Stay -2005- May 2026

You stand there until the streetlights hum on.

Cole shrugs, that easy, infuriating shrug. “Start of senior year. My dad got the transfer. Phoenix.” Stay -2005-

You fold it into a tight square. Put it in your back pocket. You stand there until the streetlights hum on

Later, you go up to your room. You have a blue portable CD player, and you put on the mix CD he made you last summer. Track four is “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Track seven is “Since U Been Gone.” You lie on your bed and hold the folded paper over your heart. Stay -2005-