The sun was slowing descending to the horizon of the vast sea, its bright hour leaving. The sky was turning the bright colors of orange and pink, causing Axel to become lost in its beauty, until he saw another.
"Do you really have to go?" George asked with exaggerated pain in his voice. "If you wait like a month, I could come along and then we could comeback!"
"You, who know me best, should know that I'm not coming back." Axel put a hand on George, who had been his roommate and best friend for the last 5 years, his rock through all those finals and ridiculous professors.
"I didn't wanna believe it," George sank into his desk chair. "Once you're gone I'm probably gonna have a crazy roommate who like," He paused, "like refuses to do dishes or buy beer for the month! He's probably going to be some drunken maniac who owns like birds, who talk and make noises all night! He'll probably eat all the chips I get and he'll keep really gigantic spiders!" It was at this point Axel began laughing at his freaked out friend, "You can't just leave me! I lucked out on you!"
"You're being over dramatic! There is no one in the world that owns birds that talk all night long, trust me I know things like that," George looked at him with a "yeah, whatever look." "Don't give me that look! I know it's so hard to believe but there are better people than me out there."
"I guess…" George sighed and gave Axel a bear hug. "I'm gonna miss you dude, take care of yourself out there."
"I will and you take care of yourself, you'll do great without me."
George decided not to say anything, reeling in his feelings. After slapping each other's back a couple of times. They walked down the steps to the waiting cab.
"Things are gonna be real weird without you. How am I going to get girls now? I mean after hearing you were gay, most girls were so depressed they practically jumped into my lap!" George just shook his head as he stuffed some of Axel's bags into the trunk.
Axel grinned, "Well young grasshopper, I now set you free to get girls without my homosexuality to help, good luck."
"Ugh! This so sucks!" George yelled. "So when are you going to pick up your other stuff?"
"Actually I was hoping that you would s-" Axel paused after seeing the look of shock on George's face. "I mean I'll be back soon to pick it up." With that Axel slammed the trunk and climbed into the back of the cab.
"Be sure to call me after you get settled in," said George as he leaned into his window.
"George, I'm not three. I can take care of myself don't worry," seeing the look of disapproval he hastily added, "yes I'll call you. But you do know that the time difference is like 7 hours; so don't be mad when I call you at 3 in the morning."
"Alright you don't have to call, I got a big exam tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep."
"Whatever you say," Axel looked George in the eye, "You're going to be fine without me, I promise."
"I wish I was as sure as you are," George said looking ahead of the road. "I'm really going to miss you though," George finally looked into Axel's emerald eyes.
"I'm gonna miss you too, but hey as soon as you get through with med school you should move out there."
"I probably should. That place looks amazing."
"It really is," Axel gave him one last look as he told the driver to get going.
As he drove away he heard George yell, "How am I going to get laid now?" Axel spent the rest chuckling to himself, making the cab driver rather uncertain about his passenger.
The moment Axel stepped off that plane everything in his body told him he was home, his lungs could breathe easier, his shoulders felt lighter, his heart felt the bitter sweetness of being home; Destiny Islands. The memories of school and all of his friends made him so happy to be back but the thought of what else transpired here a few years back made his whole body sigh. But all that was in the past, only the present matters. It was dark when he arrived, making the trip a total of 7 hours. He was a bit groggy when picking up his luggage, seeing as how he slept most of the time, it didn't surprise him much. With his carry on bag he went to the baggage claim, and picked up the many bags he had taken along. Once he had all his bag accounted for, with the help of a rolling rack, he set off to find himself a cab. After putting all the bags in the trunk, he set off for his parent's newly abandoned house, which was on the outer edge of Destiny Islands, a little drive from the airport. The drive was rather pleasant; along the way he recognized nearly everything that passed by including most of the people. Since it was nearly springtime, Destiny Islands was in its best stage, the air was still hot but was cooled with the occasional rain shower. It was the second best time of the year.
"You grow up here?" The driver said. Not expecting the driver to make conversation, Axel was caught inside his own world. It was a man probably mid-twenties, he didn't look like the typical cab driver. His hair was long and shiny, slicked back neatly, his jaw was strong and very sharp, giving him a rather edgy look. Axel was wondering how he didn't realize this guy was so good looking.
"Oh, uh, yeah born and raised here. How'd you know?" Axel questioned.
"You just look like a local," He said simply.
"Did you move here recently?" Axel couldn't help but pry, seeing as this guy was rather good-looking and all the relationships in Arizona had gone south pretty quickly, he was on the look out for a good guy.
"Just moved here actually, about a few months ago." He said as he turned on his blinker to get into the far right lane.
"You like it so far?" Axel asked getting a little more anxious to know whether or not this guy batted for his team.
"I love it here. I moved here from Cali, so my lungs aren't taking such a beating from all that pollution. The beach is so great and the weather is fantastic. This place is a little gem, in the middle of the ocean," He paused for a moment. "But I have to say I'm a little intimidated."
Axel chuckled, "How so?" The fact he was opening up this soon was a good sign.
"Okay if I tell you promise not to laugh," Flirting, very good sign.
"Well that's no fair," Axel said with a little smile and leaned forward.
"I won't tell you until you promise." Teasing, another good sign.
"Okay I promise, I won't laugh at your silliness."
"Well all the people I've meet grew up here and lived here all their lives. It makes me feel like I'm an outsider, ya know?"
