Sanctuary

She awoke with a start to the sound of her cell phone ringing on the table beside her head. She reached for it, her eyes widening as she noticed Shae’s head in her lap. He was fast asleep, as were Danielle and Blake on the other couch.

“’ello?” she whisper-mumbled as she answered.

“Hey, sweetie. I’m about twenty minutes away. You all ready to go?”

Shit. She was supposed to have woken up…two hours ago.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at Radnor, okay?”

“Sounds good. See you soon!” She hung up the phone, putting it back on the table. Her eyes darted to Shae as she contemplated how to get up.

She reached over, trying her hardest to lift his head and slide her body out from underneath it without waking him. He looked so peaceful. He moaned quietly as he shifted his weight, allowing her to shimmy away from him and slide a pillow underneath his head. She stretched, looking over at Blake and Danielle. Danielle had fallen asleep in his arms, the same way Taryn had seen them right before she had fallen asleep.

She blew a quick kiss to Danielle and Shae, grabbing her bag and trying to pull the door open quietly. She wanted nothing more than to say goodbye, but she knew waking them up would be a bitch move.

Once outside, she headed for Radnor. It was only about three blocks away, and the walk went entirely too fast. She dragged herself into the building, desperately hoping for something that would let her stay. The building was quiet, most students already gone. Unlike Taryn, they were eager to get home for a while.

She carried herself upstairs, into her room. It was automatically more depressing without Hallie and her chipper self on the other side of it. She looked at the pile of duffel bags and totes on the floor near her bed.

“Hey,” she heard someone behind her. She jumped, her mind flying back to how Shane had done the exact same thing earlier that week.

“Alex,” she said with a smile as their eyes met. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed, sporting a rumpled white t-shirt and black NFL sweatpants. His hair was disheveled, but his eyes were as bright as always, glancing back and forth from Taryn to her pile of things.

“You headed out?” Alex said.

“Yeah,” Taryn said quietly, frowning at him. “Unfortunately.”

“Wait, you’re sad to be going?”

She nodded, suddenly grateful that he didn’t know anything at all about her home life. He wasn’t the type of kid to understand any of that, no matter how badly Taryn wanted him to be.

“Man, I’m so ready to be out of here. I have to stick around through the next two days.” He stretched backwards, the hem of his shirt revealing a few inches of his defined stomach.

“That blows,” Taryn said, reaching down and glancing down at her phone. She had just missed a call from her father. “Shit. I have to go. My dad’s downstairs.”

He took a step towards her into the room, holding out his arms. Her shoulders relaxed as she leaned into him, trying to control her heart rate as he hugged her. She rested her head on his chest, gripping his arms and wishing she could stand there forever.

“Text me, okay?” he said, stepping backwards for the door. She nodded with a small smile. “Thanks for a good semester.”

“Bye,” she said quietly, watching him disappear as quickly as he had come. Her heart swelled with a sudden burst of happiness. Well, at least it wasn’t all shot to hell. He cared enough to come say goodbye, yeah?

She grabbed her bags, trying not to smile to herself with giddiness. Shae may had been right in saying that Alex was flirty. But she knew he was different. There was a reason she didn’t quite want to forget about him yet. She knew it.

***

“Welcome home, girl!” Stacie said, clinking glasses with Taryn across the table. It was three o’clock in the morning, and Taryn sat with her in an old hometown diner a few miles from her house. It was only the first night back home, and she was already having trouble sleeping. In a desperate attempt for old time’s sake, she had called Stacie and asked if she wanted to grab some food. Thankfully, Stacie hadn’t changed much and had eagerly obliged.

“Thanks. It’s…weird to be back. I feel like nothing has changed.”

“Because it hasn’t,” Stacie laughed. “Those assholes from your grade are getting married, and it’s still all anyone can talk about. It’s pathetic.” She took a sip of her coffee. That was something Taryn liked about Stacie. She always knew what to say to undermine the people she knew intimidated Taryn. She didn’t even know the whole story of Taryn’s history with Ryan and Kelsey. But she still knew it was bad news, and it was all she needed to make Taryn feel better about it.

“What’s new with you?” Taryn asked. She pulled her oversized hoodie tighter around her shoulders, glancing around the small diner. The overhead lights were entirely too harsh for the wee hours of the morning, and the strong scent of coffee wafted through the air as if a fresh pot had just been brewed. The sole waitress stood behind the counter, working on a crossword puzzle, and an older man – the only other customer in the place – sat off to the side, sipping coffee and reading what looked like a tattered copy of The Great Gatsby.

“Oh!” Stacie said, suddenly excited about something. “I have news. He probably didn’t tell you because he sucks at that kind of thing. But James and I got back together.”

Taryn’s mouth dropped, taken aback by the news. When had that happened?

“I know, right?” Stacie exclaimed, causing the older man across the diner to jump in fright. “It’s crazy. He came over the other night and we stayed up for hours, talking about why he ended things and about how he was totally wrong and can’t see himself with anyone other than me.”

Taryn grinned across the table at her. “Stace, that’s great!” She made a mental note to confront James about this development. They told each other everything. Being away at school was no excuse. He owed her an explanation.

“I don’t know how far he actually wants to take it. But I’m just glad to have him back. And he seems…I don’t know. Different. A little calmer. More mature, you know?”

“I guess,” Taryn said, shrugging as she reached for her water. “I haven’t seen him any more than you probably have.”