*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*
As the sun went down on the Steel City, a girl dangled her legs off a small foot bridge. In her right hand she held a clear unlabeled bottle of liquor and in her left hand, she held her small black studded clutch. Mascara was smudged around her eyes. Some stained tissues left a little trail of the most recent events around her. Footsteps approached her. She did her best to wipe her eyes.
“Man, what are you doing out here? It’s almost three,” the boy said. He stopped short of the tissues. His eyes followed the trail to the girls’ lap. The boy blinked a few times.
“I just wanted to come out here to think,” the girl’s voice was as sweet as honey. She glanced up at the boy with giant doe eyes and patted the cold concrete floor. “Join me, Everett.”
Everett joined the girl and crossed his legs, still looking at her with concern painted in his eyes. Then he cleared his throat.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. She shook her head, giving him a small smile. The roaring of the cars from Boulevard of the Allies hummed behind them. Everett scooted closer. “Anna.”
“Really. I am fine,” Anna moved some hair behind her hair, revealing a two-week old fading purple bruise over her right eye. Just a week ago, it was as dark as her favorite dress and the size of a baseball. Everett tried not to stare, but Anna caught him. She looked down and let her hair fall in front of her again. Her hands pushed the liquor bottle to her lips.
“Tomorrow is the day,” Everett chirped with a bright smile. “Are you excited?”
“To get out of here?” Anna let out a small chuckle. “Oh hell yes. One hundred percent.”
“Are you excited for what’s next?” He pried. She shrugged, swaying her legs a little bit. The summer breeze gently pushed around them. It felt like a warm hug. The weather hadn’t been this nice in ages.
“More like nervous. Are you?” She turned to Everett. He shrugged, pulling his knees to his chest. His green eyes looked beyond Anna’s feet to the world beneath them. Cars entered and exited the nucleus of Pittsburgh, all of them heading for downtown or Oakland. Horns sounded and people shouted as traffic halted towards the Oakland tunnel. There was never a day where there wasn’t traffic here.
“Things are going to be weird without you, you know,” Everett said as he felt his hands grew clammier by the second. He wiped his hands on his jeans and ignored the dry spot in his throat. “I wish you could stay.”
“You know I wish the same,” Anna’s dimples appeared. Under this light, she looked like an angel. An angel that had bruised and abused beyond measure. The mere thought of this made Everett’s blood boil. Still, it was not his place. “I wish you were coming with me.”
Anna’s hand scooted closer to Everett’s. His fingertips tingled. Butterflies awoke in his stomach. Then her hand was less than an inch away. But her face was forward, looking out over the tree tops and to the circular entrance to the one of the city’s exit points. She wasn’t even aware of it.
“It’s funny just how fast things change, isn’t it? Just three months ago, we sat here in this same spot, too,” Anna giggled, taking another swig of her vodka. Everett’s heart sank. Of course he remembered that day. It replayed in his mind as if it were yesterday. A black hole opened up in his stomach and he pushed away the memory. It was beyond them now. They both had chosen their own paths.
“Not much has changed. When you think about it,” Everett’s voice came out just above a whisper. A passing car’s horn swallowed up what he said. Anna whipped her head around to meet his gaze.
“Did you say something?” She asked. Everett shook his head and relaxed his arms. Anna’s lip twitched and she opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She looked down to their hands, then back up to Everett’s deep green eyes. “Is it still the same for you?”
“It hasn’t changed since that night,” Everett shook his head, pressing his lips together as soon as the truth made it into the air. He felt his heartbeat in every inch of his body, knocking against his chest. His hands were shaking only slightly. Anna glanced back down to his hand and grabbed it, twisting her fingers between his. With one gentle squeeze, Everett understood. He inched closer to his best friend, letting her lean her head on his shoulder.
“I was stupid,” Anna mumbled. “Really stupid.”
“Everyone is stupid sometimes,” Everett shrugged. Anna sat up, still holding his hand. Her lips were parted and her eyebrows squeezed together.
“You wanted me. Every part of me. You were so good to me. And I tossed you away for someone who kicked me to the side when his ex came crawling back,” Anna spat out. She shook her head. She chewed on a nail on her free hand, glancing back out at the traffic. “You loved me. And I was too stupid.”
“Then be with me now,” Everett said, finding courage deep within him he didn’t know he had. He still heard his heartbeat in his ears, but it didn’t matter. This was the moment. He was going to get to be with her. After two years of waiting by the sidelines after every boyfriend of hers toyed with her and left her time after time, he was finally going to get his chance. This was it.
“I can’t,” Anna whispered, her lip quivering. She couldn’t meet Everett’s eyes. Something in her broke in two. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it off her bruised cheek. Everett felt the black hole open up again. Not again.
“You can’t?” Everett’s voice cracked as he spoke. His eyes welled up with tears. Anna finally turned to look at him. Her brown eyes were filled to the brim and under the dim and dying street lights, a wet trail of tears started at her tear ducts and ended at her chin. A sob racked her body and she hid herself from him in shame.
“I’m sorry,” Anna peeked out from under her protective arm cage. “You know I love you, but I am leaving. For good.”
“I know,” Everett swatted away a few tears from his cheeks, taking his hand back from hers. She stared at Everett. Something inside of him begged him to kiss her. Even if it was just one kiss, after two years of pining after her and standing by her side, part of him tried to convince him that it would be worth it. But what good would it do to get a taste of something he’d wanted since the day he met her, just to never have the chance to do it again?
Anna pulled her legs back from their place. Leaning forward on her knee caps, she moved inches away from his face. She brushed the hair and tears off his face, scanning every inch of him. A smile spread across her face. Everett’s heart sank, but the butterflies inside continued to sing.
“I’m sorry,” Anna said, pressing her lips gently into his. Everett’s head moved back, and then he felt himself melt under her touch. The butterflies erupted into a full-fledged firework show. Why couldn’t he just have this with her? Before he could reach up to hold her face in his hands, she pulled away, resting her forehead against his.
“Anna,” Everett begged, looking at her in the eyes. “Please don’t go.”
For a second, there was a sliver of hope in her eyes. She contemplated for a moment, and so did he. Visions of a beautiful future played in his head: walking through Frick Park holding hands, laying on a picnic blanket eating food from the co-op together, discussing art pieces at the art museum, looking out over Mount Washington whilst eating ice cream and daydreaming about what they’d do when they were older, laying in their dorm rooms tangled under a blanket with Netflix on a screen ready to go. Except it wasn’t the same beautiful mirage for her.
Anna stood up. She grabbed her liquor bottle and gripped her black purse tighter in her hand. One last swipe of her cheeks and she looked down to Everett. The saddened look on her face had hardened and her entire body was stiff.
“Goodbye.” Her voice was as flat as the plains in the Midwest. Turning on in her tattered Vans, she headed east towards campus. Everett watched her as she went, knowing full well that it would be the last time he ever saw Anna Redwood in the city of Pittsburgh, and in his entire lifetime.
