Catch Me

The sun streams in through the open window, bringing with it the scents of spring. Avery stirs, the light penetrating her closed eyelids waking her from her once fitful slumber.

Avery has never once had a night of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep. She’s too scared to let go of her consciousness completely and allow sleep to overcome her. There are things in the dark that frighten Avery. Things she has never spoken of, things that she has run far from, that she is still running from.

Slowly, she takes in the room around her. It’s the same room she’s woken up in every day for the past year, ever since she left her previous, and final foster home the day she turned eighteen. The pale, off-white walls are dirty and cracking. The wooden floor is scarred with markings that signify its use over the years. Avery holds no possessions in this room. There are no pictures, no decorations whatsoever. The only object in the small room is the mattress lying on the wood floor beneath her, covered in thin gray sheets. At first glance you would think she hadn’t lived here long, that she just moved in and was awaiting packers to unload her belongings. But she didn’t have any belongings.

The rest of the dingy apartment she called home was similarly bare; the only other piece of furniture being a worn and tattered couch that was abandoned by the previous residents. The yellowing refrigerator held only scraps of leftover meals. The cabinets held two bowls, a plate, two glasses, and a few boxes of Mac n Cheese. Even if this was home, it wasn’t where she lived.

After getting out of bed and washing the sleep from her face in the small bathroom sink, she threw on a new set of clothes, ones that looked as if she had worn them for years. And that was probably true. She didn’t waste the little money she made on items to adorn her body; she didn’t care how she looked. She used the money she did make to pay for the apartment with the everlasting stench of smoke permeating the walls, and for the scraps of food she considered a meal.

Avery slipped on her well-worn sneakers before locking her apartment door and making her way down the street. A right turn and two blocks later, she stood in front of a small café. She inhaled the scents of coffee beans and scones wafting through the open door before walking in. She strolled to the counter, lifting the countertop to allow her access the area behind it. This was her place of employment. The establishment that paid her just above minimum wage to make drinks and serve freshly made muffins and pastries to the college students and businessmen and women who worked nearby.

She took an apron off a hook in the back hallway; the one with her name embroidered on the front, and put it on over her many layers in place of her jacket. After throwing her hair into a side ponytail, Avery took her place at the counter ready for her first customers of the day.

She didn’t wait long. Soon, an elderly couple made their way through the open doorway and over to an empty table by the window. Avery knew this couple. Well, okay, not personally. They came in every Wednesday morning and stayed for exactly two hours, talking about grandchildren and the news, their eyes trained on each other and their hands clasped on the tabletop.

“Good morning you two. How are we today?” Avery asked nicely as she approached the friendly pair.

“Oh, just lovely, Avery. How are you Miss?” The older woman asked sweetly.

Avery let a small smile grace her features at the woman’s words. This woman knew nothing about her, yet she acted as if she had known her for years. “Getting by.” That was her usual answer, the only one she provided for the people who dished their life stories out to anyone who would listen. “I’ll be right back with your coffees and a blueberry scone to share?” she asked, reciting the couple’s typical order for the morning.

“Yes, dear. That would be perfect,” the man answered. With that, Avery spun slowly around, going to prepare the elderly couple’s breakfast. When she came back from behind the counter, tray in hand, she noticed the next customer to walk through the open door. This customer had the opposite affect that the couple now seated before her did. Instead of a sweet smile she now sported a deep frown.

“What’s with the frown, dear?” the woman asked, noticing the change in Avery’s demeanor. “Oh, it’s that boy again, isn’t it?” The smile on the woman’s face widened as she looked around her waitress to confirm her suspicions. Danny Silvers was setting his book bag on a chair at a table in the back of the café right next to the counter where Avery did most of her work. “Danny, boy. You’re not going to come say hello?” she called to him. Avery groaned, not wanting to spend any more time than she had to around this boy.

“Sorry, Mrs. Withers. Have a lot on my mind this morning, didn’t even notice you as I came in,” he answered once he was in front of the couple he had grown accustomed to greeting every week. They were a sweet couple that had been married for fifty-two years, and who loved to converse with the young crowd that typically packed this place. “How is everything?”

“Oh, just fine. Avery dear, aren’t you going to greet Danny, here,” Mrs. Withers asked with a smile towards the waitress now attempting to back away from the table.

“June, leave the girl alone,” her husband interjected.

“Hello, Danny,” Avery said as she retreated back to the counter at their backs, wanting nothing more than a reprieve from the boy.

“Avery.” His voice was gentle and cool, allowing the slight laugh to escape at the end of her name, showing his lightheartedness.

