One Day At A Time

Chapter 21

Landon's POV

Her head shot from facing the view to meet my interested gaze. I watched as her green eyes, so previously transfixed, turned pale.

“W-what do you want to know?” Her voice came out in nothing but a whisper.

A worry line creased my brow. I hadn't meant to upset her, but I had realized that I barely knew the girl who had lived down the hall from me now 2 months. I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. It was chilled and shaking slightly.

“Anything,” my voice came out soft, “Tell me from the beginning.”

At this, something pierced her eyes, but I couldn't decipher what emotion it was. She pulled her hand back away from mine and brushed her red hair out of her eyes, taking a deep breath. Without a second thought, I knew she was trying to appear strong and put-together, but the deadness in her eyes and grim line of her lips told me differently.

“I was born in California. I don't remember much from there, seeing as we moved when I was 7 years old. But my parents were the best I could ever ask for. I was always a momma's girl,” she smiled slightly when she said this, but it soon vanished.

“We moved to Portland, Maine, and I honestly have always referred to that place as my home. I loved it there, much more than California. Call me crazy, but you foreigners will never understand how much more beautiful and heart-warming Maine was. It was there I met my best childhood friend, Kami.”

Her voice faltered for a moment, and I watched her blink as she turned to face the sea again. I had never heard of this Kami, but then again, I had never asked. But as I stared into this broken girl in front of me, I could see her heart was twisted in pain at the name.

“Tell me about her,” I pushed softly.

When she turned back to me, her eyes seemed to have shrunk, the pale green turning to a near grey.

“Kami was there for me through thick and thin. I don't know what I would have done without her.”

She pressed her lips together. I caught it as a signal that she was ending that topic of discussion, but I wasn't going to give up so easily.

“What do you mean, 'was'?”

The warning bells were going off in my head at the use of that one word. She began drumming her fingers nervously on the bench, refusing to make any eye contact.

“I haven't talked to her since the day I left America.”

I felt a pang in my own chest and was a bit startled by the wave of emotion. I shouldn't care about this, I shouldn't care about her. But this girl, this red-haired devil, was breaking me. It would only be a matter of time until she was holding me in her hands, but until then, I needed to maintain some dignity.

“Your parents?” I stuttered.

She took a sip of her caffeinated drink and licked the thick cream off her lips.

“They became preoccupied with work. I know they meant well; they wanted to provide for me in the best way they could. But I would've taken all their time over the luxuries that were given instead.”

She seemed determined with her answer, and yet her face was pale, her eyes set with a haunting flicker. It was against my better to ask the next question, but I was uncertain if this opportunity would ever arise again.

“How did they die?”

I almost regretted asking as I saw her bottom lip quiver almost imperceptively. Her voice cracked.

“It was a late-night party. I was home alone. They were supposed to hear about my day. They never did. K-killed in a car accident.”

I wanted to comfort her so badly. I had never seen a person look so destitute, so lost, so fragile. But I didn't know how. If only she knew my past, then the shaking girl in front of me may have understood my ignorance, my loss of knowing what to do. I tilted her mug towards me, only to see a few lone drops of coffee spinning aimlessly.

“Come,” I said, dumping change on the table and pulling her up by her hand.

I knew where I was going, though my feet seemed to be stumbling over each other. Alicia looked like her legs weren't working, but she continued to follow me at my rapid pace as if it made sense. The wind out on the wharf licked at our bare skin, leaving its frozen breath in goosebumps on our skin. I got to the end and sat down, pulling her with me. She was shivering, making her tiny frame look like it was convulsing. I wasn't thinking straight in the next few seconds. I lifted her into my lap, wrapping her in the folds of my open coat. Surprisingly, she nestled deeper into my chest, though her face seemed to flush some.

“I wish I knew what to do.”

She shifted a little, her icy fingers playing with the material of my shirt.

“For Landon Ingram, you're doing just fine.”

I smiled at her answer, but I wasn't sure if she was. Her body was still, and were it not for the random brushing of her fingertips against me, I could have forgotten about her altogether.

“I want to make it all go away,” I whispered, pressing my arms around her tighter. “And I will, someday.”

She lifted her gaze to meet mine, and it was only then I noticed the salty trails down her cheeks.

“You?”

I nodded, unsure of what I was completely promising, but knowing my body was deciding for me. This girl was taking me piece by piece. I didn't know how someone like me, no better off than her, could help her in any way. I didn't know what I was going to do. Heck, I didn't even know exactly what I had promised. All I knew was that Alicia Carter was broken, and I was the one to put her back together.