Kiss Me Goodnight

Chapter 1

Saturday November 12th

Three years and five days. Three years and five days since Tobin's left her home. Three years and five days since she threw her keys in the driveway of her childhood home and never looked back.

This is her life.

Tobin Powell Heath doesn't know what she's on this Earth for. She's never had much of a clue. When she was younger she used to think her dad's word was the truth so when he told her that she was on this Earth to make people happy she would go around doing whatever she could just for a smile.

She's not that little girl anymore. She hasn't been for a long time.

Tobin's been at Yale studying classic literature and divinity for three years and five days. In that time she still hasn't found herself. She hasn't found meaning to her state of being and she hasn't found a reason for her existence. Tobin's beginning to find that she's becoming hopelessly lost.

She prays every night. She buries her head into books when she doesn't want to think. She's got a spot in the library that she sits at just for those occasions. That's where she's headed now; to the library because she can't seem to find her way through her own thoughts.

Her favorite part about Yale's library is the way that when she enters it she feels as though she's surrounded by thousands upon thousands of geniuses. People who have the ability to transfer such hectic thoughts onto paper and have hundreds of thousands of people read it. To have people admire, criticize, analyze, and study their works. To be judged and torn apart page by page thought by thought and withstand that all to be immortalized within their works of literature. It's the main reason why Tobin even studies literature.

As she walks past the front desk and the piles of books being returned she makes her way towards the back of the library and into a stack of books she knows so well. She finds a copy of the King James Bible and a copy of The Great Gatsby and A Tale of Two Cities. She can work through the latter two within a couple of hours. She'll lose herself in the tales and perhaps even find a new symbolic meaning in each book. Tobin grabs the bible every time she comes. It's a safety night for nights when she truly gets lost.

Tobin cradles the books in her arms and checks her phone to make sure it's on silent. She doesn't usually get many calls, but it's always a good precaution. She moves through the stacks of books and towards the back corner of this room of the library. As she approaches her usual spot she sees someone's already settled comfortably into the wooden desk and chair. Tobin stops and tilts her head in thought. This is the first time she's seen anyone beside herself in this section at this time of night.

The small lamp on the table lights up the area of the desk and Tobin sees the girl that's sitting at the small desk has fallen asleep. Tobin flicks her left wrist up and closer to her face. The small hands on her watch tell her it has just hit two in the morning.

Tobin contemplates the pros and cons of waking the girl up and realizes that despite how uncomfortable it might be, she's sure that that position isn't a good one to sleep in and that she'd be doing the girl a favor anyways.

As the 21 year old approaches the desk she takes in the other girls appearance. Soccer shorts and a t-shirt. Tobin can't help but think it's slightly out of place for the chilly fall weather. She taps the girl on the shoulder a few times and when she gets no response she shakes her a bit. The girl pops her head up and wearily blinks her eyes in confusion. She turns her head around to look at Tobin and the first thing Tobin notices are the way her eyes are a soft shade of blue.

"Sorry, I just saw that you fell asleep and thought I'd wake you up..." Tobin says to sort out the confusion that's evidently presented itself in the other girl. "It's like two am." Tobin adds on, hoping she hasn't upset the girl.