Patricia's POV
"...So you're going to America for college." I repeated, still taking it in. Eddie nodded and sighed shakily.
"And you're going to college in France." He countered. I bit my lip and looked down at the acceptance letter that sat in my lap. I had been so excited when I had opened it, but now... It seemed bittersweet.
"What does this mean for us?" I asked quietly. I strained to hold back the tears, already knowing the answer to my question. Eddie shifted on the couch beside me, leaning his head back on the cushion.
"Well... We could always try the long distance thing." He suggested. I looked up at him and saw my own thoughts reflected on his face: It wouldn't work. Long distance never works.
Nevertheless, I found myself agreeing to the idea, "Yeah. Long distance could work."
Images passed through my head: Staying home whilst all my friends went out to clubs and parties; skipping out on the frat parties because I wouldn't risk cheating; waiting for those Skype calls that we both ended up being too busy for. Long distance never works. Why would it be different for us?
"I would call you every night." He said hopefully. I looked into his eyes and a small grin formed on my face.
"And we could visit each other on break."
"We both have Skype."
"Email, too." I whispered. Eddie smiled down at me, thinking of all the possibilities. A silence fell over us as we began thinking of how our relationship would go. At first, it seemed like it would go well. Until I started thinking of Mick and Mara.
"Do you remember when Mick and Mara broke up?" I asked Eddie, looking up at him. Sadness flashed across his face as he solemnly nodded.
"Not seeing each other tore them apart."
"That's going to happen to us, isn't it?" Eddie looked away, not daring to answer. I sighed sadly and stood up from the couch. "Yeah... That's what I thought."
I wheeled the last of my luggage to the door, putting it with the rest of my pile. Everyone's bags were resting by the front door, waiting to be taken into cabs and trucks. I turned around and saw Mara and Joy hugging, tears welled up in each of their eyes. I smiled sadly and turned to Nina. She flashed me a watery smile and pulled me into an embrace.
"Good luck in France!" She said excitedly. I pulled away and held her at arms length.
"Good luck in Egypt!" I replied with just as much excitement. We hugged once more before Amber came over to where we stood and pouted at me.
"I'm going to miss you always rolling your eyes at me!" She squealed, pulling me into a hug.
"I can't believe I'm saying this- but I'm going to miss your girly comments about everything." I hugged her tightly and released her, watching the tears spill out of her eyes. Next I said goodbye to Fabian and Mara, holding back my tears as I hugged them both. I watched as Nina took Fabian's hand and led them outside, Amber chatting loudly behind them. The trio was off to the same college in Egypt to study Mythology- surprisingly, Amber had gotten accepted. I laughed at the way Nina and Fabian both rolled their eyes, shutting out whatever Amber was talking about. I turned back around and smirked at Jerome. He smirked back and wrapped his arms around me.
"I can't believe we're actually saying goodbye." He whispered into my hair. I laughed and looked up at him.
"I can't believe we managed to be friends for six years." He tilted his head back and laughed loudly. I wriggled out of his arms and slapped his chest lightly. "Make sure you keep in touch!"
"I wouldn't dream of losing touch." Jerome teased and hugged me once more. "Good luck in France."
"Good luck over here. And take care of Mara!" I commanded. Jerome laughed and Mara walked over to where we stood, leaning into Jerome's side. His arm casually wrapped around her and he winked at me.
"I'll make sure I do." I smiled in finality and went over to Alfie next. He laughed as he pulled me into a hug.
"I don't know if I should even say goodbye, since you'll probably be at the family reunion." I teased. Alfie laughed and pulled away from our embrace.
"Let's hope Piper keeps me around that long!"
"She's kept you around for two years now, I think you'll be here a while longer." I said reassuringly. Alfie smiled and we said goodbye before I turned around to face my hardest goodbye. I watched as Eddie and Joy exchanged parting words before hugging and walking off. Joy went to stand by our luggage, giving me time to say bye to Eddie. He turned to me and smiled sadly. I smiled back and walked to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms instinctively wrapped around my torso, drawing me towards him tightly.
"I'm gonna miss you, Yacker." He whispered softly into my ear. I felt a warm tear fall onto my shoulder and I choked back my own sob.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Krueger." I whispered thickly. "If you're ever in France, give me a ring, yeah?"
"Absolutely. Same goes for you, if you're ever in America." He replied. I simply nodded, not trusting my voice. We both pulled away from the hug, staring into each others wet and blood shot eyes. Despite our break up, I leaned forward and kissed him one final time. His lips moved gently against mine, not wanting to pull away. Salty tears mixed into the kiss as we finally broke apart. I let out a sob and hugged him one more time, never wanting to leave his arms, but knowing I had to.
"Bye." I whispered as we pulled apart. He wiped the tears off his face with his sleeve.
"Bye." He whispered back. His sleeve raised up to my cheek, wiping it dry. I took a step towards where Joy was waiting, but his arm stopped in front of me and I turned back to look at him.
"I love you." He told me softly for the last time. I nodded and held in a sob.
"I love you too." I replied and smiled before turning back to Joy and picking up my luggage.
"You okay?" She asked softly, rubbing my arm. I nodded quickly.
"The cab here?"
"Yeah. It's waiting out front." She replied. We grabbed the rest of the bags, shoving them into the back of the cab. Joy opened the door to the cab, sliding into the seat. I looked back towards the house and saw Eddie watching me from the doorway. I waved at him timidly, watching as he waved back before wiping the tears from his eyes. I slid into the cab beside Joy, finally letting out my sobs. As soon as the driver shut my door, I collapsed into Joy, the tears and wails flowing freely.
"I'm... gonna... miss...him...so...much." I said between sobs. She rubbed my back soothingly, swaying me from side to side.
"I know, Trish, I know."
Oh god, a few tears actually escaped my eyes as I wrote the Patricia/Eddie goodbye. Well, this is my new story, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please give me some feedback in the reviews! I'll update once I have a sufficient amount of reviews. Thanks!
