Fall Away

Just make sure you know which is which.

Soren’s words ran through my head, on constant repeat. What was that supposed to mean? If he was trying to convince me to spill all my secrets to him, it wasn’t going to work.

There’s a good and a bad side to everything.

To… what? “Everything” was a bit of a broad range – besides, I don’t think there was a good side to confiding in a complete stranger. People might tell themselves otherwise, but no one actually wanted to hear my life story.

“Ellie?”

I jerked my head to see Trevor watching me.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” And it wasn’t a lie – aside from the fact that my thoughts were in total chaos, I was perfectly fine.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you and you were totally zoned out.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, brushing my hair out of my eyes and standing up. “I was just thinking.”

“Yeah, well, can you think as you make some drinks? Or while you’re doing something productive?”

He was serious, but his teasing tone told me he wasn’t actually angry. I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go back to actually working now.”

Trevor grinned. “Thank you.”

I glanced around, amazed at how few people were left. I wasn’t exactly sure how long I had been lost in my thoughts, but from the look of things it had been awhile.

“Trev, are you working late or am I?” I asked as I cleared empty glasses off the counter.

“I am,” he replied, eyeing a blond girl sitting off to the side. “And I’m hoping she stays until closing.”

I laughed, shaking my head. It seemed like he never gave up. “So are you alright if I leave when I finish getting these things put away?”

Trevor nodded quickly before turning to talk to one of the few people still sitting at the bar. I took another minute to wipe down the counter before ducking into the back room to grab my bag.

I had to walk back out through the bar to get to the exit. I waved to Trevor, but wasn’t really surprised when he didn’t reply, due to his conversation with the blond he had talked about before. I smiled to myself, wondering if he had ever been turned down. It would probably be good for him.

“You leaving?”

I jumped slightly, looking over my shoulder to see Soren standing there, hands shoved in his pocket.

“I thought you left,” I blurted. “Like, an hour ago.”

He shook his head. “I just moved. I was talking to some people.”

He nodded at a group of two girls and a boy, sitting at a small table near the window. There was an empty chair where he had apparently been sitting.

“Oh.”

I wasn’t really sure what to say – was he expecting me to come up with a conversation topic?

“So you leaving?” he repeated.

I nodded. “Trevor’s going to close up tonight.”

“Cool.”

I felt a sense of déjà vu as he walked ahead of me and held the door open. How was it that he’d only been in town for two weeks and we already had a routine? I thought that didn’t happen until later – definitely more than a few days.

“Are you walking again?” Soren asked.

I nodded. “It’s a lot cheaper than driving.”

“I could give you a ride,” he offered.

I shook my head. “I told you, I’m fine. It gives me time to think.”

“Thinking? That sounds dangerous,” he teased.

“Only if you’ve got some secret you want to fill me in on now.”

“What? How does that have anything to do with it?”

I shook my head at his defensive tone. “I was kidding, Soren. I just meant I was trying to figure out what you said earlier.”

“Oh.” He seemed to relax slightly as he gave a casual shrug. “It was just a statement.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t give me that, Soren. You know it wasn’t just anything. You were trying to make me think.”

He grinned. “Well, it sounds like I succeeded.”

“In confusing me? Congratulations. You did.”

He shook his head. “You’re making this into too big of a deal, Ellie. I just want to make sure you think things through before you automatically rule something out.”

I shook my head again. “Good night, Soren.”

“See you tomorrow,” he called.

I gave him a half-wave half-shrug as I turned to head towards my apartment.

What was I ruling out? He barely knew me. He had only talked to me a couple times. Who was he to start judging my personality?

Maybe he was right. Maybe I think too much. Maybe I was reading too much into this.

But there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, telling me that maybe, just maybe, there was something more to it.