Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[3.05]

ꪻaryn watched as Jess walked away from the couch in his apartment and towards the room she supposed was his bedroom, heading to get a blanket for her cold self. She had needed to get out of the house after an awful day at work, work being her hunched over her sewing machine all day, and he had been happy to provide an outing as all of the people that he lived with were out for some poetry reading. The credits rolled on the movie they had just watched as he disappeared into the room. Taryn took that as her opportunity to have a little look around, as he had in her space. She found herself drawn to his coat rack and she found an old leather jacket hidden in the corner by the wall. She, letting curiosity get the better of herself, wanted to answer a question she had thought of years ago. Gently, Taryn pulled back one of the front panels off the jacket and smiled to herself when her fingertips traced over the gemstones still glued in place.

Next she found herself drawn to the bookshelf and it took her all about thirty seconds to figure out which section belonged to him. She recognised some of the titles for books he had owned in the past and glanced over some of them, reliving the conversations tied to them in her head. The first book she pulled off the shelf to get a better look at the cover happened to be the one she had brought for him the day he got beaked by a swan. She smiled to herself yet again at the memory of that situation and opened the book to find the receipt with her handwritten note still inside. That book, however, had been quickly placed back on the shelf after she found a novel on the top of one of one of his roommates' shelves. She picked it up instantly, eyes widening as her gaze trailed down the spine.

"You wrote a book?" she asked, eyes wide and book in hand as he entered the room with one of his thicker blankets in hand.

He, whilst placing the blanket on a nearby chair, shrugged, "It's not that impressive."

She furrowed her brow, a light laugh escaping her lips, "Yes it is Jess! You wrote a book?"

"Short novel," he corrected with a tone to his voice that she didn't quite understand.

"I'm reading it."

He chuckled though she could tell it was somewhat forced, "Right now?"

"Yes," Taryn replied quickly, nodding as she sat back down on the couch with the blanket covering her legs. Just as she managed to lift the cover, Jess took the book from her hands and rapidly moved to hold it behind his back. "Hey!" she exclaimed, automatically reaching to grab it back.

"Not yet."

"What do you mean not yet? Jess you wrote a book," she frowned and as she stood, he slowly backed away. "I would like to read it," she continued softly, walking towards him so he backed into the coffee table without realizing it. As he stumbled slightly, Taryn used her opportunity and took the book back. Jess was quicker than she had expected and instinctively grabbed her waist, preventing her movement as he attempted to take the book back. As the two, both chuckling to themselves, fought for the book but Jess found himself victorious as he managed to get her to drop the book by moving one of his hands to her middle. In doing so, the worst happened. The very thing Jess had been trying to prevent her from seeing was now open and displayed on the floor where she could easily read it. The book had opened to the dedications page. A page usually skipped over and forgotten by most readers unless it was particularly poetic or struck a chord with them. Taryn, however, couldn't see how anyone could skip this particular dedication.

Tee,

I'm still sorry.

Slowly she turned around towards him, her hips slipping under his hands yet he still held on once she turned to face him. Her gaze flickered up Jess' pale face as a whisper left her lips. "What?" It was all she could think of.