Taylor

Chapter Three

The following day, I found myself back at the home improvement store looking at more paint swatches–I had only grabbed a few colors last time and I wanted more options to choose from. I grabbed a large range of colors and shoved them into my back pocket. The couch I had ordered was black and white, which would look good against a bold colored wall, but I wasn't sure which bold color I wanted. My phone began to ring and I answered it.

"You brought him the owl, didn't you?" It was Sara.

"Yeah."

There was a brief pause before she said, "You should have let him know."

"I wasn't going to wake him up just because I was there. He just looked so... tired."

"He is tired, Taylor. All the time. I'm sure he would have rather seen you than slept." Before I could reply, she added, "You couldn't face him, could you?"

I shook my head, well aware she couldn't see my reply.

"He doesn't hate you, you know. He wonders why, and he gets angry about it, but he doesn't hate you."

"I'm not back here to rekindle old friendships, Sara. I'm here to fix up my parents' house and sell it and go somewhere as far away from here as possible."

"I see," was all she said for a minute. "Then why did you see him at the hospital? What if he had been awake instead?"

"I guess I just wanted to see that he was okay."

"Well, you could have just asked me. Look I have to go. He does his treatments Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just in case you ever need to know that information. It was good seeing you again, Taylor." She hung up the phone and I frowned. I put it back in my pocket before leaving the store and going home.

When I got home, I taped all the paint swatches along the wall I wanted to paint and took a step back to examine all the colors. Unfortunately, I thought they would all make an awesome accent wall and couldn't choose. Growling in frustration, I sat down in my beanbag and stared at my phone in boredom, not sure what to do today. With no friends and no job, there was no life.

I flipped through the apps on my phone until my eyes landed on a movie app. I opened it up and read through what was playing at the movies tonight.

A few hours later, I grabbed a quick bite to eat then headed to the theater. It had been a very long time since I had gone to see a movie . I wanted the whole experience: drink, popcorn, candy. I stood in a short line to purchase my ticket, then went inside to stand in line for snacks.

"Taylor?" A voice came from behind me. But not just any voice. It was his voice–a voice I would know anywhere.

Luke.

I ignored him, hoping that, in doing so, he would think he had the wrong person, or maybe I would just melt into the floor and disappear. But that was stupid. I turned around reluctantly and met his gaze. Seeing him made my breath catch. Although he was noticeably thinner and paler, he was just as handsome as I remembered. I stared at him, feeling at a loss for words.

"Why... what...." he shook his head and shrugged then dropped his shoulders, clearly confused.

"It's... nice to see you again," I stated halfheartedly, turning back to the menu as my turn came just in time. I went to the counter and got my snacks before turning and quickly walking to the left hallway, ignoring my name being called behind me. I sat down in my recliner seat and frowned at the screen, the mood to be here completely vanishing. Then his face appeared around the wall, causing my heart to almost stop.