Stay -2005- -

You look at the house. At the dented mailbox. At the porch light that’s been flickering since you were both twelve. Stay , you want to say. Just stay. We can figure it out. We can sleep in my basement. We can get jobs at the mall. We can—

You type back with your thumbs, slow and careful: you too. don’t forget me. Stay -2005-

“You better.”

You flip it open.

“I’ll call,” he says.