The Rising Sun by Turner Twyla

Author:Turner, Twyla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

Koji pulled into Kennedy’s driveway. The car ride had been silent. Neither knew what to say. Dread squeezed at his heart as he put the car in park and turned to her. She wouldn’t even turn to look at him.

“Kennedy, look.” Koji took her hand. “We’ll get through this. I–I’ll get a job. I’ll stay with Kari. I can catch the bus or Kari can give me a ride. Whatever. It’ll work.”

“You’ve never even had a job before. You’ve never even paid your cell phone bill.” Kennedy said, but continued to stare ahead.

“I’ll learn.”

“Yeah, and then you’ll eventually blame me.” She finally turned to look at him and he wished she would’ve kept looking out the windshield.

Her face was filled with a sorrow so deep Koji was pretty sure the image would be burned into his brain forever.

“I won’t.” He gripped her hand tighter.

“Yes…you will. You’ll eventually resent me for giving up your lifestyle. And the life you’ll have if you continue to disobey your parents, probably won’t look like the dream you’ve always wanted.

“The daily grind will more than likely crush your soul. And the struggle to make ends meet will push your dreams to the side, until one day you’ll wake up and you’re forty. You’ll wonder where the time went and why you never followed your dream.

“Go home, Koji.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Finish school. Become a doctor. And when you’ve saved up enough and you’re on your own say, ‘Fuck it. I’m traveling the world and taking pictures and there’s nothing either of you can say about it.’ And then live your life for you.”

“Ken–”

“No.” She shook her head as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks. “I’ve made up my mind. I’d rather us walk away now. With love still in our hearts. Than to walk away a few months or years from now with resentment and hate in our hearts.”

Koji’s ears roared. He felt a fissure run down the center of his heart. And then it split in two. He didn’t know if he’d ever recover.

Koji’s hands shot out and clasped the sides of Kennedy’s face. Their mouths crashed together. The kiss was desperate and filled with despair. Their tongues tangled wildly. Their teeth gnashed together painfully, but they didn’t care. They gasped and sobbed into each other’s mouths as tears streaked their faces.

If it was going to be their last kiss, they made sure they left every ounce of their souls in it.

Kennedy broke away first with a deep sob. She grasped blindly for the handle to the door. She found it and flung it open. She scrambled out, slammed the door, and ran to the front door of her house. A moment later she disappeared.

Koji watched it all through eyes that swam with tears. No matter how many times he blinked, they filled again. Like a windshield during a heavy rain with the wipers on high.

His hands grasped the steering wheel and his head fell forward onto them. He let the sobs come freely.

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