Station 429

the night of bracelets

the night of bracelets

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Foster was in pieces. He was constantly going over what Colleen had said to him about missing his dad. He didn't want to miss him; he wanted to take his father's advice, but maybe he had misinterpreted it? No, of course he hadn't. He knew his father like the back of his hand. But of course, he missed a vital piece of information- he was suicidal.

What made it worse was that Colleen hadn't come around the station since their argument. It gave Foster too much time to think without distractions, which was dangerous for him to do in any situation. But add Colleen into the mix and his thoughts quickly turned leathal. It also made him worry that she wouldn't come back, and therefore would be the first person to ever be chased away from the station by none other than Foster Wayman himself.

But alas, she would make her return for the next group meeting, albeit she was the last one to arrive. During the minutes before 10 PM, Foster could not stop pacing in front of the train. Eventually, Misty stuck her head through the door of the train and said, "She'll come."

Foster whipped around, slightly on edge and jumpy. "How do you know?"

She shrugged. "It's the magic of the station." There was a hint of playful sarcasm in her voice, trying to lighten the mood.

"There's always a first for everything," he mumbled, then started pacing again.

Misty sighed and stepped out into the cold breeze, cursing the New York winter. "If you have to think that way, look at it like this. And stop pacing," she insisted, so he stopped and looked at her. "Now, you know that there's a purpose for all of us finding this place. Maybe her purpose was already fulfilled."

Foster crinkled his eyebrows and shook his head. "What?"

She rolled her eyes, which she typically only did to Foster, because he could have a hard time understanding simple concepts sometimes. "Maybe her purpose was only to be here for a few weeks. Maybe she got all she needed out of us, and we gave her all that we could have."

Foster only looked at her, but understood what she was saying. He didn't want to accept it, though, because, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he still needed her.

"Or, you know," Misty added, "she could just be running late." She nodded her head towards the entrance, where a figure could be seen climbing over the rubble, and Foster let out a sigh of relief, to which Misty only shook her head.

Colleen made her way toward the two, and eventually was standing directly in front of them. She didn't say anything, and instead just looked at Foster. He opened his mouth to say something, but Colleen quickly cut him off with a raised index finger.

"If you're going to make excuses or apologize or anything like that, I don't want to hear it," she said, which surprised both Foster and Misty. "I have a strong belief that nobody should apologize for their beliefs."

Foster was not used to someone this strong. He was used to crumbling people that were victims of their own minds. "But I-"

"Foster, seriously," Colleen said, "God and everyone knows that if you try to say something, it will end up being something completely stupid. So just agree to disagree, okay?"

Misty gave Foster, who was stunned into silence, a sidways glance, not believing the scene playing out before her. The nod that eventually came from Foster was miniscule, but it was a nod nonetheless. "Okay," she repeated, then looked to the somewhat astonished girl next to Foster. "Hey Misty," she greeted, then hopped into the train.