It Begins With Us

7.

I wait in my seat feeling miserably ravaged as the people file out. I sit there and wait for her to come find me.

"Ryle?" She says and I look up to find her standing at the end of my aisle.

I clear my throat and stand on numb legs. I walk over to her and press my lips to her forehead, I feel her eyelashes skim my chin as her eyes flutter shut.

"Let's go?" I ask and she smiles carefully and nods.

We pull our coats on and walk silently out of the building and to my car. Once inside I turn the heater on, it's still facing the passenger seat.

"How was it?" She asks softly.

"It was beautiful." I say just as, if not even more, softly. "It reminded me of.... Emmy."

"Emmy?" She whisper pulling her knees to her chest and burrowing deeper into her jacket.

"My.... daughter." I say carefully.

'Why the hell am I telling doing this?' I think.

"I think of my father whenever I play that part....." She trails off and I wonder why her father, so I ask.

"He's not around anymore." She says and now I wonder is she's asking herself the same question I did. 

"Alba." I say turning to her and she turns her face, leaning her cheek on her knees to face me, and a dam of question breaks loose.

"Why are you telling me this? Why did you invite me? Why did you come when I called you? Why did you put your number up on Facebook? Why did you tell me your name? Why did you sit beside me that last game? Why did you reject me the game before that?"

"Because I know." She says carefully. "I know you're the one I've been waiting for."

"The one you've been waiting for?" I repeat quietly, but she shakes her head in a sort of sad way.

"Okay," I stop for a second, "then why me?" I ask instead.

"Because you need me," she says her eyes turning to me, their dark with emotions, "and I need you."

"I don't get it." I shake my head.

"I have what you need to be whole, and you have what I need." She tried to explain.

"What do I have? What do I need?" I ask.

"You need permanence, and I need affection. You need someone to love and stay, I need someone to love me, and let me stay." Alba breaths in.

"How would you possibly know what I need." My voice is hard and my hands are gripping bruising my tight mounting one another.

'Stop!' I think. 'Calm down!'

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She scoffs.

"Try me." I say, bite in my words.

My vision is blanking and I wanna tell her to get out, but I also want to know.

"I used to be a time traveller." She says turning to me, a wistful smile in her face.

My frustration and confusion is shocked away.

"Oh come on." I mutter and I'm taken over by the overwhelming feeling of wanting to grab her and kiss her, then drive her straight to a hospital.

"Guess that's what I get for asking stupid questions." I huff releasing the grip on my hands.

"Guess so." She trails off and we fall into a silence.

"Why does it even matter how I know?" She suddenly bursts. "I could just tell, okay?"

"Tell me I'm wrong, and then we'll go from there." She adds when I don't say anything. Another silence falls over us.

"You're not wrong." I whisper and she watches me carefully. "This is crazy. I can't believe this."

"Just accept that you need someone to help you, and be man." Alba sort of roars and forces a short breathy laugh out of me.

I rub my face and then my eyes.

"Alba." I say and turn to her.

"Ryle?" She says back also turning to me.

"Would you like to go on a date next weekend?" I spring it on her, and she gapes at me.

"Are you for real?" She asks and I grin.

"Yes, you psycho." She glares at me.

"Let's go on another date and just, eat, shop, hold hands, kiss, and more. Okay?"

"Okay." She nods turning pink. "But I wanna know more about you someday." She adds quickly making me sigh.

"Fine, someday." I agree. "And you can tell me about your time travels." I joke.

"Never, those adventures are strictly classified." She says seriously and I shake my head as we drive off.

-

"Where are we going?" She asks and I smirk.

"To eat." I reply coyly and she whimpers.

"What? Me?" She asks feigning fear, and I snort.

"I've been ready for that since day one." I scoff and she turns her red face away.

"But as of now, no. We're going to eat at a restaurant." We fall silent and my smirk deepens.

"Unless obviously you want to be eaten, then I can-" she cuts me of with a shriek and giggle and I laugh.

"Stoooooooop!" She squeals covering her ears.

"Okay! Okay!" I lie, raising my voice over her's. Then just for the heck of it I add, "...... my mother did teach me not to play with my food."

"Ryle!" She laughs and accidentally snorts which only makes her laugh more.

"What are you high on?" I ask laughing.

"You!" Alba keeps laughing and I shake my head.

"Lies!" I huff and she shakes her head wiping her tears. "You haven't smoked me yet."

And that sends her off all over again.

"You-" she stops to catch her breath. "-you must be a comedian in you free time."

We settle into comfortable silence until she finds something else she'd like to talk about. 

"Oh! What do you like doing in your free time." Alba asks scooting right to the edge of her seat, as close to me as possible.

So I tell her, as we drive off in the winter afternoon.