Time was my greatest enemy. 

Before I knew it, summer had come and went. 

Me and Quinn had spent it like any other. Except this time, he never held my hand. Not like before. 

We joked and bickered back and forth like we always did. But ever since he started dating Eliza, Quinn seemed to slip further and further away from me. 

I won’t go into detail about my freshman year of high school. Nothing spectacular or incidental happened during that first year. It was actually one of my rarer good firsts that I’ve had.

Nothing changed. 

But sophomore year altered the course of my life. 

I stood in front of my full-body mirror, frowning at my reflection. I had grown a lot since eighth grade. My hair now reached my waist and it was curly and wavy in an attractive way. After my mom taught me how to style it, I styled my hair almost every day. 

Today was different. 

I brushed it out and let it hang where it may. I also didn’t put any makeup on. Today was an all-natural kind of day. It was a fresh, November morning and to top it off, it was Friday. Quinn promised we would go ice-skating at the rink, just us, and I was excited. 

I gathered my things together and rushed downstairs to eat breakfast with my parents. Our house hadn’t changed much over the years. My parents finished paying off the mortgage last month and now this house was officially ours. It made me happy just thinking about it. 

“Morning, Mom, Dad!” I called as I slid into the kitchen. I tossed hair out of my face and grabbed toast off the plate my father set out. 

“Careful, Zenna,” my mom said as I righted myself. “Your hair is becoming something fierce to behold, dear. I think you should cut it.” 

I let out a long sigh and took a large bite of toast. “I like it long.” 

“Are you walking to school with Quinn?” my father asked, setting the paper down on the kitchen counter. The high school was about a fifteen-minute walk from our neighborhood.

“Yeah. We both want to enjoy this unnaturally good weather while it lasts.” I replied, loading my plate with homemade doughnuts, my father’s specialty, and a large glass of milk. 

“Dear, we have something to talk to you about before you leave.” My mom sounded hesitant. 

I looked up from my plate, glancing between her and my father. “What’s going on?” 

My father cleared his throat. “I’ve…well,” he let out a nervous chuckle. “I’ve received a promotion at work.” 

“That’s great, Dad!” I exclaimed. My excitement simmered down a bit when my parents exchanged worried looks. 

“Thank you, darling. It’s to be head surgeon at Cosava Hospital.” 

My parents let that sink in for a minute. 

“Cosava…as in Cosava that’s almost two days’ travel away from here?” My voice rose an octave but I was too surprised to care. 

“Yes, that’s why we wanted to talk to you.” my mom interjected. “We’ll be moving after you get done with this semester’s finals. You’ll start at Cosava High School in January when the new semester begins.” 

I stared at my parents without any comprehension. “When…when did you decide this?” 

“Last night.” my father replied. I stared at him. He didn’t seem inclined to go on. 

“Last night?” I probed. 

“Well, that’s when they gave me the promotion. It’s always been my dream to become head surgeon. And Cosava Hospital is the best hospital in the country.” My father turned pleading eyes on me as my mind went blank with shock. 

Quinn… 

No! I swore that wouldn’t be the reason why I would stay here. He wasn’t going to determine my life…but I just couldn’t accept this. I didn’t want to move. I finally found a good set of friends to hang out with and Quinn…well, I didn’t just want to leave. 

He made me promise…but those promises ultimately meant nothing in the end if he didn’t keep his end of the bargain. There had been many times when he promised me something and didn’t follow through. But he always made it a big deal if I accidentally went against a promise. 

No. I couldn’t make this about Quinn. He couldn’t keep leading me by the nose like he did in eighth grade. 

“That’s…that’s wonderful, Dad. Of course we can move. I’m…it’ll just take me a while to get used to the idea. Cosava is a really big city and I’m from a town of eighty thousand. I heard there’s over three million people that live there.” I looked up and was startled to see tears in my parents’ eyes. 

“Thank you, sweetie.” my father said while wiping his face. 

“You’re welcome.” I glanced at the clock and let out a mental sigh of relief. “I’ll be off now. Love you guys!” 

“We love you, too!”

I hid my laugh as I left. I loved my parents and they showed a love that I wanted in the future.

Never ending and pure. 

Quinn met me at the sidewalk with a smile on his face. “Morning, Z.” 

“Morning, Q.” 

He grinned down at me, linking our arms together. Quinn had grown to be a good six feet tall and he was still growing. His doctor estimated he’d be at least six feet five inches by the time he was done. He wasn’t exactly scrawny but he hadn’t grown into his body either. That didn’t stop him from being the most handsome boy in school. 

His blonde hair had almost turned a pale white, and his deep, blue eyes were endless pools of an ocean. It didn’t make sense that the older he got, the better looking he became. 

I felt his hand bop me on the forehead. “What’s wrong? You’re never this quiet.”  

I glanced at Quinn’s face, letting out a long sigh. “My…my father got promoted to head surgeon at the hospital.” 

“And? That’s reason to mope?” I enjoyed hearing the humor behind his deep voice, but he wouldn’t be laughing once I finished telling him my tale. 

“He’s being transferred to Cosava Hospital.” My voice was reserved. 

I was startled when Quinn came to an abrupt stop. “You’re moving? When?” 

I met his eyes with a heavy heart. “After finals. In December.” 

“December…” Quinn’s eyes suddenly filled with tears and he threw his arms around me. He ended up throwing us off balance and we fell to the ground ungracefully. 

“Quinn, it’ll be okay.” I voiced, feeling the full force of his weight on top of me. I was a good five feet six inches but I was no match for him. 

Quinn didn’t respond as he wrapped me in one of his massive hugs. His head rested against the top of my head and I could hear his heartbeat loud and clear. “You promised never to forget me, remember?” 

Pain flashed through my heart as I remembered making that promise. “Yes, I remember.” 

Although I’ve tried very hard to forget you. I even dated a few guys just to get you off my mind. But none of them stayed because you kept scaring them away. 

“Please don’t leave.” Quinn whispered. 

I could hear his heartbeat quicken. “I can’t promise you that, Q. My father really wants this and I’ve already told him it’s okay.” 

“Zenna,” Quinn sighed, touching his forehead to mine. “I’m going to miss you very much.” 

Heat spread to my checks but I chose to ignore it. “I’ll miss you, too, Quinn. But we’ll stay in touch and visit each other. This won’t be goodbye.” However, something in his expression hinted that it might.