Run Away; C.R

(twenty-three)

riley:

for a sweet two weeks I have been spending my days eating hospital breakfast with laura, hiding away in unpopular cafe's and coffee shops to avoid being spotted by my family, and having mini heart attacks every time someone walks by who even partially resembles my sister, mother, or father. also I can't leave out the fact that my friends back in atlanta haven't left my mind for one second. I don't exactly know how long I am staying here, but the last thing I want is to have a chaotic family reunion with shouting and throwing of objects.

laura seems a lot better with me here, and she even still trusts me enough to tell me what triggered her into doing what she did. she told me that she had met someone who she had thought she might have fallen in love with. she said it had nothing to do with the fact that I was gone. in fact, she claims that she would dream of doing exactly what I had done, and that she was beyond happy that I was out of the place we both considered hell.

so apparently, this mystery boy had liked her a lot too, but he was also in love with someone else. all the while, her parents were in the midst of getting a divorce and pushing her to choose which one she wanted to live with. her dad was moving all the way to texas to be near his parents and siblings while her mother was staying where she was. and the only reason she wanted to stay with her mom was to be around this, still unnamed, boy.

then the boy had come clean and told her that he couldn't be with her because everyone knew she had visited the psychiatric hospital twice throughout middle school, and that as much as he liked her, it would shatter his reputation. the next day she found him making out with some other girl in the hallway in order to restore his reputation. and while this shattered laura, her mind had come to the conclusion that if he couldn't be with her, then who would? everyone would come up with the same excuse, and she thought, who would love the crazy girl?

she was so wrong, I thought, there's definitely someone out there for someone as smart and beautiful and creative as her.

if she would tell me who the boy was, I would have had his jaw dislocated by now, but I decided to respect the fact that she wishes to keep it to herself.

in return, I spill all the details of where I have been and what I have been doing. I tell her all about chandler and his cheesy, romantic pickup lines, his cute smile that causes crinkles below his eyes and dimples on his cheeks, and all about how he constantly tells me that I've changed his view on life. she barely believes me when I say he used to be known as the reckless kid who wasted everything on partying and motor cross.

"so, when are you going to go back to him? I mean, you're so obviously in love.." she had said as we at hospital made pancakes and drank their awful orange juice.

"I don't know, I want to stay with you for a while.. and I'm not completely sure they would want me to go back, anyway." I say, truthfully.

"riley, you've got this guy totally wrapped around your finger, of course he would want you to come back!" she fired, looking at me with pure disbelief.

I could only roll my eyes at her positivity. "you don't know that for sure.."

"then why don't you just call him?" she asks, as if it's the most simple thing to solve ever.

I thought about it, biting the inside of my cheek as I pondered the idea.

at least if I called, I would know what I was getting myself into before I went back. if chandler or anyone else is upset with me for suddenly leaving without a note or a warning, then I won't have to see the anger or disappointment in person.

"you know what, I will."

chandler:

my thoughts were working overtime, spinning and reeling everything too fast for me to process anything. all I could think was the worst possible things that could have happened.