Friday nights had become routine.

Me and Jake would meet up around eight, usually at the same gas station a few minutes from town. We'd grab something to eat, sit in the parking lot, and talk about whatever came to mind. Sometimes we'd drive around for hours without really going anywhere. It wasn't exciting, but that was kind of the point.

That Friday felt normal at first.

Jake showed up a little late. He got out of the car, bought a drink, then came back and barely said anything.

"You good?"

"Yeah."

He wasn't.

I didn't push it. We drove around for a while, music playing, windows cracked because it wasn't quite cold enough to shut them.

Eventually he pulled into a parking lot overlooking the town.

"I gotta tell you something."

He stared through the windshield.

"My family's moving tomorrow."

I laughed at first because I thought he was messing with me.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Like...moving?"

"Yeah. Different state."

I just sat there.

"You knew?"

"For a few weeks."

That part pissed me off more than anything.

"You couldn't tell me?"

He shrugged.

"I didn't wanna make it weird."

"Well, you kinda made it weird."

He laughed.

Then neither of us said anything for a while.

We went back to the gas station. Got food. Drove around. Talked about random stuff. We never really talked about him leaving again.

Around one in the morning, we ended up back at the overlook.

He finally said, "I figured if I told you, every Friday after that would just feel like a countdown."

I didn't know what to say to that.

So I didn't.

We just sat there until almost three.

The next morning, I woke up to a text.

Thanks for last night.

I texted back.

Nothing.

I checked again later.

Nothing.

When I finally went outside, his driveway was empty.

A week later, we were still texting.

Then the messages got shorter.

A few weeks became a month.

Eventually, we stopped.

Months later, I drove past that gas station.

I slowed down without thinking.

Same lights. Same parking lot. Same place we'd spent probably a hundred Friday nights.

Except his car wasn't there.

And for some reason, I sat there for a minute anyway.