Vagrant

Chapter Eight

She tapped her fingers on the table nervously. Her eyes wandered from the clock to the door in the coffee shop. It wasn't who she was meeting that made everything inside of her tremble, but it was what she was going to say to the person. She had rehearsed countless times in front of the mirror back at the motel. But was it ever enough to tell someone that you were going to leave them... for the second time?

The bell above the door dinged, revealing a black-haired girl with golden highlight that stuck out within. Talia tugged a small smile at the corner of her lips when Vega glanced for five seconds and nodded before going over to the register. She felt her legs shaking under the table, even faster that her knee brushed against it, the same moment that Vega walked over and shimmed her way to the seat in front of her.

Vega extended her arms on the table, her hands balled into a fist. She huffed out a sharp breath, "So... What's this about?"

Straight to the point, Talia thought.

The orange hues illuminated over the glass window inside the coffee shop. She'd chosen the specific coffee shop inside the old infamous mall that she used to frequently visit after school. It used to be overcrowded in every corner, more crowded than it was at the very moment. Before going to the coffee shop, she took a stroll around the mall. Something sliced at the core of her heart as she saw that so many stores were closed down. Anxiety churned her stomach, building up enough juices to clog up all the way to her throat. Blackness flashed her vision, she shook her head repeatedly, and tried to look at the blinding lights around the menu board over the register in front of her. Stay present, her therapist would say. It seemed like it wasn't just about the stores shutting down forever, it was the idea of something from past memories – taking pictures in front of that cutesy girlish shop after an elevator ride – slipped out of her hands. Gone.

"Hello? Earth to Talia."

Vega's soft touch brushed against Talia's palm, startling her, as she zoned out to outside the window where people milled around. She wondered if she'd seen her old friends or if they even remembered her. That was a stupid thought. No one even knew who she was. She was practically invisible – she could've been gone and moved out of the town again, no one would bat an eye. Well, except for the girl in front of her, apparently.

She cleared her throat, bringing the cup to her lips, her tongue slipped out slightly to let the foamy latte soaking in her mouth. "Right. Here we go," she trailed, sweeping strands of hair behind one ear. "The thing is, when I came back here... it wasn't for long. I stayed in a motel for a reason. You know that, right?"

Vega's chest heaved through the band tee that she was wearing. She folded her palms together, watching over the barista who deliver the orders. Then, she sputtered two words that somehow caused Talia's world to shake from underneath.

"You're leaving."

Pause. Coffee being brewed was the only sound that filled up the silence. And once in a while, the two baristas were cracking up jokes and laughing.

Talia never knew how to act when someone showed any emotional connection. She felt them all the time, too intense probably, but she usually just repressed them. Deny, deny, deny. That's how she was raised. "Yeah. But that's life, right? I can always come and visit, if you want, of course."

Vega snorts bitterly, "When? Making plans every damn day after a bunch of bullshit like work comes up but only meeting up once in March?"

"Vega." Talia breathed out a sigh. At first, she didn't think that she'd ever graduate college or start a new job. With her record, she'd be lucky that someone actually wanted her. But now that she finally got a life-changing email that every college graduate would have wanted, she couldn't just pass it up. Even though the shiny invitation did come from nepotism. In her case, it was either sucking that up or be miserable for another day hearing what a useless daughter she was at home. "You know I want to be with you. I'd rather be with you. But this is the first time in my life when my parents were actually proud of me. I thought you'd be too."

"Okay." Vega replied. "If that's really what you want. I just... I'd really miss you. I feel like I just got you back."

Vega squeezed Talia's hands, she squeezed them back, staring into Vega's eyes. She murmured. "I know," then she started again. "But I'll be back before you know it. Besides, this way when you come to visit, we get to explore a whole new town, right? I get to introduce you to a bunch of people, and that'd make it all the more real... wouldn't it?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now." Vega shook her head, looking down on their entwined fingers holding together. "We're going to be apart. That means... long distance relationship. Those never work."

"What are you saying?"

"I think you know what I'm saying. At least I hope so. So I don't have to say it out loud."

Of course she knew. She knew from the moment Vega walked into the coffee shop, the conversation would head that way. "You want to break up." She finally concluded. Watching the corners of Vega's eye twitch, she took that as confirmation. The girl didn't even look at her in the eye. But she understood. "Okay. So you don't even want to see if it all works out?"

"Why?" Vega raised her brows. "I've seen so many failed long distance relationships, and not to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't want to make you feel like I'm holding you back. It's a new town. You should keep your options open. Explore."

"This is about me, then?" Talia pressed further. "Or is it because the fact that you're also going on a short music trip, solo?"

When they hung out days ago, and they were sitting at an ice cream parlor, Vega got a phone call and excused herself. Good thing that Vega was still the loudest phone taker, long story short, Talia heard everything. Vega, being the aloof person that she was, obviously not prone to probing. Much to her luck, she supposed.

Vega let out a sharp breath, waving her hands in the air. "Fine. I'm going on tour. Finally after years of being undiscovered and only singing at coffee shops and bars, someone actually reached out. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you know what happens when you're on tour."

"I do know." Talia quipped. "Which is why I take the break up option without so much of a fight. I don't want this relationship to strain on both of us. Maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle... during our obviously hectic schedules?"

A smirk pulled up at Vega's lips, she smiled mischievously. It reminded her of back in the days when Vega was pulling the strings on all these pranks and dragging her along, out of inconvenience. "That can definitely be arranged."

****END SCENE***