Later that night, with his window open, Izzy could hear the shuffling of boxes. He didn't want to think about what it could mean, so he didn't bother looking out.
Eventually, the sound of Julia's voice saying, "Are you sure about this, Annabeth?" made him peak out the window.
Anna was sitting on a box, her long, red hair straight and her face illuminated by the moon and tears.
"Yeah, Mommy, I'm sure," she said.
"Annabeth, I don't want to lose you." Julia said.
"You won't lose me, Mom, I'm just going to go back to Colorado and finish my senior year. Then I'll be interning in Russia for the summer to learn more about ballet," Anna said.
"What about Izzy?" Julia said. "Aren't you going to tell him?"
"Izzy doesn't matter, Mom," Anna told her. "I saw another girl go up and kiss him openly, like they've done it before. We're done."
"Are you sure?" Julia said, sounding shocked. "That doesn't seem like Izzy."
"Oh, I'm sure. He won't even realize I'm gone. And if he does, oh well. If he can move on from me, then I can do the same courtesy for him." Anna said this positively, like she was looking forward to it.
"The school already knows I'm coming there, Jason still goes to school there. He's fourteen, I still can't believe it. He'll be happy to see me other than summer vacation. I'll come back before Russia, Mommy, I promise."
"Is the plane ticket booked?" Julia asked.
"Yeah, and I forwarded all my transcripts this past marking period to the internship so I'm set." Anna sounded sure and tired.
"Okay, hon, well... You better get some sleep. You're plane leaves at 12:30 tomorrow.'"
"I know. Goodnight, Mommy, I love you."
"I love you, too," Julia said as she kissed her daughter goodnight.
An hour later, when the doors were still open, but Anna was asleep, Izzy climbed out his window and into Anna's room. He left a note in the ballet bag he knew had to be her carry-on for the flight, looked at Anna longingly, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room.
Julia stood on the other side of the door, watching Izzy as he did what she knew he had to do. As soon as he was gone for ten minutes, she closed the balcony doors and looked at her daughter.
"He really loves you, Annabeth," she said quietly as she left the room once again.
At The Airport
Anna held on to her carry-on as if it could solve all her problems. It was her ballet bag, in the rare case that Izzy came, he could recognize her by the bag she held.
She checked inside once again, and found an envelope with her name on it. iAnnabeth Montgomery/i it said in a messy scraw, that she could recognize as Izzy's. Sighing, she opened the letter, figuring she should at least pay him the courtesy of opening it. And her mother was at the bathroom, so she did have privacy.
Anna,
I'm sorry about Mary. She was my girlfriend over two years ago. She used to live in your house. When she moved, I was so lonely and wanted someone to talk to. You answered my prayers, Anna. You gave me a loyal friend and a wonderful girlfriend.
I'm sorry I never told you sooner. I love you, Anna. I think I have since the first time I kissed you under the mistletoe. I wish that you didn't have to be reading this letter goodbye, but you are.
I want you to know that I heard you talking to your Mom last night. I understand, though I wish you didn't have to go. Good luck in Russia, I hope you'll be the prima, prove to them all you can do it. Have a good time in Colorado. Tell your brother I said hey. Karin's got a crush on him from the summer, she still stares at his picture where his arm's around her.
I want you to be happy, Anna. That's all that you need in life, to be happy. And you deserve to be happy.
I love you Annabeth Marie Chase Montgomery. Never forget that. You know they say that if you love someone, if it's best for them, you have to let them go. And I guess I have to let you go then.
Only the best for you,
Izzy
P.s. Don't ever stop dreaming.
Anna cried in the middle of the letter. So he had heard her. And he loved her so much that he would let her go.
"Izzy," she croaked out to herself. "Izzy, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
End of Chapter 5