Only for a Little While

TAYLOR

I didn’t have any time to plan my departure. I always knew I was going to leave the trailer park one day, but I had planned sometime after graduation when I was 18 and an adult. But as soon as I walked into my family’s trailer and saw the seven empty beer bottles littered around the living room, heard the drunken yelling and crying whimpers, I knew it was time to go. I had to leave and never come back.

Which is why I’m now walking to the bus stop with my hood pulled all the way up, and my backpack bulging with the most important things. I don’t have much. Just $120, a picture of my friends, my ancient iPod shuffle (they don’t even sell these anymore), headphones, school ID, the only changes of clothes I have, and some random snacks. Really nothing.

There is a homeless man sleeping on the bench when I approach the bus stop. Other than that, the night and city are silent, with only the wind howling to remind you it’s almost winter. I hope the bus is actually running. I’ve never had to get on this late. Usually at this time I’m either trying to be invisible, or getting another bruise along my back.

Ten minutes later the bus inches up and opens its doors, the driver looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. I pay the fare, and he doesn’t even glance at me. That’s okay. What’s not okay is the fact that the bus is packed. There’s no space whatsoever to sit alone. My eyes scan the passengers, and no one looks decent. Then again, I think, neither do I. The best option is the boy with a dark hoodie and his face turned towards the window.

The bus driver clears his throat, a subtle hint that I need to sit down. Without another thought, I move to where the boy is sitting.

“Can I sit?” The boy flinches at the sound of my voice, and turns to face me. His face is pale, sandy brown hair falling into his eyes that show lack of sleep and are bloodshot. Does he do drugs?

Before I can reconsider asking at all, the boy speaks. “Go ahead.” He scoots a bit further down, but doesn’t turn back to face the window. Instead, he angles his body so that he’s facing me. He looks around my age, maybe a year older. If I’m being completely honest, he’s good looking. But the bus isn’t a place to make friends. It’s just the first step into getting away from my drunk-beat dad and good-for-nothing mom.

The boy plays with his hands nervously: cracking his fingers while jiggling his leg up and down. It’s bugging me.

He barely glances up from his hands. “Yeah. Just fantastic. Amazing actually.” His voice drips with sarcasm.

Alrighty then. “Oh. Okay.”

He sighs and then looks up at me again. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long night.”

“Don’t worry. I get what you mean.” Nights are the worst at home. Nights meant Dad had been home all day drinking. That’s all in the past now.

ETHAN

The bus is so loud. So many people. So so loud. There’s too many people. Is this okay? What if there are too many people? What if we crash? Would we all make it out? Is this bus even safe? Too many people. I was fine. It was fine. Now there’s someone next to me. There’s a girl next to me. She needs to move she needs to go why did I ever say yes?

I clear my throat and try pressing myself as close to the window as possible. The lights from the streets are blurry. I must be tired, but I don't want to sleep, I can't sleep.

The bus doesn't make anymore stops tonight. Which is nice, the noises can’t be amplified anymore than they are. And no more people will get on. The thought makes me sigh with relief. Thank God. I keep moving my leg up and down, the constant movement, the only thing keeping me from completely losing it. It’s the end of route but, she’s still next to me. Why? Why is she still next me? I can feel her sneaking glances at me, and I can’t help but wonder how she got so far. Where did she even come from? She looks too young to be alone this late at night. My thoughts soon spin into thoughts about this girl and what her story is.

I stare out the window at the passing and blurring lights, my mind completely filled with this girl. I don’t feel the time passing until the bus screeches to a stop. The bus driver announces it’s the last stop, and everyone gets up to leave. Everyone except for the girl next to me. Her eyes are closed, and there’s no way for me to get out without climbing over her. I hesitantly nudge the shoulder her head is on.

“Hey, um, the ride is over.”

She startles awake, her gray eyes landing on me before she sits up all the way. Her legs angled towards me. “Oh.”

I almost offer to help her off, but decide against. Instead I push past her into the aisle, without waiting for her to follow. But she does she catches up to the point where she’s right behind me.

“Thank you.”

I blink at her. “For?”

“Letting me sit next to you and not leaving me here.”

“Oh. Well, um, no problem I guess.”

I hate talking to people so much it’s the actual worst.

She quickly paces ahead of me walking towards a diner that's looks on the verge of crumbling down. Her backpack bounces up and down with her fast footsteps, and before I know it, I’m following behind her and into the diner. It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.

Apparently our fellow passengers are in the same situation. The diner is filled to the point where all the seats are occupied. There’s only one more table left: one for two people. And of course the person sitting there is the girl.

I look around, hoping to see somewhere else with an open seat. Of course there isn’t anywhere else. I sigh and start walking towards the girl again.