Axel leaned back, trying to be cool about what he was about to say next, "I wouldn't be too worried about stuff like that. Sure it's true that Destiny Islands is a well-guarded secret and the locals don't much care for new comers, but the point is you made it there. Somehow you found out about it and that other stuff doesn't really matter, because you were meant to be here."
A moment of silence filled the car, "Wow. I never thought of it like that. That makes perfect sense though. How long have you lived here?"
"Actually, I haven't lived here for the past 5 years, this is my return home."
"Oh really? That must be really exciting. Did you miss living here?"
"Most definitely, the reason I moved was for school…" Axel purposely let his voice falter a little to give some edge.
"Oh no, come on, I know there's more to that sentence," the driver peered at him through the rearview mirror, egging him on, "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."
With some fake bashfulness, Axel attempted to look vulnerable, which worked pretty well, "I left to get over a boyfriend."
The driver didn't look at all surprised, which was a very good sign; his face actually showed a lot of sympathy, "Oh man, he is an absolute idiot. If I may be so bold you are utterly gorgeous! Don't tell me he cheated on you?" It turned out Axel's gay-dar was right on the money.
"Yes, he did." Axel tried to sound hurt but not too hurt, as to show he was ready for someone else."
"Oh my goodness, may I ask who this asshole is?" The man seemed very determined to find the cheater and deck him, something that Axel didn't exactly disagree with.
Axel didn't have to hide the hurt in his voice for this part, "Reno."
"Oh I've heard of him. That man is one big mess. He's nothing without someone like you next to him. You are too good for him, don't even think twice about him."
"I know, I know, it just hurt a lot though, ya know?" Axel decided to play the sympathy card again.
"I've been there, we've all been there, just gotta pick yourself up and move on."
"I have, for the most part. It's just that I thought things were going so good and he was the one for me." Axel had gone over the feeling over and over again, that brutal hurt in his heart. For the longest he thought Reno was the one, considering what he had to overcome in order to stay true to him, he thought Reno really loved him, he was sure of it. Nothing was worse than hearing from the person you loved, that they had been with another. All the times that Reno had held him so tenderly and gently, had meant zilch.
"You must be one hell of a man to turn Reno into a monogamous guy," The driver said with sincerity.
Axel chuckled, "Yeah I used to think that, now not so much."
"Babe, you gotta think that. Any guy would be lucky to have you. The address if 234 Oblivion Dr. right?"
Axel looked outside the window, "Yep, this is it." The house looked completely different from the last time he had seen it. The hedges weren't something from a horror movie; they were perfectly trimmed into what you would see in a very fancy neighborhood. Along the windows were delicate looking flowers, which gave the whole yard a clean look of etiquette, causing Axel to feel like this wasn't his home. But sure enough the golden plated numbers by the newly painted door didn't lie, 2348, the place of his childhood.
"You need help with those bags?" The driver asked as he took his seat belt off.
"Yeah if you wouldn't mind." After grabbing his key from his pocket, picking up a few bags, he put the key in the door and turned it to the left, leaving all his sorrow on the porch. The only thing that was left unchanged was the layout, the walls, the floor, and the tiles; even the ceiling seemed to be different.
"Where do you want these?"
"Oh sorry set them down anywhere, thanks a bunch….sorry I never get your name." Axel leaned against the wall, trying not to think that this new paint job covered up the permanent marker in his room.
"It's Caesar." He looked like a roman god. Axel had to fight the urge to put his hands through his soft looking hair, his chest was accentuated by his tight fitting shirt, making his job all the more harder.
"Well it was great meeting you and if you ever need someone to show you around Destiny Islands I'd be more than happy to help you out."
"Really?" Caesar scratched at his head modestly. "That'd be great! Here's my number," He took out a card, "Just call me once you get settled in and stuff."
"I'll be sure to. Oh and how much do I owe you?" Axel dove into his back pocket to fetch his wallet.
"That will be $29.70," he said discreetly. Axel pulled out three bills, a ten, a twenty, and a five and handed it to him.
"Keep the change," Axel said with a smile.
"Thanks," He said as he left.
Axel thought about saying something more but decided that since his love life has been virtually non-existent for the last 5 years, moving here probably wouldn't change that. He pushed the thought out of his mind and stepped further into the house. All the memories rushed back to him, he thought about how his parents almost sold this house when they moved to Florida. That in itself he didn't understand. They lived in a vacation spot, why would they want to move to Florida? It didn't make any sense to him, but he let them as long as they didn't sell the house. So they rented out the house for vacationers and they got much more money then if they had sold it.
Though he was glad to be back in Destiny Islands, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be back in his old house, which he barely even recognized. It was an understatement to say everything had changed. Luckily, when he went up stairs, he found his room exactly as it was before. The walls were still a dark red, making the room look smaller but that was the way he liked it. When he walked in he found a note on his bare desk, it read,
Dear Axel,
Sorry the place is so different, a lot of the renters changed a few things and the result turned the house into a very different place. But since we made your room off limits, it remained the same, so I hope you aren't too angry with us. I hope you can maybe paint the living room a better color, these crazy hippies just so persistent in painting it that stupid puke color. So hopefully you can change that. Other than its looks, it's the same house. I hope you can make it your own. The key to the storage is in your bottom drawer. Good luck!
Love, Ma and Pa.
He pulled on the desk drawer and found the key beneath some of his old high school things, deciding to reminisce later, he shut the drawer and walked out of the house and into the cold night air.