Station 429

the night of life

the night of life

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Colleen wasn't sure what was going to happen between her and Foster the next time they would meet up. Today was the fateful day, and she had an odd mixture of anger and nervousness in her system that she couldn't shake. She wanted to be calm and not start an argument with Foster, but her emotions tended to betray her. Regardless, she needed to talk to him about what happened two days earlier.

As she walked toward him, she had no idea what to say first, but she knew she needed to be the one to initiate and take control of the conversation. "There are so many profanities I want to say to you right now," was, apparently, what Colleen believed to be the best way to start things off. She stopped just in front of where Foster was sitting on the tracks, shoving her hands in her pockets. "But I don't think that would be very constructive."

Foster just scoffed and shook his head, still sitting there. He wasn't even looking at her, but just past her, off into the distance. This only fueled the anger burning in Colleen's stomach. Foster really wasn't smart when it came to confrontations.

"You're not going to talk to me, are you?" Colleen said, sounding defeated only after a few seconds. Now, Foster did look at her, but that's all he did. He just sat there, blank face, eyes telling nothing. Colleen wondered how he did that so well. "Glad to know that after everything we've told each other, you're going to keep this from me."

Colleen knew she was being crass, but sometimes you had to be that way with Foster. You had to cut him down to ground level before he would actually come back to reality. And Colleen was getting good at it.

"Good to know that all of that mattered," she added.

That's when life finally flooded into Foster's eyes. "Colleen, this isn't about you-"

"I think you've made that clear enough already," she interrupted. She knew that it wasn't about her, but she needed a way in. She needed a way to break him down. "I think you've forgotten, though, that when someone here hurts, we all hurt. How you even forgot that, I have no idea, because you're the one who told me that in the first place."

Foster lowered his head, not saying anything. Yes, Colleen was looking for a way in, but she meant what she said. Everyone here was interconnected, and she knew that by now.

"Look," Colleen said, "you know that I'd sit here for hours and freeze my ass off any night, but if you're not going to talk tome, then I'm not willing to just sit here." It was a dangerous play onher part. It hurt her to say it as much as it hurt Foster to hear it, but he needed that last push. "So, I'm gonna go inside. If you want to talk, come find me. But when I leave for the night, I'm gone."

She didn't know what she meant by 'gone', and neither did Foster. She didn't know how far the word stretched—Gone for good? Gone for the night? She figured she'd find out eventually. So, without waiting any longer, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Foster didn't follow her, which she figured would happen. He didn'tcome to the train right away, either. Colleen sat there for about fifteen minutes before she started to get worried. She started to think about the consequences of him not coming, what the implications of her statement meant. She wasn't sure if she was ready to give him up just yet.

But she couldn't back out of it now. She knew in the back of her mind that this is what Foster needed. Thinking this, she turned on the flashlight on her phone and started looking around the train. She riffled through each of the overhead compartments, finding random treasures left by her friends and by old passengers. She found the compartment that held the alcohol supply, the bracelets, and the letters everyone wrote to the station. She thought about pulling out that box and reading the letters, but if no one else had read them before, she figured there must be a reason. She slid the box back into place.