Bounded Souls

7.

Somehow, someway, Mark was able to get ahold of the twenty-four year old. He had been calling her since she got to Jersey, but he was never able to get ahold of her. There was so much going on around her, also the nostalgia that hit her like a ton of bricks was too much for her. She did think about Mark sometimes, but she was never brought to a point where she was yearning to speak to him.

Things took a change. She needed someone to talk to. Someone to explain what had gone down the night before and how absurd her grandmother was acting.

Solana huffed as she ran her hands over the island.

"So, how've you been?"

"I've been okay. Super busy with paperwork and meetings," Mark started. "But, I still always find a way to be thinking about you."

Solana smiled lightly and briefly closed her eyes. "I miss you."

She didn't lie. She missed having the company and someone to do things with. Mark had been around since she moved away and he hadn't budged. He was the most stable person that had ever been in her life, and for that she clung onto him.

"I miss you, too. You need to hurry back home, cause this paperwork shit is hard as hell and I don't care to find a temp."

Solana chuckled awkwardly. If he only knew about the news.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. My grandmother asked me if I could stay."

"For how long?"

She bit her lip and hesitated. "She wants me to stay and run the store for her. For months now she's been having some health issues and it's weighing down on her. So, she's throwing in the towel and she wants me to start running the bakery, which is definitely something I won't do."

"Why not?"

Solana rolled her eyes at the sound of Mark's deep voice.

"To stay here means to come back to the messiness and I'm big on change. Why would I come back to the same place that made me leave in the first place?"

"Well, that was years ago. People change."

"My ass," She scoffed. It seemed like everyone was the same. Based on the old lady that she encountered at the bakery, her expectations for the people in her town were set just right.

"Give it a chance. Baking and cooking is your passion."

"And, what do you know about my passion?" She smirked.

Mark chuckled, "I know that you always take the opportunity to be in the kitchen, even when I'm tryna make you something. I know that one of your favourite shows to watch are those cooking shows, and you read tons of those recipe books. Who in the hell bakes as a hobby?"

"Shut up."

"All I'm trying to say is, this is something that you enjoy so why not pursue it?"

Solana fiddled with her mug of tea in front of her and sighed heavily. Moving back to the city would be a big step. She would look like a fool for leaving and coming back, but it wasn't something that needed to be understood.

The thought of returning for good brought her anxiety.

"And, what's going to happen with us?"

"Well, if we're consistent enough-"

"Mhmm."

"We should be fine. You know I'll always be on the next flight to see you and I expect the same."