Just the three of us...

Chapter 4 Tag

I pull my legs up under my chin, sitting on top of the plastic bin, and play with the top of my lighter. A lit cigarette hangs from the side of my mouth, tendrils of smoke drifting past my eyes. I lean back against the wall and hum tunelessly. Today has sucked. Mel was off, hooking up with some girl she had been pursuing for a few weeks. Sam was ultra cranky, his newborn keeping him up all night, and apparently sucking the fun out of him. The doors next to me suddenly burst open and the little brunette flies out.

"FUUCK!!!" she screams. 

"Sounds like your day is going as good as mine." I smile as she jumps and turns to face me. Her eyes are wet, and colour starts to creep across her cheeks. She sniffs, and wipes a hand over her eyes. I jump down off the top of the bin and walk over to her. "We've not actually met, properly." I throw the cigarette away and hold out my hand. "Tag."

She half smiles and shakes my hand. "I'm Alice."

"Pretty. Your name, I mean. " her eyes are piercing, very light blue-grey, they look so cold. I feel a blush start on my cheeks. I realize I'm still holding her hand and drop it, moving back a step. 

"Is that...is that your real name?" she asks quietly, eyes still holding my gaze. I clear my throat.

"Taylor Austin-Greenberg." I spread my arms out dramatically and look towards the sky. "Thank you mom and dad for naming me like a fucking law firm!"

Alice giggles, its a wonderful sound, throaty. 

"Are they dead?" she wonders aloud.

I shove my hands in my pockets and look her.

"No." I smile. " They live in the next town over. But they're still dicks for giving me such a pretentious name. So Tag I became." 

Alice seems to relax a bit more. Her hair is lighter than I thought up close, and even though its pulled back into a bun I can see the wave in it. Small diamond studs glint from her earlobes, and I catch sight of another diamond on a thin silver chain round her neck as she leans forward, resting her elbows against the guard rail of the stairs. I also catch a glimpse of the swell of the top of her breasts, but quickly look away before my imagination gets me in trouble. She sighs and runs a hand over her hair.

"So what's got you in a bad mood today?" I lean down next to her.

"As apposed to all the other days when I'm so happy and full of smiles?" she looks sideways at me, a smile playing on her lips.

"Fuck! You heard?" She smiles properly, and for a second takes my breath away.

"Yeah. Smiler, huh? Not very imaginative." She leans over and bumps me slightly with her shoulder. I grin at the contact.

"Sammy makes up for imagination in cooking skills, so we let him be." Alice laughs again, and my heart swells at being able to get the sound from her lips. "So why don't you tell me what got you so riled up?"

She sighs again, sadness in her eyes.

"I saw someone I really didn't want to see." her voice catches, and her eyes well up again. "Its just...I really want to...." Big tears roll down her cheeks, and her bottom lip trembles. Without thinking about it I pull her to my chest and wrap my arms around her.