By Tuesday our embraces had a sense of desperation. We knew what was coming, we had been waiting and dreading this all summer. Everything we had was perfect. Tuesday I helped him pick out a printer (well, not really help, just accompany) and shop for some final things he was going to need. Wednesday we all went to lunch with Abs and spent some time at the church. Following that I went to his house to let him finish packing some things. I sat on his couch and talked to Moriah a little and flipped through the yearbook that had all the up coming Purdue freshmen in it. There towards the back was a picture of Josh and it just hit me, really really hard. His mother was there and she and I both looked at each other and teared up. It was horrible; it must be so hard for her considering it's her first born leaving. As soon as Josh walked into the room we both turned and wiped our eyes, not wanting him to witness our pain. I tried being strong for him these past few days, but I couldn't help but cry a little when he was holding me in Thinh's car. We headed over to Daniel’s after that and the night got weirder from there. Lots of random things happened but we ended up re-living a lot of summer nights our "friend-of-groups" had together such as driving, Wendy's, Hastings, the dock. We couldn't stay there forever though, Josh still needed to finish packing so we dropped him off at his house and me, Juston, Justin, Daniel, and Thinh spent the night at Thinh's apartment. At around 4:30 am we got the call from Josh and we headed over to IHOP. We spent our last couple of hours laughing at each other and making fun of each other... it was great. "Are you leaving her behind?" asked Dawn our waitress. Of course not, I thought to myself, only for a little while, like 103 days. We then drove Justin home and Juston and they said their good-byes. Then it was Daniel's turn. They've been friends for so long. I remember talking to Daniel about Josh leaving in Theatre class months ago and it was finally happening. When Josh got back in the car it was... I can't really describe it. We then drove to Thinh's. On the way, Thinh played "Summertime" by MAE and we just held each other a little tighter. I must say, a big part of why Josh and I are even together is mainly due to Thinh. He has been an acting force in allowing us to make incredible memories and I thank you for that. After Thinh and Josh said their farewells something happened that yet again I have no words to describe. It was one of the most humbling experiences for me... ever. We got back to Josh's house and his entire Family was awake and bustling. This was our last few minutes together and it was all a blur to me, it went way too fast. When his grandparents showed up with the van all packed, I began to panic. This was it, he was leaving. "I checked and there is just no room for you, my dear!" he grandfather said to me. We walked outside and circled up and prayed for their protection and our sanity. We all were in tears. He hugged his mom, his dad, brother, sister, younger brother, then finally me. He held me for a bit and kissed me good bye. The words "I love you" sprang from his lips and hit my ears and my heart broke. "I love you too" was the last thing I whispered to him and he got in the van. I stood there next to his mother, both of us sobbing, as he drove off down Clare Drive. I got in my car and could only drive a block before I had to pull over I was crying so much. I finally drove my way to Ashlin's house and crawled up her stairs and into her bottom bunk and just fell asleep crying. At 9:30 I awoke to Ashlin's confused face peering into mine from the top bunk. "Elizabeth?!" Well, she gave me a key to her house, I might as well use it. I spent the rest of the day with her... we went and watched Daddy Day Care and ate (very fattening) Hot Fudge Sundaes. At 5:30 I went to work. My mom came up on my break and I told her the whole story about him leaving and such. We both lost it... I cried there for about an hour with her (just ask Nathan) The group wasn't the same without the long haired boy sitting quietly amongst the crazy people. Even Nikki commented on that. It was awful. I did get to talk to him though, JustOn called him and we all got to talk. It was great to hear his voice, I felt better after that. After work we went driving around in the Echo... the back seat is too big. We went to Daniel's for old times sake and then back to the Lighthouse. We didn't talk much, we were all so wierded out by it. We felt like a family member was gone... something will always be missing. We will always have a spot for you though, don't ever forget it. Hold your head up high kiddo, we all are rootin' for ya. GO BOILERMAKER'S! This is only the beginning for you and I, especially YOU!