Catch Me

Chapter Nineteen: Snack For The Road

Chapter Nineteen: Snack For The Road

 Zander and Haleigh talked for what seemed like hours before Haleigh started to feel her eyes growing heavy. She had learned a lot about Zander tonight. He had been raised by a single mother for most of his life; in a tiny apartment in the middle of Winooski. He and his siblings used to be really close, but due to something Zander hadn't felt comfortable discussing with Haleigh, he and his siblings had grown apart. Haleigh had also learned that Zander had never met his father. He had been around in the earlier years until Zander was about four or five, but he couldn't even remember what the guy had looked like. 

Haleigh had told Zander about her family, she told him she had been through a similar situation, but with her mom. Haleigh's mom had left her family when Haleigh was just two years old. She told Zander that because of this, her father was prone to drinking and sometimes verbally took his frustrations out on Haleigh. She told him about high school and how she had never really had any friends except for Shane. She exposed her dream of becoming a famous author and or artist, and moving to LA with Shane once they had graduated.

When 3 am rolled around Haleigh was starting to feel the exhaustion set in. Yet she didn't want to fall asleep she could have talked to Zander all night. Silence had fallen upon the couple as they lay in Haleigh's twin sized dorm room bed. Zander had laced his fingers together with Haleigh's as they sat there in the silence.

"I've never met anyone like you before..." Haleigh's tired voice broke the silence and Zander smiled down at her, watching as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Haleigh was woken by her alarm going off. She groaned as she reached for her cell phone, stopping the alarm. 7am had come way too early. Zander was still asleep laying beside her in her bed, and she wished she didn't have to get up to go to classes so that she could stay with him all day. She could slowly feel herself falling for this guy. Which scared her. She had known him for a little over a week, and the emotions that were running through her body right now were freaking her out. Logic told her that she shouldn't have spent the night with this stranger, then her heart told her the opposite. He wasn't really a stranger. Haleigh had learned more about Zander in one night than she had learned about her own roommate since the semester had started. 

Haleigh smiled down at Zander as she attempted to climb out of bed in a fashion that wouldn't disturb him. Her efforts to allow Zander a few more minutes of sleep did not pay off, however as he stirred beside her. He groaned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Mornin'." Zander's groggy voice echoed through the room. He smiled up at Haleigh who's heart pounded in her chest. "Where you goin'?" Zander's Vermont accent was prominently thick first thing in the morning.

"I have to go take a quick shower before class." Haleigh explained as she stood up from the bed. She made her way over to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day.

"Want some company?" Zander joked as he sat up in bed. He picked his phone up from the nightstand and began looking through it. Haleigh rolled her eyes at his comment and threw a scarf at him. He chuckled and continued to look through his phone.

"Are you going to be here when I get back?" Haleigh wondered as she gathered her robe and bathroom bag.

"Do you want me to be?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you want to leave you can. I have to be at my first class by eight." She explained. Zander stood from the bed and shoved his phone into his back pocket before walking over to stand in front of Haleigh.

"Okay," He picked up his jacket with his right hand and cupped Haleigh's cheek with his left. He guided her face towards his and kissed her lips briefly. "See ya around." He said plainly before slipping on his jacket and heading out the door.

The rest of the week seemed to drag on. Haleigh spent most of her time texting and FaceTiming Zander who had been too busy with work to come hang out with her. She had seen Sam only once or twice the entire week, she had been spending most of her time with Charles or at the library working on the school newspaper. She wasn't even able to tell Sam about her date with Zander yet.

Haleigh was ecstatic when Friday arrived. She couldn't wait for her last class to be over with so she could head to her hometown to see her family. She had packed a bag and had already loaded it into her car that morning. She had been the first student out of the classroom when the professor had dismissed her final class. Haleigh rushed toward the parking lot, eager to get the hour drive over with.

Haleigh was surprised to see Zander waiting by her car. She made her way over to him, looking at him questioningly.

"What are you doing?" She smiled when she had closed the gap between then. He pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head before handing her something in a Burlington Bagel Factory bag. It was then that she noticed he was still wearing his work apron underneath his infamous leather jacket.

"Snack for the road." He explained.

"It's only an hour drive. I think I'll survive." She joked. "But thank you." She took the brown paper bag from him, and unlocked the driver side door of her '98 Subaru Outback.

"Alright..." Zander trailed off, looking in the direction of the bagel shop. "It's supposed to start snowing soon, so be careful." Haleigh rolled her eyes. He sounded exactly like her father.

"I'll text you later, freak." She giggled as she hopped into the front seat and started the car. She put the car in drive and started in the direction of her hometown. She smiled as she saw Zander wave in the rearview mirror. He was acting like she was going off to war or something. She shook her head and flipped on her favorite radio station.