Work Text:
“Were you gonna say goodbye to me?”
“...No.”
Sara stared out of her window, watching raindrops race down the glass and ignoring the tears brewing in her eyes, threatening to take a page out of the rain’s book. She didn’t like to dwell. What was done was done and there was no looking back, no matter the ache it left in her chest or how much she already missed their light repartee.
We’re two very different people.
That was all there was to it.
You live in the clouds… and I live on West 69th.
She let herself think for a second, imagining as briefly as she possibly could a world where she went with him. Where he had asked her to go with him. Would she have said yes?
No… right? There wasn’t a chance in hell she could abandon her life in New York on a whim to go on the run and live a perfect life on the islands with Neal and Mozzie. How would that even work? No cares, no troubles, all the money in the world, every night a relaxing party that didn’t have to end - it just wasn’t realistic. Even the idea that they could run without getting caught was steeped in the youthful idealism that characterized every interaction with Neal.
She found herself wishing, not for the first time in the past few days, that she had never seen the treasure. But would that even be better? So, she would spend a little extra time with Neal, delay the inevitable heartbreak when he would still leave. Without saying goodbye.
She could imagine the worst deja vu of her life, thoughts flashing back to nights spent crying in her sister’s room, days spent analyzing every single thing she’d left, artifacts that could never lead her to uncover answers. She was no stranger to wishing she knew where someone was, wondering with an aching heart why they hadn’t thought she deserved a goodbye.
It was better this way. This way was on her terms. This way she got to give him one last kiss. She got to hope and pray that he’d take care of himself and that, maybe, he’d come to his senses and she’d see him again someday under better circumstances.