Compassion and Oblivion

Chapter Ten: Penny for Your Thoughts

TW-Mention of Abuse, Mention of Alcohol

You arrive back at your cottage a little after 10:00 PM. Finally, I can go to bed...after a shower though. You gather up some pajamas and head to the bathroom, which you were grateful for having unpacked already. The bathroom was painted powder blue and had white wainscoting around the bottom half of the walls. To the right of the door was a built-in linen cabinet, then a double sink vanity that matched the white trim. The sink, shower, and toilet had all been recently cleaned, and you were so grateful to your neighbors for taking the time to do that for you. Jodi must've been here, you chuckle.

Your phone chimes, signaling a new text message. Your heart skips a beat, maybe Sebastian wanted to talk more after all? Sheesh, I feel like a giddy teenager again...

Sam:

Hey! Sorry if I wake you up, I know it's kinda late. Wanted to check in, how did your day go after we had to split?

Just Sam, you think to yourself, willfully ignoring the slight disappointment that you didn't see Sebastian's name on the lock screen.

You:

Pretty good, overall. Haley is the queen of the "sour sprouts" that you told me about. Gave her a piece of my mind when she tried to test me 🤗

Sam:

You're telling me, I've lived next door to her for the last few years.

Sam:

I'm gonna need to hear all about that tomorrow after my shift!!

You:

Other than that, I met Elliott at the library, then met Alex on my way home. Not too sure how I feel about Alex, he gave me weird vibes. Unpacked a bunch of my stuff, then Emily stopped by my house and invited me for free food at the saloon, which was awesome. I met Clint and Caroline at the saloon, and I saw Penny's mom, she was hammered! She didn't even recognize me. Met Shane too, we had a nice chat tonight.

You:

Oh yeah, I went on a walk tonight and met Sebastian. He seems great! He was really nice to me. He invited me to join you guys for pool at the Saloon on Friday, is that cool?

Sam:

Damn, you were busy! There's a lot to unpack there. Alex isn't a bad guy, but he's really cocky. If he makes you uncomfortable, just let me know. I'll tell him to buzz off. Not surprised about Pam, really. The biggest shocker is Shane, he was NICE to you? Glad you got to meet Seb, he's a little quiet at first, but he's really chill once he's comfortable around you. Kinda surprised he was the one to invite you, I was expecting him to be a little more awkward around someone new.

You:

I have no problem telling people to buzz off by myself 💅. Well, Shane wasn't nice at first, he actually didn't even want to talk to me. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. I'm looking forward to Friday! Can't wait to get to know Sebastian and Abigail. Sebastian didn't talk much about himself, looking forward to learning more about him.