Nothing in Between

21

Driving a car had never felt better.

It had been such a long time since Clyde was able to sit behind a wheel and drive herself to somewhere, instead of having to walk. Sure, Clyde really did enjoy the peacefulness of walking around with music blaring through her headphones, but this was better.

She missed this. Clyde missed having a car and having a place where she could sit down and silently think, whenever she didn't want to stay at home. It was easily so much better than having to walk to a public park, where she couldn't even break down.

Her heartbeat truly hadn't slowed down since she parked a few houses away from where Taylor was staying. Clyde didn't actually want to park right outside, since she didn't want to give Taylor the chance of recognizing the car, and alerting her of Clyde's arrival.

Clyde sighed softly, grabbing the container of food and getting out of the car, practically slamming the door shut by accident. She carefully looked at her appearance through the window, and the ragged breath that escaped her chest fogged up the glass.

Nervously, Clyde walked to the front porch without any hurry. Clyde wanted to shove her hand into a pocket out of instinct, but her brain screamed at her not to. She immediately stopped walking by the front door, swallowing down whatever was blocking her throat.

She raised her arm to chest height and was only able to knock on the door once, before the door swung open. Clyde rapidly waved, finding Taylor's mom standing in front of her with a slightly surprised look on her face. She flashed her a nervous smile.

"Hey... good evening, Andrea."

"Oh, Clyde! I haven't seen you in so long!"

Immediately after those words, Clyde was pulled into a tight hug, and she nearly dropped the container in her hold. She held her breath as she allowed herself to relax, returning the hug. Clyde had literally not done this since she was seventeen, and it felt insane.

A minute passed before they pulled apart, and Clyde shyly chuckled. She peeked into the house as she heard faint footsteps quickly heading toward the doorway, and Clyde finally found the one person that made her drive here. She gulped in anticipation.

"Mom, who's at the—Clyde, hi," Taylor breathed out.

Clyde smiled. "Hello."

The confused look on Taylor's face was surprising to see. Maybe Taylor somehow hadn't expected Clyde to ever greet her because of last night's events. Maybe she didn't expect to see the familiar, warm smile on Clyde's face as she politely greeted her.

Maybe Clyde had been a little too harsh on her.

The feeling of guilt slowly began creeping up on Clyde, and it wasn't just the horrible guilt of yelling at Taylor. Her palms began sweating, and she squeezed her free hand into a fist before looking away from Taylor, stopping her thoughts from becoming too loud.

"Come inside," Andrea said, still smiling at Clyde.

And Clyde happily stepped inside, carefully handing the container of food to Andrea. She glanced around the house, and that was when she quickly caught a glimpse of Scott and Austin walking to the door to see what the sudden commotion was about.

Clyde immediately greeted Taylor's father by giving him a handshake. She was a lot more relaxed when greeting Austin, briefly pulling him into a friendly hug. It was the exact same thing she used to do back then, and Clyde couldn't help but feel her stomach sink.

Once they pulled away, they all walked to the living room except for Andrea, who went to the kitchen. Clyde sat down on the couch, her gaze curiously scanning the entirety of her surroundings. Taylor sat right next to her, having no other places to sit.