vulnerable, a long story Options

[melface]

Sorry it's so long :[


Vulnerable

The pavement walked her along. She was facing North; while the love drove her. It was a brilliant escape from the lugubrious life she had left back home. Her eyes were on the late-night diner ahead, almost like the Denny's or Waffle House she left behind, yet it seemed like the place to be for the tired working rural man; mediocre. She opened the heavy glass door and pushed herself inside. Her hair was in her face which was made up with 2 day old mascara and eyeliner. No one looked at her as if she were batty like she had expected. Her jeans were now loosely fitting to her body and her shirt hugged her curves in a way she was accustomed to, but a jacket covered her arms. She spotted a booth next to the window in a corner and she sat. A woman approached...

She wore a pale pink ordinary waitress outfit which seemed to have been stained with ketchup and coffee. Her dark hair was up in a lazy bun and strands of hair were left to fly around her thin face. The name tag read: Evelyn and she looked like she was in her mid-thirties.

"What can I get for you, hon?"

She fiddled with her fingers and looked down at the cheap vinyl tabletop. Desperate to be alone again, she ordered a coffee, knowing she'll hate the taste of it, but love the warmth. Hate and love... she was pleased with her decision. As she smiled, she looked around the diner; being the careful observer she always was. Two other people were alone in the diner, both older males. One, probably nearing death and the other, most likely mourning the death of a loved one. A group of 3 were sitting near the door; A rugged man in his early 30's, who was sober, now... accompanied by his two children. Single father? Divorce and night out with daddy? Either way, the kids didn't look well with their covered bruises, which was a failed attempt. Her eyes wandered along empty booths and skipped over the movie scenes and fell across two men on the other side of the diner. Both were "dressed to impress" in their business suits complete with expensive ties yet, when it came to physical appearance, one beat out the other... With a handsome face, he shifted his eyes towards her and smiled.

Evelyn placed the coffee in front of her...and walked away. The steam rose delicately and she wished she had ordered something cold, instead. She stared down into the black nothingness and felt the heat upon her face.

He stood next to her while she sat... He looked down at her and wondered what was going through her head... His friend was already out the door and up the street in his SUV and he was left alone for the rest of the night. He saw her from his booth on the other side of the diner and her distant glares were an interest to him and instantly he knew she was beautiful. He wanted to learn more about her, he wanted to explore her world.. her mind... He cleared his throat.

She moved her stare up to the better looking man that sat across the diner... He was standing in the same spot that Evelyn's feet once rested on. Her expression was a questioning one and she was sure he took notice to it.

As if to answer her, he spoke... "I saw that you were all alone... and now that i am... maybe we can talk some?"...

She was speechless to think someone actually was trying to talk to her after the 2 days of being on the road... surprised. She let out a small reply... "Sure."

He continued, "I'm Tim... and you are..?"

"No one."

He sat, "How's that? You have to have a name."

"...ehh"

"Well... I guess I'm not going to get anywhere with that, then."

"...mhmm.."

He was getting bored quickly and had to think of something to at least show him this gorgeous girl had a personality. "So.. where are you from?"

"Georgia..." She looked up..."Are you from here, Tim?"

He smiled... "Yes. What brings you to this part of Ohio?"

"Confusion and love."

"Love, eh? Someone you going to see?"

She sat up and looked at him... "Why must you continue asking me these questions? As if you actually care about getting to know me."

"But I do..."

"...Hah! What even makes you want to do that?! If no one else cares why must you? You're just some guy, I don't even know.. And why did you even sit down?"

"Well, that bandage around your wrist is one reason, you know..."

She looked and tugged her jacket sleeve down... "It's none of your business... and I'm 18, I can do whatever I want..."

"That's good, I'm 20... We can somewhat relate."

"No. We can't."

"People do care... even if they don't know you. I just want to help you."

Her stomach had flipped and then flopped back into it's regular position, again... her mind was reeling... "Oh yeah? You can start by leaving me alone!"

She stood up and stormed out the diner... she was running against the asphalt...

