The Runaway

7

The silence was making Lisa lose her focus. Like a soundless scream that she could sense vibrating in her ears.

She put the textbook on her face and smelled the ink-covered paper. Had she been too quick to ask Roseanne to move out? She wasn't the U-Haul kind of gal, but now there was a thorn in her side that kept digging in deeper with every breath she took.

When had life become so complicated?

Knowing that she couldn't focus anyway, Lisa put away the book and slid out of bed, facing an empty shelf that had housed Roseanne's clothes just a few hours back. Maybe working on something instead of reading about it would help take her mind off the argument that kept replaying in her head like a wonky record.

Since the club members had confronted her about Roseanne, Lisa had been on pins and needles. Nothing felt right, as if all her clothes were too tight, and everywhere she turned, expectant gazes pierced her with one question: "Have you made up your mind yet?"

She walked into the garage, and to her relief, only Bambam was there, working overtime as always. He was so engaged in his work that he didn't even notice Lisa's presence until she called out to him.

He stilled at first, before emerging from behind the hood of a car he'd been working on. "Hey," he said somewhat stiffly.

"You need a hand with that?" Lisa asked, walking up to him. Did he blame her for not giving up Roseanne too? He'd not pushed for that when they'd all been discussing the matter, but that didn't mean he didn't secretly agree with the others.

Bambam licked his lips, averting his eyes, but in the end rested his hands on the car and nodded. "Yeah. Came here to clear my head, but it's not working."

Lisa snorted and offered him a cigarette. "Looks like we could be twins, then. What's bugging you?" At least dealing with someone else's problem might take her mind off her own mess of a life.

Bambam looked at her like a deer in the headlights, but composed himself fast and accepted the cig. "You know, women. It just can't be simple."

That actually made Lisa smirk. "Tell me about it. There's always some kind of drama. Who are we talking about this time?"

Bambam sucked in some smoke and leaned his back against the vehicle he was repairing. There was a tension to his eyes, but the sun streaming in through the window made them appear more like wrinkles than indicators of discomfort. "You don't know her. I don't know if she'd be interested or how to approach her. She's not like us."

Lisa poked Bambam with her elbow. "What's this coyness? Of course she'll be interested."

Bambam groaned. "I tell you she wouldn't fit in here. With us. I don't think our family would accept her, and I'm not sure if it's all worth a shot."

Lisa took another look at Bambam. "Whoa. Is this something serious? Look, you shouldn't just go with whatever the other guys around here think is a good catch. If you like her, you like her. I mean... it's not like Roseanne fits in here."

Bambam exhaled, and his features relaxed as if he were glad about the change of topic. "How is that going?"

Lisa rubbed her forehead in frustration. "At the moment it's not going anywhere. I want her to stay, but I'm also feeling like I'm letting everyone down by wanting to protect her. Or maybe I'm just selfish and want her here, period. How do I even know if she's really in it for the long haul? Because otherwise, I might be making everyone miss out on some serious cash for a girl that won't even stick around."