Avery simply nodded her head as she turned around and made her way to the back of the café. “Amber?” she asked the other waitress on that morning, a twenty-year old college student working to pay for her off-campus apartment.

“Yes, Ave?”

“Can you take table nine, please?”

The girl turned to look in the direction of table nine before laughing as she said, “Of course, as long as you don’t mind if I do a little flirting.”

“And when do I ever mind?” Avery answered her coworker’s request with a rhetorical question. Although, the answer to that question wasn’t what either of them would have expected.

Avery went about the rest of her shift, avoiding Danny as much as possible. He made her task difficult though, always attempting to communicate with her as she walked from table to table, gathering orders and serving drinks. She would simply nod an answer to his question of the moment before excusing herself to work. She was thankful when he got up to leave at about one p.m., allowing her room to breathe. But her amnesty was short lived when her shift ended at two.

After hanging her apron on the hook in the back and pulling her jacket tight around her body-it wasn’t extremely cold outside, rather warm actually, but she felt comfort in the layers-she exited the front of the café ready to head to her small apartment. She got about halfway down the block before she felt a presence following her. Nothing out of the ordinary, she could be paranoid at times and often felt as if people were following her, but when she turned her head slightly to confirm her suspicions she stopped in her tracks. The person behind her came to a stop also, as to not run into the girl. She didn’t say a word as she turned to look at him.

“Hey.” His voice was smooth as silk, a sound she could never get out of her head. Staying true to character, Avery didn’t respond. She simply cocked an eyebrow as she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. “I was uh-”

“Following me?” she asked back, staring into his sea green eyes.

“I wanted to ask you something, but you wouldn’t let me get two words in at the café.” His eyes never left hers as he waited for her sarcastic response, but it never came. Instead he saw something flicker in her eyes as she turned away, beginning her trek home once again. After a moment he jogged to catch up with her, “Hey, wait up.”

But she didn’t wait, she kept her fast pace as she silently willed him to give up and go away. As always, luck didn’t exist in her world and he fell into step with her easily. The thing about Danny is he knew Avery more than she would like. He knew her reactions, her body language. He knew when to press on and when to step back. Right now he felt it was best not to push, but he wasn’t giving up. He was determined to talk to Avery, determined to take her out, even though he’d been turned down too many times to begin to count. He hadn’t lost hope.

Danny has always been drawn to Avery, ever since the day he bumped into her outside the café. He’s felt a need to get to know her and as he observed her, the need grew. Now, he not only needs to know her, but he wants to figure her out. Why does she keep to herself? Why does she shy away from everyone when they seemingly get too close for comfort? Why does she wear so many layers? And why won’t she give him the time of day?

After only minutes more of walking in silence, the pair approach a run down apartment building to which Avery ascended the stairs. “You live here?” Danny asks from the bottom step, awed and disconcerted that she would live in such a tattered and gritty place.

“You have a problem with that?” she muttered as she opened the unlocked front door. “What, you follow me home but your not going to follow me inside?” Normally, she would be thrilled that he had drawn a line, that he wasn’t a borderline stalker who followed a girl into the apartment she lived in alone, but she felt oddly safe with this boy. It wasn’t something she could put a finger on, but she felt herself wanting Danny to follow her everywhere, and that’s the main reason why she pushed him away. That way, when he got board and left her, she wouldn’t be attached. Yeah, right. She already was attached.

Avery’s question caught Danny as well as herself off-guard. He wasn’t expecting her to want him to come in, but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. He slowly ascended the stairs, gauging her reactions while he did so. She looked uneasy but didn’t run away like she usually would.

Avery stopped outside her apartment door long enough to unlock it before stepping inside and aside to allow Danny to follow before the again shutting the door and locking it from the inside. Danny noticed the action but didn’t comment, intuiting that it was something she did routinely, and slightly relieved of the habit due to the neighborhood she lived in.

She stood awkwardly by the door as Danny glanced around. She was embarrassed by her lack of everything as she saw the surprised look on his face. “You actually live here?” he more mumbled than asked. She didn’t feel the need to answer as she shed her jacket and walked over the discolored fridge.

“Do you, uh, want anything to drink,” she asked.

“No, thanks. I’m good.” He stood in the middle of the room that doubled as both a living area and the kitchenette with his hand stuffed in the pockets of his Dockers.

Avery took a water bottle out of the fridge and then walked over to take a seat on the tethered couch. When she noticed he hadn’t made a move she spoke up, “You can sit down, you know.”

