Sanctuary

Taryn was desperate for some alone-time. Well, maybe not quite alone. But at least with her two favorite people, so far, on Brighton's expansive campus.

"Where did you say this was?" Jocelyn asked as they pushed through another layer of brush. She and Hallie had agreed to follow Taryn to the woods. She was excited to show them the clearing she had found. Maybe they'd be just as captivated with it.

"It's at least a mile back. But we've been walking for a while now. We're almost there, I think," Taryn said, scratching her arm and glancing around at the trees. She looked for the familiar bushes that had surrounded the clearing. After a few more minutes of wandering down the scarce path, she spotted them to her left.

"There it is!" she said, picking up her pace as Hallie and Jocelyn trailed behind. She pushed her way into the clearing, spreading out her arms and turning around. "Matt said everyone used to come here. But not anymore."

"This place is tight," Hallie said. "If it wasn't so freaking remote, it might actually be cool to have a bonfire back here." She examined the abandoned fire pits, kicking at the piles of ashes. "You know, with marshmallows and hot chocolate and the works."

"Well, who says we can't?" Jocelyn said, her excitement building. "We could probably get a lot of people down here!"

"Maybe," Hallie said non-commitally. "It would just take forever to actually make this place easy to find. And it's going to start getting cold soon."

"Maybe in the spring," Taryn said optimistically. "I just really love it back here. It's so peaceful!"

"You're so weird," Hallie laughed, examining the hammock. "Only you. Only you would have to walk three miles to find a single place that you can relax in."

"Whatever," Taryn smirked. She had kind of hoped that Hallie and Jocelyn would've appreciated this place a little more. But of course, not everyone was like her, she reminded herself. Maybe she would just start coming here alone from here on out. Maybe she could even write out here. If there were ever a place she could concentrate, this would be it.

"She's just a kind, introverted soul," Jocelyn said, patting Taryn's shoulder lovingly.

"Not as introverted as you'd think," Hallie joked. Jocelyn cocked her head in curiosity and Taryn shot Hallie a look, making it clear to keep her mouth shut. Hallie blushed, averting her gaze in apology.

"So what are we doing for dinner?" Taryn said as the three started to leave the clearing. Clearly they weren't as captivated by this place as she was. She could tell when time was up, so she started to lead them out.

"I think Maggie wanted to head into town to pick up a birthday present, so we can always grab something there," Hallie offered kindly.

"That works. I have dinner plans with my Ethics study group tomorrow, so I probably won't see you guys," Taryn said. Hallie glanced at her, knowing full well exactly who was in her study group.

"Just dinner?" she said, her voice raising nearly an octave.

"Yeah," Taryn said forcefully. She wasn't sure why Hallie was suddenly questioning her every move, but she didn't like it. She didn't need to be babysat. Her mother did plenty of that.

***

"Hey," Alex said, leaning in and tapping his wrist on the cracked door. Taryn was sprawled on her bed, doing her math homework and trying to keep herself busy. Hallie had gone to Audrey's room to watch The Bachelor, leaving her roommate to study alone.

"Hey," Taryn said warmly, pausing her music. "What's up?"

Alex stepped into the room, taking a seat on Taryn's open desk chair. "Not much. How are you?"

"Good. Just kind of bored." She glanced down at her messy notes, doodles all over the margins. "Trigonometry is awful. I thought I was over this stuff already."

"Are you guys going out tomorrow?" he asked, pulling out his phone to text someone.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to anyone yet. Why?" She furrowed her brow in confusion. "What about you?"

"Yeah, my brother's coming up for the weekend. So we'll probably go somewhere." He leaned back in the chair, stretching his toned arms and yawning.

"That's cool. Make good decisions," she said, smirking at him.

"Hey, I'm not the one we need to worry about," he teased, the corners of his mouth curling upwards.

"Oh my God," she laughed. "Why won't anyone let that go?! Can't a girl just have a little fun? Seriously. Even Hallie won't let it drop."

"Of course. No one's judging you! It was just unexpected, that's all."

"Okay, well maybe you all should stop pretending you know me," she retaliated jokingly. "First, you assume a girl like me should have a boyfriend. And now I'm not the type that goes out?"

"Alright, alright, fair enough," he said, throwing up his hands in defeat. "My bad. From here on out, I won't assume I know anything about you."

"Thank you," Taryn said, smiling at him. "I appreciate that. And I'll do the same for you."

"Oh, you think you know me?" he scoffed. Please. She had him completely figured out, unlike Shane. This kid was an open book.

"I have my initial judgments. Just like you did for me," she sat up, crossing her legs.

"Like...?" he said, shooting off another text and raising his eyebrows up at her.

"Um, you're a huge flirt. I see you downstairs hitting on all the girls that work the front desk."

"Psht. That's called being nice. Girls are just incapable of telling the difference."

"Okay," Taryn said dubiously, sort of irritated that he was generalizing her. "Whatever you say."

"Well, now you're just being a hypocrite."

"Touché," she said, laughing. She held out her hand, shaking off her annoyance and acknowledging to herself that yes, he had a point. "No judging each other. From now on."

He reached out, taking her hand and shaking it. "Deal."