Billboards and Benches

Chapter 40

"Hi," she gives a nervous smile opening the door. "I-I wasn't sure what these meetings were like so I baked." She gestures towards the cookies, muffins, and pies that she set out for the two people entering her home. She assumed there would be more people. "I also made tea and coffee. I have wine too." She looks around awkwardly. She doesn't know what she should do and at this point she's just paranoid.

"It all look great!" The man smiles at her while they enter her home. "I'm Ryan! My boyfriend Max is friends with Shawn." He nods offering her a hand. She smiles at him. This is the first time in a long time that someone's treated her like a human. She isn't used to being treated like a person.

"I'm Dylan, it's nice to meet you." She nods.

"I'm Katie." She smiles offering her hand as well. She stares at the coffee table and sighs. Shawn would tease her endlessly about this. This is the kind of thing she does when she's nervous and if he were here he would find it hilarious. She doesn't like meeting new people to her it's easily the most stressful part of her life.

"Can I get you anything to drink? I have just about everything imaginable." She chuckles to herself for a moment. That's something her boyfriend would've said had he been home. He would've joked about it because she over stocked again. She got nervous getting groceries and just bought half the store. "I'm gonna get myself some kind of alcohol." She mumbles looking towards the kitchen. "Come and pick something out!" She smiles looking over at the pair. They look confused but follow her anyways. The point of their meetings isn't to talk about their boyfriends or girlfriends and go around in a circle talking about how traumatic which experience is. It's all about comforting one another and taking your mind off of the hard stuff.

"These are my favourite!" Katie gasps at the alcoholic beverage that Dylan chooses. She likes the flavoured ones whereas her boyfriend prefers beers and hard liquor.

"I know! I like them because they aren't as bland as his beers." She chuckles waiting for his arms to wrap around her waist. She wants him to kiss her cheek or tickle her, anything at all to remind her that he's here. When she feels nothing she turns around. She forgot he was gone. She forgot these people are only here because he didn't want her to spend too much time alone.

"Tell me about it! Jude always forgets about me! He only buys beer and I hate it." She chuckles popping the tab on her drink. Ryan grabs a water rolling his eyes at Katie who shrugs sipping the beverage. They both seem like amazing people and she's already enjoying their company. They aren't as awkward as she is they're both very social as well.

"God I do all of the grocery shopping! Max gets anxiety in grocery stores and always ends up leaving with a bag of spinach." He laughs. "It's the only thing he knows how to find." Dylan smiles at the story waiting to hear her boyfriends laugh. The house is so empty without him.

"Dylan?" Kenzie marches through the door. "Oh sorry I didn't know you had company. Your parents are here though. Something about surprising you I don't know." She shrugs. Dylan nods at her watching her walk out as her parents enter.

"Hi baby girl!" Her mom smiles hugging her close. "He called us yesterday, said that you would be lonely." She hums kissing her cheek.

"Who are your new friends?" Her dad teases she rolls her eyes.

"This is Ryan and this is Katie. They have a support group so Shawn invited them over yesterday." She smiles at her parents.

"Well if you have your parents we could leave. We don't have to stay." Katie nods. She looks nervous but Dylan smiles.

"We won't stay long, we just needed to check in on our girl. We made you some food babe, put it in the fridge and heat it up later." She rolls her eyes opening another fridge. Ryan and Katie assumes it was just part of the wall.

"He cooked enough for a year and left it for me with notes on how to heat it up and which days to eat what. I'm all set but thank you daddy I appreciate it." She wraps her arms around him. "I'm sorry I won't be in for the class today." She whispers.

"That's okay my love, you take this week. You need the time." He kisses her cheek waving at the people before her parents head out. They'll be back later and she knows it but on their way to the office the stop and Dylan's house is barely a detour.

"What do you guys normally do at these things?" She scrunches her nose. She hates the thought of them all being here in her boyfriends absence. She wishes he was the one here teasing her about her flavoured booze or the way that she sits on the counter. She wishes she was still teaching that class with him by her side. She misses him more than he would know though she managed to put on the brave face for these people he wants her to meet. She knows he isn't in eminent danger so it was significantly easier than she'd thought.

"Sometimes we watch movies, or talk, go shopping, it's not so much a support group more than it is friends." Ryan offers a smile and she giggles clapping her hands.

"Do you wanna go shopping! I love shopping." She giggles making them all smile. She drops off of the counter picking up her phone. "Just one minute." She apologizes picking up her phone. "Hi can I get, yup. As fast as you can get him here." She laughs into the phone while the pair watches. They want to know who she's calling and why. "Oh and I would love it if you could get Jeremy as well?" She mumbles. "Yup that's perfect, okay see you in twenty minutes." She ends the call and looks over at them. She looks at her feet on the ground she can almost hear her boyfriends soft whispering in her ear.

"Don't be so nervous babe. They're good people I promise. They just want to help you." He whispered it to her this morning before he left. She didn't get more than a few minutes of sleep. Her boyfriend was leaving so she watched him sleep. She put his clothes in the dryer every hour so when he woke up they would be warm. She made him breakfast and a smoothie and she cried. He squeezed her tighter and tighter every time she got back into bed. She's already counting down the minutes till he gets home.

"I'm sorry. I bet it's the first time you've gone to a mall with someone who needed a security team." She mumbles sipping her drink.

"It is but it's alright." Katie smiles. "I bet you've never gone shopping with the common folk before." She teases and Dylan smiles.

"I haven't," she shrugs making them all laugh. She watches for a minute taking in the joy. The mere minutes of pure happiness that she lives off of. That's why her and her boyfriend work so well together he only exudes happiness. He's rarely if ever angry and if he is he can change him mood quickly just by seeing her smile. She can still hear his laugh ringing through the hallways. "I feel like I should warn you though." She mumbles and they both look confused while she offers them dark cups to put their liquor in. "I will buy anything. And if you look at something a little too long I'll buy it for you." She mumbles nervously. "Shawn doesn't let me shop with him anymore." She laughs gently pouring her liquor into the cup.

"Can the first stop please be a car dealership." Ryan teases though if he were serious she would buy him one. Maybe she'll send one to his house to thank him for being with her when she needed it. She made friends when she needed them the most and Shawn will be proud of her for it. She stares at the journal he left on the counter. He wants her to document her days in them so that when he gets home he can read all about what she did. He wants to know everything and she promised not to spare a single detail. She listens to the honking of the car and leads them out of the kitchen.

"I have to grab my shoes." She points and they nod heading towards the car. She takes in a deep breath looking at their picture mounted on the wall. It's massive but it's important to them. He says that one day they'll replace it with a wedding photo and he's counting down the days until he can. "I did it bubba, I made friends." She mumbles sliding into her heels. "I'll be okay."