He took a seat beside her and stared at the side of her face as she sipped from the water bottle in her hand. After a moment he said, “I’m sorry. This is just strange.” She cocked an eyebrow at his statement. “I mean you never want to talk to me, yet you invited me in, and- I don’t get it.”

She did, but it wasn’t something that was easily explained. She had slowly come to the conclusion that no one would have the chance to stick around if she didn’t let them in, in the first place. So she decided that she needed to let Danny in, if only a little bit, allow him to be there for her in the moment.

That was four months ago. It was now nearing the end of May and Danny was due to graduate in a matter of days. He had a job all set up in some fancy law office in the city. The pair had slowly become friends. Avery was surprised by how open she could be with Danny, telling him many, though not all, of her secrets. He now knew the reasons behind her jittery movements and why she constantly looked over her shoulder. He knew why she wore layers. What he still didn’t know is why she initially pushed him away, and why she still pushes everyone else away.

Over the past few days Avery has been retreating back into her shell, and Danny had noticed. He didn’t say anything, knowing she’d probably shut down completely if asked about it. She felt as if she were holding Danny back in someway. He was bound for great things, had a future, a life already planned out for him, while she would forever be stuck running from her past.

It was a typical Saturday morning. Danny and Avery sat in his downtown flat. Avery both hated and enjoyed spending time at his place. She enjoyed it because it was like a Cinderella moment every time, she could pretend she belonged there and, if only for the moment, she lived in an okay world. She hated it because at the same time she knew she didn’t belong, that she wasn’t good enough for his life.

“Whatcha thinking?” He questioned as he poked her side from where he sat next to her on the couch. They were watching a movie; it was their Saturday routine.

“Nothin’.”

“Bull.” He sat there watching her as her eyes were trained on the plasma in front on the opposite wall. He could see the emotions running through her eyes before he saw and felt her walls go up. He had been dreading this moment. But some things were too good to be true.

“I’m going to-” She stood from the couch and motioned to the door, but he wasn’t going to let it be that easy for her to walk away. He jumped off the couch moving to stand between her and his door.

She was silent as she tried to move around him. He blocked every move she made, not wanting her to leave. “Ave,” he pleaded. “What’s wrong?”

His concerned voice caused a single tear to fall down Avery’s cheek, in turn causing Danny to pull her into his arms. His only intention was to comfort her, but the gesture had the opposite affect, causing more tears to flow from her gray eyes.

“Ave? What is it? You know you can tell me anything.” Again, he was pleading with her to open up, to not shut down on him. He needed her in his life; she was the only thing that made his planned-out-since-birth life interesting.

She simply shook her head, pulling away from the boy before making her way to the door. She had just turned the handle when he grabbed her waist, turning her around as he pinned her against the hard wood of the door. Her eyes went wide for a moment at the action, though she knew he would never intentionally hurt her, but he wasn’t letting go, not that easily.

“Dammit, Avery! Don’t shut me out. Just tell me what’s wrong.” His voice wasn’t hard, he wasn’t angry. He was saddened and his voice was somewhat pained as he thought about losing the girl her loved. Yes, he loved her. It wasn’t something he had been able to say to her, knowing she would run faster than ever the three typical words that professed his true feelings. He leaned his head against hers, his eyes closed as he himself was close to tears. “Please, just- please,” he whispered.

As his eyes were closed, Avery made a decision that would forever be unique. She decided to give in. She decided to take what she wanted without thinking about the consequences. She was fearless in that moment, and she was ready to lay everything on the line in hopes of receiving something, anything, in return. She boldly pushed her lips against his, stealing a kiss before she attempted to once again leave. He fearlessness had subsided the moment their lips touched and she was now scared more than ever and ready to push him away again, unable to meet the questions and accusations he was sure to have.

But she didn’t get far. Before she could maneuver out of his grasp, he pulled her face into his hands, staring hard into her gray eyes. After no more than a moments’ hesitation he pulled her into a slow, sweet kiss. His lips lingered over hers, tasting, but with no response.

She was in shock, not at all expecting this reaction from Danny. As she came to her senses, realizing that the complete opposite of her expectations had occurred, she kissed back. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as his hand dropped from her face to pull her into him by her waist.

Neither could say how long the kiss lasted, but when they pulled away they were both breathless as their eyes locked. “I love you,” he blurted truthfully.

“Please, don’t break me.”

“Never.”

“I’m giving up,” she whispered.

“What?” he breathed, unsure of what she meant.

“I’m giving up, so just catch me.”