TAYLOR

As I'm skimming through the menu, I hear the door open and footsteps getting closer to me. I quickly look up seeing the boy who was sitting next to me on the bus. He looks around the diner as he walks closer to me. When he reaches my table he looks down at his feet and fiddles with his fingers. Not once did he make eye contact. After an awkward minute, he looks up at me with a subtle frown.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

Shocked that he would ask me, until I notice I’m at the table with the last seat in the whole diner I respond with a anxious stutter.

“Yes, I mean um n-no um… I mean”

He looked like he was regretting asking me anything

“ I’ll take that as a no” he gives me a faint smile as he sits down.

I smile awkwardly, grinning from ear to ear.

I wonder why he’d sit next to me. He looks to be in high school maybe older. As I examine his face I notice his light brown eyes and wavy hair almost long enough to make into a ponytail. It hangs over his face unnoticed by him as he looks through the menu. His freckles are the most noticeable they look familiar. His leg nervously twitching making the floor around him vibrate. As the waitress comes over I am quickly dropped back into reality. She taps her foot waiting for me to order but, I’m still clueless as to why she’s here. The boy orders before me as he sees that I'm still in a daze.

When the waitress leaves I finally gain the courage to talk to him.

“My name is Taylor Met,” I extend my hand over the table waiting for a handshake back. As I’m reaching over he flinches. His face expression says he doesn’t care much for handshakes. So I slowly take my hand back, but he looks at me confused as to why I didn’t wait for him to shake mine back.

“It’s okay I’m not much for handshakes either,” I reassure him.

“Sorry if that was rude it’s just that I’m not really into touching random people’s hands.” He gives me a blank expression.

“Its fine” I pause, trying to think of something clever to say

“Well if we are going to have to wait for our food in this crowded place full of strangers you might as well make a friend, tell me about yourself.” He looks at me annoyed

“Why would I do that?”

“To pass the time”

“I’m a stranger it's not like we're ever gonna see each other again.”

I giggle nervously. This has to be better than sitting in silence. That’s all I could do at home, speaking was disrespectful according to my dad who couldn't even keep a beer down let alone his words. If my opinion was slightly different from my dads, then an argument was bound to start. I could stand my ground for a minute or two then I’d stop but, that doesn’t mean he was done. His booming voice covered the house. And it lasted for hours.

ETHAN

She wants to know about me. Why? I shouldn’t have sat here. Anywhere else? I could've been anywhere else but, I had to be here. Why? What if my parents sent her? What if they want me back? I can’t go back? Okay. everything's okay. One, two, three. One, two, three. Its fine. I’m fine. As I breath out I look up at her. Her grey eyes meet mine. I quickly look away, but I can still feel her eyes on me. Taylor, she said her name was Taylor. That name sounds familiar.

“I’m Ethan, Ethan Graham,” I quickly reply without thinking.

“Huh, Graham” she says softly. “Wait did you go to Riverside High School?”

How does she know that? Is she spying on me? No no no. I shouldn't have gotten on that bus. My head spins as the questions in my head pile onto each other. In panic I blurt it out.

“How do you know that?”

“You use to go to my school.”

“Use to.” I say confused. Why is she out alone, so late?

“I mean we used to go to school together, you know.” She stutters.

“Before I graduated?”

She looks nervous her eyes blink a thousand times a second. Is she okay? Why is she here so late? I can tell she's lying because back at home I’d do that all the time so my parents would think I was normal but, this last time I got caught. Almost right after they found out about my anxiety, they decided that they already had enough on their plate, and kicked me out soon after. Not before I could get some money and clothes from them. Suddenly I think of a way to catch her in the lie.

“Uh huh okay what college do you go to.” She looks up at the ceiling.

“Somewhere far you won’t know it”

“Freshman?” I’m genuinely interested now. Why is she lying?

“Yeah”

“If we went to the same school, then how come I never saw you graduate.”

“It's a big school.” She looks annoyed now.

“I know you're not a freshman in college because I think I would have remembered you.”

“Okay so what, you caught me.” She rolls her eyes as if I've done something to offend her. Did I? What did I say?

“Since you know my secret, it's time for me to know yours.” Her eyes fill with curiosity.

“So why’d you leave home?” I looked at her shocked that she would ask a personal question like that the only way to get off that subject was to ask something personal.

“I could ask you the same thing.” The waitress comes and hands us our food she looks at me hesitantly but, then says nothing. We eat in silence. When she's done she turns to me.

“It was nice talking to you." Yeah right. Wait where is she going? She's only 17 and she's kind of far from home. Should I ask her where she’s staying? No? Yes? I blurt out before she leaves.

“Hey, you’re far from home, so where are you staying?” Way to go hopefully she doesn’t think I'm a crazy stalker.