He wasn't surprised... He placed a couple dollar bills on the table for Evelyn and walked quickly to catch up with the nameless girl. "Hey..."

She kept walking... He tried again... "Hey!"... She was already down the side of the road... Trucks on their route passed her... and she walked on...

He was about 100 feet behind her... "Well, you can at least thank me for paying for you coffee."... She stopped and turned around to face him... "Okay, then.. Thank You, Tim. Now, I don't need your help anymore..." He could see that she was crying... but why? Depression? and why the attempt at suicide? She had turned and was walking again... This time more slowly... On instinct, he grabbed her arm... and just made her listen to him... "I don't know what's going through your head right now... and I don't know where your destination is... I don't know anything about you, really... I know I'm probably just wasting your time... But it seems as if to you time is nothing... I want to know what's wrong... I want to know what it is that drove you towards that razor... what pushed you to make the cut?" His mind was then flooded with memories of his younger sister... He had loved her so much... suicide... It breaks so many hearts.

Her stomach was crammed... and her throat was having trouble swallowing this all down... Someone actually cared... She turned around and started walking back towards Tim... towards the diner... She then realized... she was tired of walking.. she wanted to collapse.. Weakness took over her body... and her legs buckled in....

He saw her legs give out... he moved forward and almost as if she hit the hard gravel... He caught her... He slowly helped her back up to her feet and walked her back to his car.

She was disappointed in herself. This wasn't what she wanted... She just wanted to get away from everything back at home... Why was she led to this point? This obstacle... She just didn't understand.. and now she was here with this strange but interesting man that seemed to genuinely care about her... and that made her feel better... she was assured that not all people are inconsiderate and narcisstic... and she was happy for that... but she was still being torn up inside... She knew she need the help.. but being stubborn and 18... it was no wonder she acted the way she did. She let out a barely audible sigh and closed her eyes.

He looked over at her... Her tears had stopped, but he knew her mind was still going... He was proud of himself... for getting up the courage to just walk over to her.

They finally reached his car after about 6 minutes of walking together... His arm around her back helping her walk along.

He let her into the passenger seat... and he went around to the other side and let himself in... He knew he probably seemed extremely wealthy with his Lexus. But maybe she'll understand that he isn't just another person that is superficial.

He revved up the engine... and pulled out of the diner parking lot... They drove on... and they were the only ones on the road.

He looked over at her... noticing her she was quiet, he had to break the silence, "Are you going to be okay..?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry if I seemed a little harsh back there... it's just that I had a sister that ended her life the same way you attempted to... I just don't want to see another beautiful girl taken from this world like that again..."

Her eyes teared.

He didn't want to see her cry again... so he let open the sunroof... The noise was a pleasant one... which he always took pleasure in listening to... "Where am I driving you to?..."

"I don't know where I am going..."

He drove on... "You can always come home with me and in the morning I can put you on a plane wherever you need to go."

She smiled... "New York City?"

"Heh, sure."

After 20 minutes of driving, making a couple of turns... After half a dozen stop signs and stoplights... They drove onto a circular driveway...His house was a beautiful one. She was surprised he could afford something ravishing for his age. It was two stories and there was a fountain out in the front in the middle of the driveway. They pulled in and stepped out.

The night went on as she laid in bed... Replaying the scenes from earlier that night... Rethinking about all the words that were spoken... She was lucky that she found him... she was happy that she wasn't that lost anymore... she closed her eyes.

He was sitting on his bed... he let her stay in the guest room downstairs. He wrote his number and name on a piece of paper... went downstairs and found her jacket that she had placed on the couch in the living room and folded up the paper and put it in her pocket...

In the morning, he took her to the airport and put her on a plane to New York. She gave him a hug before she boarded.

"Thank you, Tim." She whispered, in his ear.

"You're welcome..."

"Jenna."

He smiled.

She was seated... 12A... She reached into her jacket's pocket... and pulled out a small piece of paper... Tim was written in cursive... and his number was placed underneath... She smiled... and a tear rolled down her cheek.

She whispered, "Thank you so much...".