The Forever of Ella and Micha

it’s not the same. You won’t be right across the hall.” She dabs her eyes, wiping away the running mascara, and sniffles. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me here alone, to go live in my hometown.”
    “You could always come back,” I say, hopeful. “I bet you could even talk Ethan into coming.”
    “Hey, I’m not a fucking pushover,” Ethan calls out as he tosses the last box into the trunk of the Chevelle. “And no girl is going to ever get me to up and change my life.”
    “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,” I state with an attitude I know is going to annoy him.
    He makes a face as he slams the trunk and then leans against the door, folding his arms and staring out at a tree. His hair has grown out and he looks kind of scraggily and he’s added three more tattoos to his collection.
    “He’s sad his best friend’s leaving him. And you,” Lila whispers with a small smile and she fixes a strand of her blonde hair that’s fallen out of a clip. “He admitted it to me last night when he was drunk.”
    We giggle quietly so we don’t piss him off more.
    Lila’s expression turns serious as she taps the ring on my finger. “Oh yeah, and let me know when that changes fingers. In fact, I better be the first person you call when it does.”
    I smile at the idea, which is no longer scary but exciting. “Alright, I promise I will, and let me know when you and Ethan finally hook up.”
    She rolls her eyes. “Never going to happen.”
    We wait by the car silently until Micha trots down the stairs with the phone up to his ear. He has a on gray T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, and wisps of his blond hair dangle in aqua eyes.
    As soon as we got back from winter break, he started talking to the music producer out in San Diego on the phone. At first it went nowhere, so he went on with his life, playing at The Hook Up and other places and working his job in construction. But then he got a call back. He took a leap of faith and went out there for a meeting. They loved him and I wasn’t surprised when he said he was moving out there. Then he proceeded to tell me I was coming with him. I hid out in my apartment for about a day.
    “Pretty girl,” Micha had called out through my door. “Just let me in so we can talk. You’ve been in there for a while and you’re starting to worry me.”
    I paced the floor with my hands on my hips, inhaling and exhaling. “I’m fine, but I can’t talk about it yet.”
    There was a soft thud. “We already talked about this, remember? You knew it was coming.”
    I stopped in the middle of my room and turned in a circle, looking for my phone. “Just give me some time, okay. I… I promise I’ll come out in just a bit.”
    It took him a second to respond. “Okay, but I’m just going to be out in the living room.”
    I waited until I heard him leave and then dialed Anna’s number. As soon as I heard her pick up, I sputtered out, “Micha wants me to move to San Diego with him.”
    “Now calm down, Ella,” she said. “You knew this may have been coming—you’ve been talking to me about it since you came back from Christmas break.”
    “I know.” I sunk down onto my bed. “But now it’s real. And real is scary sometimes.”
    “I know,” she replied. “But you can’t run away from it.”
    “I’m not,” I said. “I just don’t know what do.”
    “You could make a list,” she suggested. “Of the pros and cons and how you feel.”
    I glanced at a notebook and pen on top of my dresser in the corner. “That’s your advice?”
    “That’s my advice,” she said, and someone talked in the background. “I have to go, but make a list like I said and then call me later and we’ll talk.”
    “Fine.” I sighed, hung up, and did what she told me to do. In the end, the list told me what I had known all along, but I was just too afraid to admit it aloud without some encouragement.
    I applied for some jobs online in San Diego and we made a trip out there a couple weeks ago for job interviews. We picked out a one-bedroom apartment in a decent area. It’s scary as hell, but with Micha by my side, I know I can handle it.
    “You ready?” Micha asks as he approaches me with his hand extended.
    My anxiety bubbles as I slip my hand into his. It’s the first time we’ll be living together and I’m interested how our story will go.
    Lila gives me another hug while Ethan and Micha give each other a guy pat on the back and pound fists. Micha and I get into the car and