TAYLOR

I glance at him. Should I tell him? But I don’t know him. I shouldn’t trust anyone.

I decide just to not say anything. I finish getting up and walk out of the diner without looking at Ethan. Except I hear footsteps again. Great. He’s following me. I wonder what he wants with me. I think it could only be a coincidence that he’s following me. At least I hope so. I try to find a place to sleep because it’s really cold outside. I am not over exaggerating, it was so so cold. So, I find this motel it costs $65 per night. I really didn't want to spend all that money on just one night of sleeping. So, I decided that I wasn’t going to spend my money on the motel and use it for food or something more useful. I walk back to the bus stop, and decide to sleep on the bench. There I see Ethan, but I just ignore him. He comes up to me.

“Why are you lying here, in the cold? Especially at this time of night.”

“I can’t afford to buy a motel for the night,” I respond shamefully.

“Really? I could split the bill with you, if that’d be any help?” he kindly offers.

“I don’t want to take any money from you. I would feel really bad. Plus, I don’t know you,” I respond nervously.

He goes on by saying,” Um ok, well I offered ”

“Wait, I could actually use some help, but just for one night.”

I felt weird by letting him cover half of my motel bill. Should I hug him? Invite him to breakfast tomorrow, if he’s even staying nearby? I didn’t know what to do, I barely met him. We both walk into the lobby, he asks for two rooms. He pays, and gives me a key.

“Thank you.” It feels weird still.

He genuinely says,”No problem.”

I go on by giving him my $33, since I didn't exactly have $32.50. He turns down my money, I was so confused!

“I can’t let you pay for all of my room.”

He hands me the key to the room. He walks away! Don’t get me wrong I am very grateful, but still I can’t let him pay for my room like that, I refuse to. I go outside to look for him, but there was absolutely no sight of him. I go to my room. I think to myself, why is he so nice? Why didn’t he let me help pay? This was on my mind all night! Either way, I got a bit homesick. I know, my situation at home wasn’t the best but the normal routine I had, seeing my parents each morning, and just overall the only place I knew. Do not get me wrong, I really did not enjoy the circumstance I was in, but it was the only place I could call home. After everything, I went to sleep.

I wake up, that was the best sleep I’ve had in awhile. Not that I wasn’t stressed last night, but it wasn’t as much stress as before. Before, I would have to be scared that my drunk of a father would wake me up in the middle of the night and beat me. My mother would just stand there watching, because if she would step in the same would happen to her. Unfortunately, this was a routine of mine. The past is in the past now, I think to myself. Now it’s time for me to make my own future, and make it a darn good one.

ETHAN

The morning was bright, dim. First thing in the morning, I went to the sink to wash my face. My eyes have really dark eye circles and are really baggy! I think about that girl, Taylor. I wonder if she’s okay. I quickly clean up. The air was full with morning dew. For some reason, the smell of the nice morning calmed my nerves. I walk around the corner to Taylor’s room. I wonder if she’s awake. If not, it’d be rude to wake her, right? I hate it that when it comes to socializing it’s so hard. I hate when I have anxiety attacks hit. Well, let me just knock on the door or else she might sleep the whole day. If she’s anything like me, I absolutely hate when people don’t wake me up because I feel unproductive and I’ve wasted a day in my life. I proceed to knock. She opens up the door, surprisingly fast. Seems like she was already awake, luckily I wasn’t the one to wake her up. I think it would have been really awkward.

Quirky as she is she says, "Howdy neighbor!”

“Good morning, how’d you sleep?”

Why do I feel so nervous around her? I always wonder if I’m saying something wrong? I start fidgeting with my hands.

“Okay, just a bit stressed,” she says with a glum face.

I wonder why she’s so stressed? I would ask her what’s wrong, but I hardly know her? That would be weird if I ask her, right? I start tapping my feet, I really do have all these weird ticks.

“Oh, I’m sorry there’s nothing I could do to help?”

Ugh! I regret saying that. Why do I always have to say the oddest thing, now she thinks I’m a creep. Great…

“No, it’s okay but thank you. How ‘bout I take you out to breakfast? Since, you didn’t let me pay for my part of the motel bill.”

“Sure! Thank you.”

I say that though I am really not trying to let her pay for everything. I don’t have all that much money, but I’ve always believed in courtesy. We continue and walk across the street to this small cafe. No words were shared during our trip to the cafe. It was small, yet cozy. For some reason, I felt comfortable in this shaggy old cafe. We both eat. We both had the same breakfast... eggs, bacon, and pancakes. It was so good. We just had old boring small talk, but it was better that way. I didn’t want a long and meaningful conversation. She paid $30 for the breakfast, I couldn’t let her pay for everything. So, I left a tip of $5 for the waitress. We walk back to our rooms. I sit there for a while, scrolling through all the television channels. This is so boring. Maybe I’ll take a walk. Suddenly, a man comes up to me and asks have I seen a girl by the name of Taylor Met. My heart dropped, because this man looked dangerous so I had said no. I walk back to the motel very quickly, knock on Taylor’s door.

