Nowhere But You

Chapter 4

River drove home almost instinctively. He wasn't paying attention to the road, all he could see in his mind was beautiful Robin and all he could hear in his head was her voice and laughter, even above the sharp sound of rain hitting the hood of his car and his windshield.

He wasn't sure if he should've listened to the wise side of his conscience and told her what he told her. "I think that needs to fade completely before we carry on with our thing." Bullshit. He wanted her now.

Had he ruined it?

He parked on his driveway and ran upstairs to his room at home, the attic. He took one of his electric guitars, sat on his bed and reclined on the headboard. He began strumming the guitar, without plugging it to an amp. A few scattered notes soon became a sweet, melancholic melody and once he realized it, he played it over and over again.

Whenever he felt stressed or upset about something, River liked to find peace through his music and his guitars. However, this could've been the first time he'd ever composed something with someone specific in mind.

***

"Hey, where are you? Pick up, pick up, pick up..."

It was Nathan's voice coming from Robin's answering machine. She listened from her bed where she lied, imagining shapes against the white of her ceiling, and still kicking herself for what had happened earlier. Clearly, she didn't want to speak to anyone at the moment, much less him.

"Oli, I just woke up, I know, I know it's almost 8 pm and I know you wanted to go grocery shopping today, I'm sorry, I was pooped." There was regret in Nathan's voice. He thought maybe she was upset he wasn't there for her as he'd promised. He of course had no idea of her brief encounter with River. "Um... I hope you're feeling better, after... last night. I'm here, if you wanna talk or hang out, just two floors down." He sighed. "Alright then, see you in a few hours for work."

There it was again, the lump in her throat. Robin hated being an easy crier. Most times she sucked it up, but she detested getting emotional in general. To her, it was a sign of weakness. This time she wasn't just sad, she was frustrated and angry at no one else but herself. Why didn't she just keep walking upstairs the night before? Why did she walk up to Nathan instead? Maybe, deep inside, she did want to spend the night with him.

No, it had to stop. Even if the thing with River was potentially ruined, it had to stop.

***

"Morning, gorgeous." Nathan greeted Robin as she opened her door. Four o'clock. Every day, he picked her up to go to work together.

"Hi. Let's go." Robin replied dryly without looking up at him, walked outside and closed the door behind her.

We're a bit moody this morning, he thought.

They exited the apartment complex and headed for work in his car. The streets were still dark, silent and deserted. The quietness inside the vehicle, however, was deafening.

Nathan could feel the tension, even more when Robin let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oli." He finally spoke up. "What's wrong, why the attitude?"

"Didn't sleep a second last night." She muttered.

"Hm. Not my fault."

"How are you so chipper at fucking four in the morning anyway?" She squinted her eyes, "Just..."

"Okay, what's going on?" He inquired. "Is this about Saturday night?"

"Kind of."

"Uh huh."