"Who are you?" I ask. A girl is standing in front of me. She is small and short brown hair pull away from her head.
"Tara," she says, her voice high and nervous. "who are you?" The candle in her hand begins to shake.
"Martie," I say, "I live in the house over there." I extend my long arm to point a spindly finger. Tara doesn't say anything. She just stares at me. The silence is only broken when she sucks air through her teeth when a drop of hot wax lands on her hand. "Here, let me" I say. I reach out for the candle. She flinches away at first, but decides to trust me when another glob of the burning liquid falls on to her flesh. I situate the flame in the small, wax surrounded hole in the wood. With a light thud Tara falls back against the wall and slides down to the floor with her knees pulled to her chest.
"Are you okay?" I ask. She shakes her head and takes a long, deep breath before speaking.
"I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here." She says. This time her voice is lower, softer, smoother.
"Well, I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here either," I say. I sit on the floor next to her, but she tenses up. I move over to leave a gap between us.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I use this place as my panic room."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Tara takes another deep breath, "I have a panic disorder so coming out here helps if I am having an attack."
"Oh" The space around us is filled only by the rustling of our clothes as we shift our weight.
"How come I've never seen you here before?"
Her voice takes me by surprise. "Hm? Oh yeah, I got kicked out of my school." I look away, embarrassed.
I hear a smile in her voice as she asks, "How?"
"My friends and I were caught drinking on campus and we were a blemish on the school's prestigious reputation." I say mocking the dean's stern voice. She giggles and I smile. I see her face lighten even more. "You look nice when you smile." I say
"Thanks," she says and I see a flicker of nervousness and panic return to her eyes.
I watch the candle light and the shadow of the smoke against the wall.
YOU ARE READING
When Secret Places Collide
Short StoryTara is a stressed high school student who has a difficult time dealing with her anger. It is the end of the year and she is done with school. Her grades don't matter anymore and she just wants the bullshit her finals. Her only escape is the old tre...
