Page 85 of Ky
“You too, big brother.” She gave him a wide smile. The kind that said so many things. Like how strong she was and how much she was going to miss him.
Then Ky and I were climbing back into the SUV and heading off, Ingram and I waving at each other until we faded from one another’s sight.
Ky didn’t linger, he didn’t draw it out. He came here, did what he needed to do, then left. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Ingram. Or Chry. Or saying goodbye. It wasn’t that he didn’t love them or that he was ready to get back home. It was about knowing that he couldn’t change the situation, even if he didn’t like it all that much. Even if he wasn’t ready to let go. So once he saw that it wasn’t some sort of sham or hack that was going to corrupt her or harm her in some way, he did his best to make peace with it. That meant no long goodbyes. No hanging around waiting for what we all knew was coming. No dragging it out until everyone was drowning in tears.
Ky was hard. He was the strength and the protector. He was the one that felt like he had to shoulder all of the weight.
Maybe I wasn’t quite ready to go, but then again, maybe his way was better. And I knew what he needed too, so I tried to make it as short as could be but still giving Ingram a lot of love. She wasn’t turning her back on us and I wanted her to know that we understood. That we weren’t mad or thought less of her.
I was pretty sure she got it. And just in case she might have had any insecurities about it, I’d make sure to call her later and really make that point clear.
Just because we had miles between us, didn’t mean that she would be forgotten. Or that she would forget me. Which was maybe the part I was most afraid of.
