'It's here. The day you never wanted to come is here. There is no avoiding it. You have to move Dylan into college today.' August 22, 2011, was the day I had been dreading ever since my brother, Dylan, entered his senior year of high school. Everyone thought it would be weird being in high school with a brother, not me though. I came to school every day, knowing that my best friend would have my back whenever, wherever, and however I needed him to. The school year came and went, and my brother graduated, salutatorian of his class, as a matter of fact. Feeling joy from the entire family, Dylan was entering college and going on to bigger and better endeavors.

"Welcome to Dayton University! You can go ahead and pull up right there, and this nice, young lady will help you with your belongings," shouted the boy outside our truck window. 'Dayton. Only two hours away. My brother is only going to be two hours away. Ally, you're going to be fine. Stay strong.' Thoughts raced through my head as I tried to keep my mind distracted from the process of moving in my brother. We made our way up to the sixth floor and into Dylan's dorm room. 'This isn't that bad of a room, but how is Dylan ever going to fit all of his clothes in that closet?' I made impressions on his bare room, waiting for its new owners to decorate it and make it their home. The bright sun shined in the room through the window on the wall. "Dylan, where do you want me to put this?” asked my mom, as she came through the door with her hands full.

"Over there is fine for now. Thanks," stated Dylan. The process of getting all of Dylan's belongings into his room went rather fast because of the kind students of Dayton, helping move everything up to his room. 'These people are nice, and Dylan is in a great place.'

The door swung open as Dylan's roommate, Ryan, came in. My family stopped what they were doing and introduced themselves to Ryan's family. Small talk began as both families finished unpacking, sorting, and making homes for Dylan's and Ryan's belongings. 'He seems like a nice boy. I hope he and Dylan get along'. The room was rearranged to please Dylan and Ryan. Dylan's black and grey bedspread lay neatly on his bed, and his clothes hung neatly in his closet. "Dylan, which way do you want your clothes to be hanging?" asked Mom, as she began to hang his clothes.
"Just hang them the same way they were at home. Thanks, Mom," Dylan replied.
'Wow, all of his clothes fit. That's a shocker!' All of Dylan's possessions found their new home. The printer sat neatly on the desk; the binders were lined up on a shelf; all of the food Grandma had made was in his pantry, and pictures sat on the desk. Day one of move in was over. My family went back to the hotel where we were staying, however, this time without Dylan. 'He is in his new home for the year,' I thought as my head hit the pillow, trying to get some sleep.

On August 23rd, 2011, the second day of moving Dylan in, the alarm sounded, telling me it was time for me to get up. As I lay and stretched, I began to think, 'This is it. This is the day you have to say good-bye to your brother. The day you've been dreading. Why did the alarm go off? Why do I have to go through this?' Thoughts once again raced through my head as I began to get myself ready.

My family made our way back to campus to pick up Dylan, so we could attend the Sunday morning church service. We pulled up in the pick-up/drop-off circle behind Dylan's dorm building. Even though I saw him yesterday, it felt like ages since I had seen him. We exchanged hellos as dad pulled out and made our way to the basketball arena.

The morning service was done, and we went out and grabbed something for lunch. The hours kept ticking down, like a bomb counting down time until explosion. We walked around campus and spent time with Dylan before we had to leave. 'Why can't I just freeze time? Do I really have to go through this?' I went through the motions because I could only think about how much it was going to hurt saying good-bye to not only my brother, but also my best friend. 'It's not good-bye, Ally. It's just see you later.' I repeated this over in my head to keep myself from breaking down. "Ally, go get your picture with Dylan by the water fountain," Mom asked. I made my way over to Dylan to get my picture taken with him. We put our arms around each other as we did one of our sister and brother poses and made our silly faces, bringing out each other’s personality. Before I left to go see the picture, I felt Dylan squeeze me, as if telling me everything was going to be ok. Time had begun to run out, and soon we were going to have to leave. Time went by as quickly as it came, and just like that it was already 1:50.

We had to leave by 2:00 because Dylan had meetings to attend. "We should start making our way to the car," Dad stated. Just as we started to walk to the truck, it started to rain. We ran, darting under trees to take a little rest. We made it to the car, and we all hopped in to stay dry. "I will just take you around back, so you don't have to walk back in the rain," Dad told Dylan.

'Why can't I just have more time?' It's time. The time I have been dreading had arrived. I had to say good-bye to my brother, and my best friend. The tears swelled in my eyes, and I could no longer keep them in. They flowed down my face like an uncontrollable water leak. We hugged in the truck to stay dry from the rain. 'This is it. The last hug you are going to get for a while'. These hugs seemed to comfort me in my times of need. "Hey, Ally, remember, it's not good-bye," stated Dylan.

"It's see you later," I replied. I gave him one last hug before he left to go off and begin his new life. The tears were now flowing ever more, this time like a waterfall. "Talk to you guys soon. I love you guys," Dylan said just before he began to run to the door, attempting to stay dry from the rain. 'That's it. He is gone. There goes your best friend. Why does this hurt so much?'

Before pulling out of the campus, Mom, Dad, and I had a group hug to comfort one another. Nothing seemed to help me, though. All I wanted was my brother. Tears continued to fall down my face as we drove home. We hadn't been on the road for more than ten minutes when we all received a text from Dylan. "I miss you guys already. Have a safe drive home. Love you all. Thanks for everything."

'This is so hard. I miss him so much already, and it has only been ten minutes.' No matter how hard it was, I hold tightly to, "It's not good-bye. It's see you later."