She stood in her kitchen, where her plates and cups had been placed carefully in boxes, where they would be stored until she moved out. The tea she had poured into two glasses she had taken out of the storage was steaming out of the glass. I could hear her mutter things under her breath inaudibly, but she came and sat back down, setting the two glasses on the coffee table.

She sighed quietly, rubbing her arm anxiously, trying to think of something to say, "D-Dante... I-I was fine on my own..."

"Nikkie, I disagree entirely. You told me yourself you didn't want to be alone. That you wanted friends. And I'm here to give you that," I placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, trying to say words where she would realize I was meant to come to her side.

"But why would you sacrifice what you already had... for me?"

"Nicole... I've known you for months now. You mean a lot to me. But what it means, I have yet to decipher," I lowered my eyes, picking the glass of tea up and taking a small sip of the liquid to avoid the feeling of the piping drink.

"So are you saying that you don't know exactly how you feel about me?"

"In a way... yes. You mean more than a friend, but I'm not sure about romantic feelings for you."

She stood up from her sofa and walked over to the window. I could tell she was inspecting the sun which had barely risen over the buildings. I looked over at the clock. It read 8:13. She hugged her arms, her hands placed on both elbows as if she tried to hide herself, wanting to make herself smaller, but it only made her seem more vulnerable.

"You know, Nikkie, I have two plane tickets to return to Phoenix Drop for this afternoon. Would that make you happy?" I was hoping she would say yes. I wanted her to be somewhere where she wouldn't be alone and full of misery.

"Partially. I don't want to leave my father with the illness he's fighting."

"Tell you what. I'll come with you to visit him, and you give him a letter for when he wakes up, explaining why you left with me if you do."

She was silent for a while, probably thinking to herself about what this would mean for the two of us. Eventually, I heard her sigh and turn around, facing me again, "Y-You're right. He'd want me to be happy rather than stuck in someplace, waiting for a sign. I-I'll go with you. But what about my stuff?" She waved her hand around the room, the many boxes sitting against the walls and in the corners.

"We can come back. I promise."

Tears filled her eyes as she let go of her arms. She smiled the kindest, most sincere smile I had ever seen and stepped over to me, sitting back down. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I brought my own arm around her waist as she whispered a, "Thank you," in my ear.