it has a happy ending, i promise. also unfinished.
Sophomore year of college, Reis and Carson fight for the last time. It’s not a bloody battle, though the wounds it leaves are deep. Reis leaves. Carson packs his bags.
It takes a few weeks for the transfer to go through, but it takes longer for Reis to cool off. By the time she next knocks on Carson’s door, it’s Tea who answers with a terrified grin and a “didn’t you know?”
Nobody had the heart to tell her. Shoot the messenger would have been a accurate term for the imagined scenario, though Tea didn’t fair much better. After she clocked him, he invited her in and made her some of his namesake. They sat in silence; he wide-eyed and suddenly cold with fright; and her shaking with a feeling she didn’t know she would have to deal with again.
She finished her tea and left without another word, slamming the door behind her. Tea shivered and clenched his fists, remembering the number Carson had left behind. The number for his new school. The one Reis didn’t have.
Five years pass, largely without incident. Reis graduates college with a degree in law and passes the bar easily, joining a mid-sized law firm as a paid intern. She doesn’t really need the job. Her parents still support her fully, as if apologizing for the solitary life she leads. They rarely speak, but they don’t need to. There’s nothing to say, really.
One night, the wanderlust that had been growing inside her since Carson left finally took hold. Grabbed the wheel, grabbed her foot, drove her past her exit. Kept her driving for days, only stopping for gas and the restroom. She didn’t sleep until she reached a sleepy hamlet tucked away in some hills, the sort of town that tended to spring up around highways. There was a motel, but she needed a drink first. The only bar in town was slightly ramshackle but spilled light from its windows, smiling into the night. Flickering neon lights spelled out SARAJEVO in mismatched colors and fonts.
@1 year ago with 1 note#sarajevo is where franz ferdinand was assassinated #ballin yeah #writing #ocs #reis #carson
