Back to You (Sequel to Take Me Away From Here)

Chapter 8

Tim POV {Flashback - September 1982}: 

The cicadas are deafening, as we walk down a gravel road on the outskirts of town. I can't stop looking her way, and I don't really know why. Something about her just makes me not want to miss a moment. She looks down at the gravel that runs under her feet, kicking a  few pieces, while her long arms hang down by her sides. She glances my way, catching me staring. She breaks a large smile, pushing a curl behind her ear while seeming to blush. 

"What are you lookin' at?" She asks, her thick Mississippi twang coming out. I shrug, fighting the urge to smile like a fool. She continues to lead me down the road, before spotting something in the distance. She starts to jog, forcing me to have to run to keep up with her. She's always been faster than me. 

"Where are you going?" I shout to her, feeling out of breath already. She starts into the woods, her eyes seeming to be locked on something. She stops abruptly, in front of a crumbling shack in the middle of the woods. She walks up to the porch, pushing the front door open fearlessly. "Faith..." I call out, feeling apprehensive. The place looks inhabitable, but someone could be hiding inside. I peek in the door, to see her walking around the open front room, gazing up at the wooden walls. 

The shack is small, composed of only two rooms - a living room with a small kitchen, and a bedroom. The roof gives way in some places, while the wooden walls are all rotten and crumbling. She looks at the place like it's some fancy hotel with high class fixtures. She runs her fingers along the mossy walls, before glancing back at me. 

"This place is incredible." She says, walking into the bedroom. She sits down on the ground, looking up at the patchy ceiling. She breathes deeply, her eyes landing on me. "Let's never leave this place." She releases, seeming to be infatuated with the run down shack. I sit down beside her, wanting to see what she sees. I notice tears gather in her eyes, while she tries desperately to hold them in. "I don't want to go back home." She croaks, her tears forcing their way out. She looks down at her hands, before clearing her throat. "Tim, he hurts me..." She lets out, covering her mouth like she's cursed. I stare at her, distress clearly coating every square inch of her. 

"What do you mean he hurts you?" I reply, feeling my chest start to pound. I know what she's about to say... I've heard it from other people. Her father used to molest her as a child, and was kicked out of his church once they found out. Everyone in town seems to know, but she's never said a word to me about it. She sits in silence for a moment, as her tears run in a way that's surprisingly tearing me apart. 

"He drinks... a lot... and when he gets really drunk, he'll get angry. He takes it out on me..." She confesses quietly, sniffling a little as she stare down at the worn floorboards. "I think it started when I was really little, and I refused to go to church one Sunday... and then it just... It kind of stopped when I was nine, and I told my guidance counselor. But recently, it's..." She stops, tears completely overwhelming her. She covers her mouth, glancing my way. "He'll touch me... And he says terrible things that make it really hard for me to keep going on..." She lets out, taking the air from me. She's never shown this side of her to me. "He saw us... he saw us kiss... and that just ignited it again." She admits, looking over and seeming to pale out. She shuts her eyes, before shaking her head. "I shouldn't have said that..." She immediately walks back. 

"He's doing this because of me?" I release, seeing her blink slowly with her lips hanging open, trying to figure out how to address this. 

"He says that if that's what I'm looking for, he'll do it without the shame of--" She starts, before stopping herself. She breathes deeply, like a heavy weight is on her chest. 

"Without the shame of being near me..." I conclude, the look in her eyes showing more pain than I expected. She looks down at her lap, her tears flowing faster as I see her lip twitch. "I knew about what happened in the past. Faith, that doesn't scare me... What scares me is that I could be the cause for it. I don't want to be the reason you're suffering." I reply, watching her shut her eyes. 

"He told me that if I keep seeing you, he'll move us away." She informs me, making me recoil. "I don't know how serious he is about it, but... I..." She takes a deep breath, turning her head toward me. "I think that..." She struggles to speak, as she looks up toward the ceiling. "I think that I really... care... about..." She stops herself, sighing before shaking herself for a moment. "I think I love you." She spits out, as if it were one of the most difficult things for her to say aloud.  I stare back, feeling a conflicting range of emotions. I feel elated, knowing that I'm not crazy and that she's just as into this as I am. Then again, if she feels that way, then things at home are only going to get worse, which worries me. 

She watches me, before nodding and standing up. She walks across the room, before exiting through the back screen door. I wait for a moment, before snapping out of my zoned-out state. I didn't say it back... Oh my god... I didn't say it back... 

I stand up, and run out the back door, standing on the back porch and looking for her. I can hear her, but I can't see where she is. I follow the sound of her sniffling, finding her standing with her back against a thick tree. Her hand covers her mouth, while her shoulder quake. She's sobbing... She opens her eyes, seeming to almost jump when she sees me. I stand like a statue, unsure what to say. I've never seen her so torn apart before... She's always been so happy-go-lucky around me, and normally is the one making me feel better. This is the first time our roles have been reversed. I slowly stagger toward her, as she lowers her hand away from her lips. 

"Tim, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have--" She starts, before I clear my throat. 

"I love you too." I cut her off, seeing her wince. She slowly lets the words sink in, before nodding. She begins to cry harder, as I wrap my arms around her. She presses her forehead against my chest, muffling her cries into my shirt. "We're going to figure this out, okay?" I reassure her. She nods, clinging tightly to me. 

Faith's quiet while we walk today. I feel almost giddy with excitement, as we start toward our new favorite place. She grabs my hand tightly, while we listen to the crickets chirping. I can see the house in the distance, making me have to fight a smile. She stops, walking off the gravel road a bit. She walks up to a mail box, before wiping across it's dirty exterior. Down the metal rod that holds it up is rusty letters. 

"Applegrove..." She reads aloud, seeming to smile a little. "That seems like the perfect fit." She says, starting to walk down the road with me once more. 

"What do you mean?" I ask, as she shakes her head. 

"It's just a simple name, but really happy at the same time." She explains, forcing me to think on it for a moment. I guess she's right. We walk onto the porch of the house, making me grin a little. She pushes open the door, before a large smile cracks across her face. She looks over at me, covering her mouth and she starts to laugh. "Oh my god... what have you done?" She remarks, making me laugh. She walks inside, looking at the walls and floor. 

"I painted it." I say proudly. She runs her fingers across the walls, unable to contain her smile. "I figured since yellow and blue were your favorite colors that they'd help make this place a little nicer." I explain, as she looks down at the floors. 

"Yellow floors..." She lets out quietly, smiling she walks across the room. She walks toward the bedroom, looking up at the ceiling. "Are those..." She starts, before I nod, looking at the little specks of yellow paint that scatter the ceiling. 

"I had some extra paint. Figured it'd look like--" I begin, before she finishes it for me. 

"Stars." She says, looking at every part of the ceiling. She laughs a little more, before looking over at me. "It's incredible, Tim." She says, walking across the room. She stops in front of the door, and shuts her eyes eyes, starting to giggle. I can tell she's found the foot print from when I accidentally stepped onto the wet floor. She turns toward me, her smile fading slightly as tears start to fall. 

"What's wrong?" I ask, stepping toward her. She winces, biting her lip. She looks at the ground, before shaking her head. 

"They're moving me away." She lets out, her voice breaking. I feel my heart sink, as she starts to sniffle. Silence falls between us, as she breathes slowly. "We're leaving tomorrow... I don't know where we're going, but... I'm sorry." She says, completely falling apart. I rush toward her, wrapping my arms around her, as she cries softy. "I'm so sorry, Tim..." She repeats, clinging to me tightly.