Battle Scars

five.

A soft breeze swept through the park and created a brief respite from the relentless Californian heat. It was mid-September with fall quickly approaching but it felt more like the height of summer. Harper brushed a few strands of hair out of her face as she leaned against a picnic table. Shielding her eyes from the merciless glare of the sun, her mind raced as she scanned the area for any sign of Robby but he was nowhere to be seen. She told herself he'd be here to calm her nerves but each second that passed by only increased her anxiety. The fear that he got caught or something equally as tragic.

Everything's fine. He's running late, she told herself as she unscrewed the cap on her water bottle and took a small sip.

Harper knew that Robby needed to be careful. That every move he made needed to be calculated to avoid detection. His picture was all over the news. The headline of 'wanted fugitive' was followed by his name. Her heart continued to ache for the unfair life that he was living. She hoped that this nightmare would end for him but there didn't appear to be any way this wouldn't end badly for him. It's not like the police would drop the charges and let him continue with his life. For his sake, she hoped he would get far, far away, and have the chance to start over somewhere else. As much as she'd miss him, it was the only plausible option.

As she waited, her thoughts drifted to the past week. Her second attempt at starting fresh at West Valley High had gone no better than the first. Though it hadn't ended with her suspension, she would've preferred that over her interaction with Kyler. She'd tried to be friendly but distant, to not draw any more unwanted attention to herself but he'd pushed her. His overly flirty demeanor towards her, an attempt to impress his friends – or whatever deranged reason he had for it – made her vulnerable. Uncomfortable. Something she promised herself she'd never let others see because the moment they did, they used it against her.

And that's exactly what Kyler did.

While Harper had stood up for herself and managed to humiliate Kyler in front of the whole school, it left her feeling hollow, as if she'd lost the battle anyway.

The only positive thing that came from that long, treacherous week had been her reconciling with Demetri. They worked through the mess that Harper created and managed to fix things. Sometimes, it felt like a bandaid was keeping their friendship together but she was determined to make that fix permanent. The thought of losing him as a friend again brought on a wave of panic that had her apologizing all over again. He seemed okay with her betrayal – okay was putting it mildly as she was sure it still stung – but he no longer seemed like he hated her. Like he was mad at her.

It was a start that she would take.

Harper looked up, and a wave of relief washed over her when she noticed Robby walking towards her. Though it'd only been a week since she'd last seen Robby, it felt like much longer. Add to that the constant worry for his safety, and the days seemed to stretch endlessly. Harper waved him over, her smile fading when she saw how disheveled he looked. How despite his smile, the bags under his eyes told stories of just how beaten he was. How exhausted and scared.

Amid the leaves rustling from the wind, she heard her heart crack just a little bit more. The pieces were getting harder to glue back together, harder to find.

Still, she kept her smile bright even though she was crying inside.

"Hey," Robby said lightly, trying his best to downplay the severity of his situation.

"Hi." Harper pulled him into a tight hug as if it could fix everything, even though she knew it wouldn't.

He returned the hug with a feeling of desperation as if wishing for the same thing as she was. She could feel the tension in his body as his breath hitched and his muscles tightened.