing together.

Ethan looked at Owen.

Owen looked back.

Neither said anything.

They both knew the house was going to feel different.

And somewhere beyond the airport glass, Riley was beginning a life neither of them could follow her into.

Two years.

That was all.

At least, that’s what they believed.

The first week without Riley was strange.

Nobody said it.

They didn’t have to.

At breakfast, Ethan reached for the cereal and automatically placed a bowl on the table.

He stopped halfway.

There were only two plates.

Owen noticed.

Neither of them said anything.

At school, Ethan kept turning toward the seat Riley used to take during lunch.

The first time he did it, Owen noticed.

The second time, he said nothing.

By the third day, Ethan finally laughed at himself.

“This is ridiculous.”

Owen looked up from his food.

“What?”

“I keep forgetting she’s gone.”

“Me too.”

Ethan pushed his fork around his plate.

“She’ll call tonight.”

“She said she would.”

“She better.”

Owen smiled.

“You miss her.”

“Obviously.”

“So do I.”

That evening, Riley called.

The moment her face appeared on the screen, Ethan smiled.

“There she is.”

Riley laughed.

“Hi.”

“You look tired.”

“I am tired.”

“Are you eating?”

“Yes.”

“Properly?”

“Yes, Mum.”

Owen laughed from beside him.

Riley smiled when she saw him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How’s home?”

“Quiet.”

She looked at Ethan.

“Too quiet?”

“Very.”

Riley smiled.

“Good.”

Ethan frowned.

“What do you mean, good?”

“You complained about me making noise.”

“I was wrong.”

She laughed.

They talked for almost an hour.

Riley showed them her tiny dorm room.

Ethan complained about the size.

Owen asked about her classes.

She told them about the students she’d met, the campus, the weather, and how she had already gotten lost twice.

By the time the call ended, Riley was smiling.

“I have to go.”

“Call tomorrow,” Ethan said.

“I will.”

Owen nodded.

“Goodnight, Riley.”

“Goodnight.”

The screen went dark.

Ethan stared at it for a moment.

Then he placed his phone on the table.

“She sounds happy.”

Owen nodded.

“She does.”

Ethan leaned back.

“That’s what matters.”

Owen looked toward the window.

“Yeah.”

Neither said what they were both thinking.

The house was quieter.

Their routines had changed.

But Riley was doing exactly what she had wanted.

She was discovering a world outside Parker house.

And they had promised not to make her feel guilty for it.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Riley placed her phone beside her bed.

She looked around her room.

It was unfamiliar.

Everything was new.

The walls.

The bed.

The people outside.

The life she had chosen.

She smiled.

Then she opened her notebook.

The same notebook she had carried with her from home.

She turned to a clean page.

For a long moment, she didn’t write.

Then she finally did.

Day seven.

She paused.

I miss them.

She looked at the sentence.

Then added:

But I think I’m going to be okay.

Riley closed the notebook.

Outside her window, the campus was still awake.

People were laughing.

Cars moved along the road.

Somewhere in that unfamiliar place, her new life was already beginning.

Back home, Ethan and Owen were beginning to understand what Riley had known before she left.

Growing up didn’t always mean staying together.

Sometimes it meant learning how to love people from a distance.

And sometimes, distance changed things before anyone realized they were changing.