Bits and Pieces

Day 23 - Bench

Write a scene involving a park bench.

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Kayla forced herself not to look back as she ran down the pathway. The sound of footsteps behind her seemed to disappear after a moment, and she slowed down when a bench appeared. Sitting down to catch her breath, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

Ryan and Felicity were right where she had left them six years ago. The shabby apartment still had paint peeling off of the walls, the front door still made squeaky sounds when opened, and the windows were still as dusty as she remembered them.

Those weren't the only things that were the same.

The memory of moving in after giving birth to Felicity greeted her when she walked into the building.

The memory of storming out of the apartment to take a walk after fighting with Ryan came to her when she stood in front of the squeaky door.

The memory of rocking a newborn Felicity to sleep while trying to see the night stars through the window almost caused her to break down as she stared up at the second floor.

She still remembered everything so clearly when she had convinced herself that everything about that dark past was forgotten. She'd convinced herself that it was a dark past.

Kayla straightened up and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

Facing Ryan and an eight-year-old Felicity back there proved to be too hard for her to take, and that was why she had ran away, ignoring the calls of her ex-boyfriend. Why was she such a coward?

She must have sat there for another ten minutes when she heard a deep voice calling her name. Stiffening, she stayed silent until she realized it wasn't Ryan calling her.

"There you are. I was beginning to worry for a second there." Jake came to a stop in front of her and collected his breath. "Where'd you disappear off to?"

Kayla hoped he wouldn't notice her red eyes and looked up with a weak smile. "I-I wanted to t-take a w-walk. I'm sorry i-if I worried you."

Jake, thankfully, didn't notice her shaking voice and smiled warmly. "It's alright. Just tell me next time, okay, babe?"

She nodded and stood up. Her husband put an arm around her shoulders, and they walked down the pathway together, Kayla not once looking back.