Timeless

Chapter 2

We walked through the hallway to the stairs at the end. The walk seemed to last forever and surprised faces of people we knew said hello as we passed. Their surprise being that I had resurfaced again so soon.

"Evie, Alex... hi" we heard behind as we passed a room to our left. It was Arya. I had to admit I was impressed by her audacity. I turned back to her.

"Hi, Arya", I said in an exaggerated voice, I wanted her to feel uncomfortable.

"You look good!" she said, a little too enthusiastically. It was fake, and I knew it, but she meant what she said. My mom always said my ability to tell a lie was my super power. She was uncomfortable and that made me feel in control.

"Hey, listen... I hope there's no hard feelings" she had some nerve, but she was still sincere. She was beautiful. Small and slender, with dyed blonde hair in a stretched root style that hung in large curls away from her face and big, bright, hazel eyes. I could see what he saw in her, honestly. Aside from what she had done, she was a good person and they seemed happy together which in all honestly made me feel more like a hurdle than a victim. Like I was just in the way of love.

"I'm okay, Arya. I hope you make each other happy" I said. Alex turned to me with a furrowed brow, seething at my reaction. I gave her a look and while her sentiment remained, she dropped the issue. Arya stared at me, happy for my blessing but also guilty knowing what she had done, that guilt was more punishment than I could have given. We pick our battles. I turned and left her behind us as we walked toward the double doors at the end of hallway that concealed the stairs. I could feel she was still staring at me but we pushed through the doors, arms interlinked and made our way down the stairs and out onto campus.

We ended up at a diner nearby, Pop's Diner to be precise. Local hangout for student and town folk alike. It served a good burger and the staff were great company. Val was a waitress there and spoke to us often and as we walked in to take our seats, she waved over at us and smiled to signify she'd be serving us as soon as she was done with her customers. We sat opposite each other under the air conditioning unit and waited patiently. Alex was mad at me but knew better than to pursue the issue. Before long she relaxed and forgot about the incident with Arya altogether. Val came over to us and took our orders. She was a tall woman, with short, blonde hair and sunken, deepset eyes. Her uniform was pale yellow with a white collar and white pinafore and she wore white pantyhose and white plimsoll style sneakers. I ordered the southern style chicken burger and Alex ordered the pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. She broke the silence.

"Look, I know what he did was shitty and you have every right to be upset but please don't keep yourself locked up in that dorm room, Eve, he isn't worth it". I looked at her, she was searching for something in me. Something that gave her hope that I was going to be okay.

"Al, I'm not depressed, or sad, or even heartbroken. I just don't know what I want anymore, you know?" I said, hoping she wouldn't detect in my voice that I wanted to leave.

"I think I'm just going to go home for Summer and see everyone at home and maybe the break away will help me refocus and renew my motivation". Honestly, going home for a while sounded like heaven. I missed my old bed, my old room, my parents and most of all my big brother, Will. I spoke to Will every day and seeing him would make me feel better almost instantly, I mean even thinking about seeing him made me feel better. I felt safe around Will and I knew he would do anything to protect me... which is exactly why I hadn't told him about Aidan yet. Alex looked at me and smiled.

"Yeah... I think that's exactly what you need", she said. We finished up our meal and left, waving bye to Val and Pop as we left. Pop worked in the kitchen and you only ever saw him through the serving hatch shouting 'order up'. He was black and had the most divine palette for good food. He was one of the kindest men I knew.

The next few weeks were a blur of class, home, essays and papers then repeat, until finally, it was time to go home for summer. I woke up early, I had packed everything the night before and was so eager to get on the road that I almost forgot to say goodbye to Alex. I knocked on her door on my way out and she held me so tight. I could feel her love and I held her close for a while. You'd think we were never going to see each other again. At last, she released me and walked me down to my car and after a brisk wave goodbye, I was off.