Sanctuary

The next morning, Taryn awoke with a start. Eager for some alone time, she laced up her black and purple sneakers before heading to the bathroom for a quick touch up. Grabbing a grey sweatshirt on her way out, she headed for the stairs at the end of the hallway. The on-campus gym was pretty state-of-the-art, but she found herself eager to be outside. It was a beautiful morning, not quite hot enough yet to make her uncomfortable. She slipped her earbuds in, picking up her pace as she made her way past the dining hall. Only a few students were out, meandering slowly about as they waited for their earliest classes to start. Taryn was suddenly grateful that she didn't have class until 1:00.

She picked up a light jog, adjusting her iPod's arm band and turning up the volume. Her shoes tapped the pavement as she ran past the academic quad and towards the edge of campus. There was supposedly a running trail somewhere. Jocelyn had mentioned it.

She spotted Danielle emerging from Starbucks with a large coffee in her hand. With a wave and a smile, she passed her and continued on until she hit a tree line at the very edge of campus. It didn't take her long to see the trail from there, and she quickly fell into her running groove. She liked running. It didn't necessarily come easy to her, but it helped clear her mind and relax her.

Taryn ran further at a steady pace as the trail led her into a stretch of woods. The trail was marked as university property, and she ultimately felt at ease. That made her feel better. Hopefully the place wasn't a death trap.

A mile and a half later, she slowed her pace at the sight of a small bridge. It was to the left of the path, almost hidden by overgrown trees and weeds. She paused her music, intrigued. The university signs had faded long ago, and the trail was no longer clearly defined. The bridge was to the left of what looked like a fork in the path. She approached it tentatively, bracing herself in case a small animal startled and decided to run. She pushed her way through the weeds, pushing them aside until she reached the foot of the bridge. It was old, clearly, but still in relatively good shape. She placed her foot on it, pushing a little to ensure that it wouldn't collapse under her weight. She peered across it to the clearing on the other side of the creek.

She bit her lip, tiptoeing her way across the bridge and noticing the carvings in the wooden side railings. Clearly other students had been down here before. Most etchings were of couples' initials, followed by a year. The most recent was from...six years ago. She wondered why this place had been forgotten about.

She stepped off the bridge into a small clearing, almost completely shaded by a canopy of trees. Sliding her sweatshirt on to prevent a sudden chill, she decided to explore further. There was a dilapidated picnic table on the far side, the wood rotted and beyond hope of further use. A fire pit was to her right, ashes spread around its edges haphazardly. A few broken beer bottles and crushed soda cans littered the ground, but there was no trash can in sight. She strolled around, kicking leaves with her shoe and trying to make sense of the site. Across the way, near the picnic table, was an abandoned hammock. It looked newer than the rest of the random equipment. Like it had been placed there within the last couple of months. She ran her hands along the rough rope, glancing around to see if there was anything else. Nope. That was pretty much it.

Taking a swig of water, she headed back for the bridge. Why was this place so run down? It seemed like the ideal escape for kids trying to get off of campus. She couldn't imagine people just forgetting about it. She shrugged, crossing the bridge again and picking up a jog. Oh, well. At the very least, she knew she'd be back.

***

After a quick shower and a study session at the library, Taryn headed to Ethics. She wondered if Shae, Danielle, or Shane had ever heard about that clearing. Then again, she didn't want to call attention to it if there wasn't any. It was so quiet there, and she sort of wanted it to be her little escape.

But that was selfish of her. She walked into the huge classroom, her textbook and laptop cradled in her arm. As she ascended the steps of the lecture hall towards her seat, she noticed that the professor hadn't arrived yet. That was unusual, but she wasn't about to complain.

"Yo, what's up?" Shane said as she slid into her seat. Danielle and Shae were already turned around, engaged in some type of argument over their new assignment.

"Not much. You?"

"Just...trying to ignore these two," he said, pulling out his phone and answering a text. Danielle shot him a look but continued speaking to Shae. A few minutes later, the professor returned, stepping up to the podium and clearing her throat.

"Good afternoon, students," her voice boomed throughout the room. "I know many of you probably have a lot of question concerning the assignment due in two weeks. There will be plenty of time for questions next class, but for now, I'd like you to meet up with a small group that you'd like to work with for the duration of the assignment. Meet up, exchange contact information, arrange the first meeting. Four to five people, no more or less." With that, she backed away from the microphone and began rifling through her bag.

Danielle and Shae swiveled in their chairs to face Taryn and Shane. They all looked at each other in silent agreement. "Cool," Danielle said. "So, like I was saying, I think we should break up the project and then meet up toward the end to put together the presentation."

"And I was saying," Shae said, "That we should just all work together the entire time. That way, none of us are the least bit confused about anything. I was looking over the research material, and it's pretty heavy."

"But we wouldn't always be able to meet whenever we'd want," Danielle argued. "We all have different schedules."

"Okay, okay," Shane said, smirking at the two of them. "We can worry about all of that later. Why don't we just make sure we all have each others' numbers and then call it a day? We have the next two weeks to worry about this stupid thing. No need to stress now."

"Fine," Danielle conceded, pulling out her cell phone. Taryn and Shae did the same. One by one, they read out their phone numbers, texting each other and solidifying their new contacts.

"Cool. We can meet up Monday morning if that works for everyone," Taryn offered.

"The library?" Danielle said, raising her perfectly-plucked eyebrows.

"Or you guys can come to my floor. We have a little study lounge in the lobby if you just want to do that," Taryn replied. That way, they could meet the rest of her friends and Taryn wouldn't start going crazy from all her time spent in the library.

"Fine with me," Shae said, shrugging his shoulders. They all nodded, free to return to more preferable topics of conversation.

"So. You guys got plans this weekend?" Danielle said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Um...not sure yet," Shane answered, answering another text before sliding his phone back in his pocket.

"Same," Taryn said quietly.

"I'm going shopping in town on Saturday with some friends if you want to come," Danielle offered Taryn with a smile. "We're going to check out some new boutiques. You're totally welcome if you want."

"Thanks. I'll let you know," Taryn said, grateful for the invite. Maybe then she wouldn't have to just hang out at the dorms. She was starting to believe that her RAs thought she was antisocial or something. But that was just her old introverted habits kicking in again. Maybe hanging out with Danielle would be good for her. Danielle was amazingly confident and seemed totally sure of herself with everything. Not to mention she was gorgeous. Taryn was inexplicably drawn to her, and she found herself fighting the urge to eagerly accept the invitation immediately.

The professor cleared her throat obnoxiously into the microphone, prompting Shae and Taryn to turn around again. Shane began his usual ritual of doodling, taking the occasional note, and throwing tiny pieces of paper in Taryn's direction. She rolled her eyes at him with a smirk, glad she was making friends on her own. She loved Hallie's friends too, but it was reassuring that things were working out so well on her own. She was proud, not having to depend on other people. She loved her new life. And she'd be damned if she let things go back to the way they were.