“Taylor! A man was looking for you. Who was he?”

She replies with, "I don’t know, can you describe him?”

“Um, he has a scruffy beard, very droopy green eyes, jet black hair with spots of white hair, what seems to be a beer gut, and he’s wearing a uniform that looks like a construction worker’s.”

Something’s wrong, because her face completely drops. Who could it possibly be? She quickly turns back and sits on the bed looking at the ground. She’s shaking. It she okay? Who was he..?

TAYLOR

Oh my God. Oh my god. Oh my God. He found me. No I can’t go back. Oh my god. Wait did Ethan tell him? I have to ask.

“Did you tell him where I am?!”

“Um, no, why? What’s wrong?”

“No reason, just as long as you didn’t tell him anything. Just TRUST me”

“Okay” his voice seems doubtful.

All I can think now is we have to go. We have to. How did he know where to find me? Does he know where I am? I realize I’m sweating, like a lot. I look up, Ethan is looking down at me, his face seems worried.

“I’m fine.” I say kind of aggressively.

“Ok, I get it, but you seem scared. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Should I tell him. No, I can’t. What if he makes me go back? That can’t happen. I can’t tell him.

“I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.”

“Fine, but we should go if your this scared.”

“ Thank God, please let’s go now.”

We walk out of the hotel. We should probably get a taxi and get as far away as money will buy. I think I only have twenty left. How much does he have left? Maybe we have enough to get out of the city. Wait, no we should stay in the city. Harder to find us if we do so. We should go downtown and move from there. I doubt that he’ll look for us down there.

“Let's get a taxi. How much do you have?”

“Um, I think I have about thirty left.”

“It's about 40 to get down town so let’s go.”

“Why downtown?”

“Please no more questions until we get as far away from here as possible.”

“Ok but you have to tell me at some point.”

“I will, I promise.”

It takes about ten minutes to find a taxi, but we got on. We paid the fare and now, we were finally getting away, away from him. I still can't get the worry off my shoulder. I think I’m still sweating, but I can't tell. Traffic is not bad, but I can't help but feel like he’s right behind me. I can’t go back. I can't go back.

ETHAN

Our money ran out somewhere in Downtown LA. I’m not sure where, but no where good to say the least.

What am I doing what am I doing what am I doing? Is she a criminal? Is she wanted by the police? Am I wanted by the police? Dear God, dear Lord what the hell am I doing? It smells like beer, drugs, and cigarette smoke everywhere.

Taylor walks fast without looking anywhere but forward. I clear my throat as I use long strides to try and catch up to her.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I ask, my eyes skirting around nervously.

She shakes her head no before making a right turn. The street seems a bit more decent now, with at least some shops lining the sidewalk. They all look super suspicious but Taylor doesn’t seem to care. I don’t even know if she’s looking for something in specific.

Taylor walks inside what appears to be a liquor store with a determined look on her face. I reluctantly follow her and tap her on the shoulder. “Um, we don’t have any money.”

“I know. I don’t care.”

I don’t know what’s come over her, but she skims the aisles until she’s standing in front of the food aisle. She takes packets of food and stuffs them into her backpack. She looks pointedly at me, and I start helping her take stuff. What is she doing? Why the hell am I helping her? What am I doing?

We are done filling her backpack with what I guess you could call food, but now is the challenging part. Getting out without looking suspicious. We have to buy something otherwise it ought to be obvious we stole.

I look through my pockets one last time and I find a five. I buy some smokes. The guy at the register doesn't ask questions. I hand him my money and start to walk away. He darts his eyes at Taylor.

“Hey? Your Tom’s kid aren't you?”

She looks back frightened, almost as though she is paralyzed.

“Um what? I-I don’t know- I mean uh- who?” She says in a quaking voice, so soft you could barely make out what she was saying.

“He’s been looking for you” The man says with a smirk on his face

She looks at me, as though she’s trying to say something, then I register it. We both bolt for the door. Is this really happening? What's going on? Who’s Tom? Why is she scared? What was that sound?

We are about half a block away when I hear sirens. We both simultaneously look back and the cops are there. We’re still running. I hear footsteps behind us, pulsating like a heartbeat.

“Put your hands up.” A stern voice says from behind.

We both do so. Everything else is a blur. What just happened? Where am I going? I’m pulled into a car while my rights are being read. I see her. And the only words that manage to slip are

“Only for a little while.”

Now I'm gone, driving past the sidewalks and the people. What happens now?