Sanctuary

The next weekend, Brighton’s campus found itself with a pleasantly warm day. Students were sprawled in the quad, getting as much sun as possible before the cold weather came back full force. Taryn strolled along the sidewalks on the outskirts of campus, headphones on and headed toward the skate park. She hadn’t been there for a while, and Shae had told her of a small skating competition happening that weekend. With nothing more pressing to do, she found herself wanting to go. A cool breeze blew her hair back from her face, and she pulled her black bomber jacket tighter around her shoulders. She hadn’t talked to Shae since their last math class, and they had plans to study together the next night. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to help him turn his math grade around, but she was determined. If he could make a change, so could she.

She approached the gates, glancing at the multitude of boys lined up alongside the half-pipe. As one skater landed a trick, another one flew down the ramp, approaching breakneck speed like they didn’t have a care in the world. Taryn scanned the row of them, looking for Shae’s tall stature.

“You came!” she heard him say from behind her. He jogged up alongside her, helmet and skateboard in hand. He threw his backpack at his feet, throwing the helmet on as he followed her gaze to the ramp.

“Yeah, it was either this or join my fellow students laying in the mud on the quad,” she joked cynically.

“Either way, I’m glad you’re here. I’m super late. And I need some backup if these guys try to kick me off the ramp.”

“I’m sure they won’t,” Taryn said, patting his shoulder as he shrugged. “Just do you.”

He smirked down at her. “Hm. Good advice. I see the new Taryn is taking over.”

“You talking to me is making you even later,” she laughed, looking back to the skate park. “I think you have some skating to do.”

“True,” he said, sliding around her and opening the gate. He started through and she adjusted her stance, accidentally nudging Shae’s backpack with her foot. Shoot.

“Hey!” she called after him. “You left your-”

“Keep an eye on it for me?!” he called back, joining the pack of boys along the ramp. She sighed, watching as he focused in on what was going on.

A new skater – one she hadn’t ever seen before – was performing his tricks, earning impressed looks from nearly all the guys in the park. Even the wannabe ten-year-olds who frequented the kiddy ramps were in awe. Taryn squinted, watching as he landed gracefully and headed to a picnic table for some water. Something about him was familiar. The way he stood, leaning over the table and grabbing his water bottle. Wait. She knew that shirt. The v-neck with a hole in the back right near the waistband of his jeans.

She knew who it was before he even got his helmet off.

“Dan,” she whispered. Her heart took off, her legs fidgeting with the urge to run. He hadn’t seen her, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before he did. Shae looked back at her, flashing her a quick thumbs up before he took his spot at the top of the ramp. She tried to focus on him, but she couldn’t help sneaking glances of Dan’s location. He was leaning against the fence not too far from where she was standing, watching Shae skate. In mere seconds that dragged as she watched, Ryan approached him, greeting him with a handshake and comparing helmets as they stood by.

Her stomach plummeted. Oh God. She couldn’t do this. Not the both of them.

She pivoted on the heel of her combat boot, walking as quickly as she could away from the park. Shae’s backpack was forgotten as she tried to put as much distance between her and the boys as possible. Maybe she was trying to be a new and better version of herself, but she had a lot of work to do still. Namely, making peace with her past. She bit her lip as she walked, at a loss for how to do just that.

***

“So why didn’t you tell me that Dad wanted to grab lunch? I could totally use a free meal!” James scoffed, sitting across from Taryn at a diner in town. She was enjoying lunch with her brother after she had accidentally forgotten her father’s offer to visit them both that weekend.

“Hey, I don’t think you have any leg to stand on. How’s Stacy, by the way?” she said pointedly, raising her eyebrows. Her brother’s shoulders sagged as he realized she already knew the answer to her own question.

“She’s good. Really good, actually,” he said with a smirk.

“And when were you going to tell me you two were dating again?!” Taryn said. “Come on, James, we tell each other everything!”

“I don’t know, Tare, I just…didn’t want to jinx things,” he said, popping a French fry into his mouth. “The way we ended this time, it’s…I don’t know. I really do like her. I just…want things to work out the right way this time.”

“And by the ‘right way’, you mean…” she trailed off, using air quotes.

He shrugged. “I don’t know….just, geez, I’m not a psychic. I just…we were in high school when were dating last, and the dumb drama just got to us, and it absolutely shouldn’t have. And…I don’t want to force it, but I know there’s something there.”

“My brother James…actually has a heart,” Taryn joked, taking a sip of her iced tea. “Who knew?”

“Hey, don’t go writing some romance sap about me,” he joked defensively. “I’m just being honest. And please don’t say anything to her. I don’t want to freak her out.”

“Trust me, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Taryn said reassuringly. “Stacey’s thrilled, I swear.”

“I’m glad you guys are close…I don’t think I could handle a girl that didn’t get along with you.”

“Yeah, Mom is enough, huh?” Taryn said cynically.

“Come on, Tare, you know I didn’t mean it like that. You and Mom will work things out, I’m sure. Just give it time.”

“I don’t know…I haven’t heard from her since the blowout. I feel terrible because of what I said. But I think for the first time, she heard me.” She looked down at her plate, her appetite suddenly dwindling.

“Which is good. Give her time. It’s Mom. She’s stubborn but eventually Dad will be able to talk some sense into her.”

“I hope so,” she said quietly.

“You know?” James started, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. “I think you need to get out this weekend. Have some fun with your friends. Just…forget about things.”

She fought the urge to smirk at his request. If only he knew.

“That sounds pretty nice,” Taryn said, forcing a smile as her brother paid the bill. “I’ll talk to them and see what’s going on.”