Sanctuary

“So we were on the half-pipe, and this kid just wipes out. Like, literally, you could see streaks of blood on the ramp underneath him.”

“Ew, shut up,” Danielle laughed, shoving Shae’s shoulder. She and Taryn sped up, walking faster through Radnor’s first-floor lobby. “Neither of us want to hear that.”

“Hey, you asked how my weekend was,” Shae said, shrugging his shoulders in defense. “You asked for it.”

Taryn laughed, lifting her arm to hit the elevator button.

“Oh, hey,” a familiar voice called out. She paused, her hand hovering just above the button, and turned to look at the front desk. Alex sat there, his cheeky smirk plastered on as he looked at the trio of them. “Not going to come say hi to your favorite RA?”

“Funny, I don’t see Jamie anywhere,” Taryn shot back as she strolled over to the desk with Shae and Danielle in tow. Alex scoffed, holding his hand over his heart and doubling over in mock pain. Nothing like a little knock to the ego.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Alex continued, focusing his attention on Shae and Danielle. His eyes lingered a little longer on Danielle, a glance that didn’t go unnoticed by Taryn. “What are you guys up to?”

“Writing an ethics paper, actually,” Taryn said. “It’s due by Friday, when I also have two tests and a presentation. This week blows.”

“Tell me about it,” he said, leaning over the desk and lowering his voice. “Can’t wait for this weekend.”

“Why?” Taryn said, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s my birthday, for one,” he said, another smirk playing on his lips. “And we’re all going out. My buddy’s having a house party and it’s going to be fuckin' insane.”

“That sounds fun,” Taryn said, picking at her fingernails and trying to look uninterested.

“You guys should come,” he replied, locking eyes with Danielle. He shifted his upper body to face her, and she smiled back at him. Taryn pursed her lips, fighting the urge to move her body in between the two of them.

“Maybe,” Taryn said. “If we don’t go somewhere else.”

“It’s gonna be a great time,” he said again, more to Danielle than to Taryn. Danielle blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear and biting her lip as she looked at the ground.

“Alright, well, we have a paper to write,” Taryn said, taking a step backward and accidentally bumping into Shae. She composed herself, walking purposefully toward the elevator. Danielle and Shae followed behind. “See you later.”

“Have fun,” he said, turning back to the computer in front of him. The elevator door arrived, sliding open with a quiet ding.

“Hey, where’s your boy, by the way?” he called out before Taryn could step onto the elevator. She looked over at him, meeting his gleaming eyes. He was playing with her, the way he always did.

She pulled her lips together in a sarcastic smile, flipping her middle finger up at him as she led her friends onto the elevator. The doors slid shut, and her friends stayed silent. Shae studied her face curiously, but she avoided his gaze.

“Your boy?” Danielle finally said, clearly trying not to laugh.

“He’s full of shit,” Taryn said, cracking a smile. “Ignore him.”

***

She sat down at her wooden desk, swiping her laptop mouse to bring the screen to life. Hallie was still somewhere with Parker, leaving Taryn free to take a break from studying and numb her mind with social media. She clicked on her Facebook page, something she didn’t frequent too often anymore.

Hm. Shane had accepted her friend request. And she had a new one. A kid named…Stephen? She squinted, studying his face. She knew him from somewhere. Ah, yes. He was in one of her classes. She clicked “accept”, moving on to her news feed. She didn’t know why people bothered with the site anymore. She was so tempted to deactivate her account, if only for a little while. She wouldn’t miss much.

She clicked on an invitation to another coffeehouse show in town, courtesy of her brother. And another, this one to a rave party downtown for New Year’s. She sighed, scanning the list of kids who had already RSVP’d. Most were younger than she was. And the party was at a bar. Yes. That would go over well.

She mindlessly scrolled her news feed, past declarations of boredom and bragging and stupid things that-

Wait.

Her eyes locked on a post. An old classmate from home, Tara, had uploaded a picture album. Only it wasn’t pictures of her and her friends. Instead, it was a collection of photos of Kelsey and Ryan. Taryn’s jaw clenched as she clicked on a picture, scrolling through. She felt the backs of her eyes burn as she studied each one. Kelsey had thrown herself a bridal shower, it seemed. Just a little too eager, Taryn thought bitterly. She scrolled through the next few, pictures of Kelsey opening a present and another of her and Ryan kissing as everyone looked on happily.

Taryn bit her lip, scanning the partygoers and noticing some familiar faces. Girls she had once considered friends before the entire fiasco had happened. A small part of her wanted to be back there, at home, helping Kelsey celebrate. But how could she think that, when Ryan had been hers from the beginning? How could she contradict herself like that? She frowned, shutting her laptop screen and fighting back a sudden wave of tears. She hated herself so very much in that moment.

Her cell phone rang on the desk next to her, shattering her thoughts and bringing her back to Brighton.

“Hello?” she answered, clearing her throat.

“Hey! I’m on my way back to the room now! Did you want me to pick up something for dinner?” Hallie asked cheerfully from the other end.

“You sound…chipper,” Taryn said slyly. “You’re not with Parker?”

“No, I just left his room. He has some stuff to do, and I need to stop distracting him.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so I figured we could have a girls’ night or something. I feel like we never really talk anymore,” she said, her voice fading in and out as a gush of wind blew on the other end.

“Sure,” Taryn said. “When you get back we can just order pizza or something.”

“I love the way you think,” Hallie gushed. “That’s exactly what I was craving.”