Come on, Ayleen

Confrontations

    Ayleen wasn't sure how she could show her face again. Everyone must be thinking she was a psycho. She had paid far too much attention to a stranger in town and then, when given the opportunity, she had followed him to confront him for crimes he wasn't committing. If she were a vigilante, she would have probably eventually been charged with wrongful imprisonment. She had been judge, jury, and executioner, ready to have him hung out to dry by his toenails for his crimes. Had she been a vigilante from a comic book, she would have hit him with a "POW!" and then he would have hit the ground, "CRASH!", thereby giving her an opportunity to "ZAP!" him into a cell hidden in her underground lair, where she would then give a fist pump for all her efforts and holler, "BAZINGA!".

    This train of thought caused Ayleen to start laughing at herself. It was obvious she read too much and her imagination was dependent on the cartoonish artifacts found in fiction stories that she so loved and adored. However, the laughter then derailed her thoughts about her judgment. She started thinking about all the assumptions she had made. She wasn't the only one who made assumptions. After all, Mr. Wentz had assumed she wanted to commit suicide. He went about his own vigilante justice to ensure she didn't commit that kind of murder. However, what he had done had been to protect her because he cared about her, whereas her actions were purely performed out of nosiness and unwarranted suspicion. As she sat in the office, the sky outside grew darker. She wanted to go home, but she didn't want to have to talk to Haven yet, and she assumed Haven was probably waiting for her. When she checked her phone to see the time, she noticed she had a message from Haven.

    I hope you are ok! I'm so glad that guy isn't some sort of creep. Now that we know he isn't all bad, I was thinking he is kind of handsome. Maybe he's single!!! Call me when you're ready. Love you, my sweet friend.

    So Haven didn't think she was a psycho, or at the very least, was pretending she wasn't so as to coax her out of hiding. Then she mentally slapped herself to remind her to think in the safety of the black and white, rather than focusing on all the possibilities in the gray areas in between. She needed to see things as they were in front of her, rather than make assumptions that could cause someone to get into trouble or worse. She decided she should get home and showered and then she could hide in her bed until the following day, when she would have to face real life. As she got up to leave, another message from Haven came through on her phone.

    Mr. Wentz said he noticed the office was open after hours so he checked the camera. He wanted you to know he didn't watch you, but he did ask me to check on you. I told him I would text you again, but that you would let us know when you were ready to talk and not to worry about it. You had just had a stressful day. He was worried it was something to do with the office, but I assured him it wasn't. Get some rest. You will feel better tomorrow.

    As Ayleen walked out of the office, she noticed that the streets were empty, and it seemed like the town itself was asleep. She started to walk toward her home when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, just as she heard a voice say, "Are you alright?" Ethan. Ethan had been outside waiting for her just out of her line of sight from the exit. She definitely had more questions for him, but the middle of the night, alone on the street, didn't seem like the best time. She turned to him and said, "I'm fine. Thank you. Goodnight," and turned to keep walking. He called out again, but she couldn't make out what he said, so she stopped and turned toward him once more. He asked, "Can I walk you home? You never know what kinds of criminals could lurk out here at night. There are definitely some shady individuals hiding in plain sight," and then he smiled as he approached, giving her such a broad and genuine grin that she relaxed slightly and waited for him to stand across from her. "I hear there is even a contractor hanging about town causing all kinds of criminal mischief," he continued and then winked at Ayleen.