Shared Passions Vol 1

Brooke Roberts

I had marked this day on my calendar, and every day I looked at the red circle, I felt a tightness in my chest. I thought it would take longer to arrive, but it feels like I blinked and the fateful day is here. Today is Kyle’s enlistment day, and I’m saying goodbye to my best friend. My secret crush.

And it couldn’t come at a worse time—how does he expect me to survive high school without him? I always thought he’d be here during this transition, but when he turned 19, he made the decision to join the Marine Corps.

After all, Kyle Thorne has been present at every significant moment in my life. On the day I decided to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels, he was the one who helped me take them off and encouraged me to get up every time I fell. Since our rooms were directly across from each other, we used to write on sheets of paper and put them in the window. Eventually, Mom got tired of buying notebooks every month and gave us two whiteboards. We liked to leave messages for each other, and when one of us was grounded, we spent the day exchanging notes. This habit continued even after I got my phone…

The doorbell rang, pulling me from my memories, and I looked up from my untouched bowl of cereal. I walked slowly to the door, as if I could somehow stop what was about to happen. My hand closed around the cold doorknob, and I felt my eyes sting. I took a few deep breaths to compose myself, put on my best smile, and opened the door.

Kyle Thorne looked even more handsome than on any other day. His blue eyes sparkled with determination, his blonde hair had been cut to meet US Marine Corps standards, and he was already dressed in uniform.

“You promised you wouldn’t cry,” he said, pulling me into a tight hug, and all I wanted was to merge into him.

“I’m not crying.” My voice came out choked, due to the lump in my throat that had been there since I woke up. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I will too, but you know I need to do this.” He pulled away just enough to look into my eyes, his hands reaching up to hold my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. “Time will pass quickly. You’re coming to the graduation ceremony, right?” I nodded in confirmation.

When recruits finish the 13 weeks of Boot Camp, there’s a graduation, which is one of the few public events.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world; I already told Mom,” I said, after a moment of looking at him.

“See you in thirteen weeks, Brooke.” He pulled me into another hug, and I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Stay out of trouble, listen to your parents, and have fun!”

He needed to go, and I needed to let him go. I was minutes away from not being able to hold back the tears threatening to break me apart.

“Kyle, take care and come back soon. I’m going to miss you,” I murmured against his chest, holding him a bit tighter before letting him go.

“I will.” He tilted his face to kiss my forehead. “See you soon, Brooke.”

He turned and descended the three steps from my porch to the car where his parents were waiting. Before getting in, he turned to me one last time and waved with a proud smile. I played my part and waved back, holding back the sob that was already burning in my throat.

I watched the car until it disappeared down the street, then went inside. I quickly climbed the stairs, running to my room, tears streaming down my face, my whole body shaking with sobs. Unintentionally, my attention went to the window, the one that looked directly into Kyle’s room. He had written something new on the whiteboard.

It took me a few minutes to stop crying enough to read his message.

“Stop crying, B. I love you and I’ll be back soon!”