V O I D

Chapter 13.

New Year’s Eve arrived in the city and Lin decided to go out to a bar with her friends from work. She thought maybe it would give her something to do other than sit around her apartment, feeling sorry for herself. Or worse, sitting around her apartment wishing Kath were there with her. She knew that they had made the right choice for where they were in life at that moment. They had jobs and lives in different locations. Well, she know that Kath had a life where she was. Lin was just sort of going through the motions at this point.

She spent the night at the bar, having a few drinks and mingling with her coworkers. She watched as Mike shamelessly flirted with some guy that was sitting alone at the bar. Jane made a few passes at Lin, letting her know that she was there if she didn’t want to feel lonely that night. Little did she know, that wasn’t what took her loneliness away.

It was a little before midnight and Lin tapped Mike on the shoulder, taking his attention away from the other guy for a moment. “Hey, Mike, I think I’m going to head out a little early,” Lin said to her friend.

“It’s not even midnight yet!” Mike protested. He glanced back at the guy he was talking with. “We’ll keep you company for the countdown!” The other man nodded in agreement.

“I know, it’s okay, I’m just going to head back to my place,” Lin told him.

“Do you want me to walk you?” Mike asked, standing up from the bar.

“No, no, stay! Enjoy the rest of the night! Happy New Year!” Lin said, smiling at her friend.

“Happy New Year, Lin,” Mike smiled.

Lin made her way through the crowded bar and out into the fresh air. She took a look up at the night sky as she often did. The sky was dark, but appeared to be almost lit up by the amount of city lights that there were. As she walked down the street, she took in all the sites around here. There were people lining the streets, in and out of bars. Music played loudly and she could hear people talking and cheering in every bar and restaurant that she passed by. As she made her way toward her apartment, the streets became quieter the further away from the crowds she became. In the distance the cheers appeared to get louder and Lin looked down at her watch.

“Happy New Year,” Lin said as she took a deep breath in and smiled to herself.

She felt that this year was going to be good, regardless of what happened and what might happen. She was thankful for the experiences she had in the past year, the good and the bad, and that she was finally able to get a lot more off her chest when she was home in Netherfield. She looked forward to seeing where this next year would take her.

As she turned the corner just before her apartment, she could see someone sitting on the steps of the stoop outside her building. She immediately put her guard up, unsure of who it might be. She took a few more steps and squinted her eyes, realizing she recognized the person who was sitting there. As she walked a little closer, the woman rose to her feet.

“Kath?” Lin asked as she continued to walk toward her apartment building.

“Hi,” Kath said, softly, as she smiled back at her.

“What are you doing out here?” Lin asked, confused. It hadn’t quite sunk in fully yet that Kath was really standing in front of her.

“I heard New York is the place to be on New Year’s Eve,” she smiled.

“There’s more of a party in Manhattan,” Lin laughed, gesturing over her shoulder to a different part of the city.

“Damn, I guess I got that wrong,” Kath laughed.

Lin laughed, shaking her head at the brunette, a smile plastered on her face.

“I wasn’t sure when you’d be home, so I figured I’d wait,” Kath told her.