Girl, New

Chapter 8 - Paper and Pots

MABEL

The ride was quietly endured between the both of us. Each too awkward to try and talk to the other. The silence was lifted by Orion.

"Did you run all the way from there? That's just a long ways away..." He wasn't wrong, it was one of my longest runs since quitting in school. Back then my longest run was 7 miles but never straying away from home on the other side of town. His eyes made a habit of glancing over. I was beginning to think he was scared of me.

He's probably scared because you haven't answered yet and rather sat like a dead person.

"Oh, um. Yeah. This is the furthest I've gone from home." Realizing that wasn't quite true I hastily added: "Running that is." Sighing heavily i shook out hair hair and readjusted my more than messy bun.

"Do you go to Redwood?" The voice was curious and casual compared to my quiet and stuttering one.

"N-No. It's sucks there." Through my mind whizzed memories. The numbness of my body shot me back to the locked door incident, I could feel the rain pounding down on my body as if reliving the awful memory.

"Are you okay?" Orion had slowed down the car so that it was almost stopped. "I can see you shivering from here." I could see a idea form in his head, his face lit up a little from whatever he was thinking of.

"Mind if we take a detour?" This had me worried, I knew my parents were probably freaking out by now. I had no phone to contact help either.

"W-Where?" A look of fright was blatantly obvious on my face.

"Oh! No I'm not going to kidnap you. My favorite coffee shop is around the corner." He chuckled a little, perhaps he thought it was ridiculous idea for him to be a kidnapper.

"Do you have a phone?" I wanted to call home to let them know I was alive. Sadly, it had been a worry for them before.

"Yeah, here..." Orion reached deep into his pocket producing an iPhone.

"Thanks." I took the unlocked phone and dialed in my home phone. On the second ring the phone a answered with:

"I'm sorry we are very busy trying to find-"

"Mom! It's me, I'm fine."

"Mabel Grace Walshburn! Where have you been?!"

"I got lost."

"Whose phone is this? Who are you with?" My energy was still drained from my run and breakdown. 20 questions with my mom wasn't helping.

"I'm getting a ride home, this boy is helping me." My mom knew my view on boys and relationships, however; this case made no exception.

"A boy?! Mabel I thought you were better than this!"

"N-no mom, I'm not-" I knew what I was about to say wasn't going to make anything better. Thinking quick I whispered to the boy.

"Do you go to Burmenton?" My whole heart hoped he did.

"Yeah, I'm a junior" Relief washed over me I could hear my mom saying my name from the phone.

"Mom I'm with a friend I met at school he's giving me a ride back." I barely made it through the sentence without breaking down. I needed to calm down before I broke down for the second time that night.

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry I didn't mean to overwhelm you." She was always good at detecting how I was feeling. "We were just so worried something had happened. Your phone didn't pick up and..." She trailed off there, not wanting to go into more detail. "Come home, okay?"