CLAUSTROPHOBIA

IV

October 11th, Three Weeks Until Halloween

Ronni awoke with a yawn to find herself in an unfamiliar car. She peered out the window where she was facing to see that she was still located in the parking lot of her high school. Ronni already knew she was feeling slightly less empty than the fog she had been in earlier. The morning before this moment seemed like a blur and she was having trouble piecing together which parts were real and which parts, if any, bloomed from her imagination. While she looked out the window attempting to get her bearings, Lane watched her movements with wonderment. He loved the way her ringlet curls moved as she turned her head to finally face him, and he loved even more that he no longer saw annoyance in her chocolate eyes whenever she looked at him.

"What happened?" Ronni questioned, sleeping still lacing her voice.

"You looked out of it so I took you out here to rest for a while."

Ronni offered him a quiet thank you while avoiding the look on his face. She then turned to face out the window again while her head filled with the same thoughts that sent her into the fog to begin with.

"What's wrong?" Lane asked, noticing how far in space Ronni looked.

"Do you remember the guy I dated freshman year?"

"You mean Steven Olsen?" Ronni nodded as an answer. "What about him?"

"Genie brought him up yesterday and now I can't seem to get him out of my head."

Lane frowned at the possibility Ronni could still have feelings for the boy that broke her heart.

"What even happened with you guys? Bobby would never tell me anything so all I remember is how sad you looked."

"You know...just normal boyfriend stuff, he used me just for emotional support while he slept with other girls. Then he would pit me against them and make me feel like I wasn't good enough to be in a relationship with him." She took a deep breath and wiped a stray tear from her eyes before continuing. "He eventually dumped me because I wouldn't let him touch me. I cared about him a lot and it really hurt that that's all he wanted me for."

"So you guys never...?"

"Is that really all you got from that?"

"No, of course not, I was just surprised. I'm sorry he did that to you, it's fucked up."

"It's not a big deal, it was three years ago anyway. I should be over it by now."

"Ron, it's obviously a big deal because it hurt you."

"I'm sorry for dumping this on you, we aren't even friends."

"We're kinda friends, at least we have been lately."

"I'm not really good with people, I don't know if you've noticed."

"I've definitely noticed." Ronni giggled at his response. "If it makes you feel any better I have problems with people too. I don't trust easy and I'm angry all the time which sometimes means I do stupid shit. I know that I can be pretty selfish and I know that's why you don't like me." Lane vented in an attempt to make Ronni feel like she wasn't alone in her problems.

"I understand being angry all the time, I am too." Ronni then met eyes with Lane and in turn finally saw him deeply for the first time.

In such a short amount of time she had realized that having Lane around wasn't as bad as she originally thought. Not only was he willing to go out of his way to make sure she was okay, but he understood her in a way no one else in her life did. Having someone that really understood her wasn't even something she knew she craved; but being in touch with her emotions was never something she was good at. Above all else she wanted to protect herself from more pain. In that moment in front of the high school she felt a shift in her feelings toward Lane and she knew she was beginning to think of him as more than a friend or the annoying boy she tried to stay away from. The way he spoke to her had started sending shivers up her whole body. She wanted to fight it and push it down but she wasn't sure how as he had been nothing but kind. There was no way for her to avoid him as he was a permanent fixture in her life so for that day, she just gave in.