AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Layne got out of her car, checked that her mask was secure, and began with the stuff in the back seat. Her room was on the third floor, but at least there was an elevator. She needed it, too. She couldn’t carry the mini-fridge or the microwave up three flights of stairs today. Unlocking her door brought back so many memories as she moved into the room quickly. The window was open, which was good, and she dropped the fridge onto the floor and quickly sat down on the mattress. She needed a minute to catch her breath. She took that time and went back down in the elevator for more of her stuff until she was finally able to drive her car to the parking lot.
Having parked, she sat there for several minutes, breathing without the mask on in her car before she had to put it back on and walk back to the dorm.
“You’re okay. You’re okay,” she muttered to herself and finally got out of the car, locked it, and slowly began her walk back to her room.
When she cut through the two buildings that were across the street from her own, she noticed Shay standing outside in a mask and with a clipboard. Layne saw her hand the clipboard to someone else and start to walk toward the building.
“Shay!” she yelled without thinking.
Shay turned and saw her. Layne then watched as Shay’s shoulders lowered, and the woman appeared to sigh, but Layne couldn’t see that for sure through her mask. Layne waved at her like an idiot and walked across the street toward her. Shay moved off to the side, getting out of the way of the cars that were pulling up and the students unpacking them. Layne followed and kept about ten feet between them.
“Are you all moved in?” Shay asked.
“Yeah. I just need to unpack. You?”
“I got here yesterday. I told them I’d work a shift today to help everyone get in.”
“Are you done now?”
“Yeah. I need to take a shower. I’m all sweaty.”
“You look great,” Layne complimented.
“In a mask, with sweat dripping down my face from standing out here all day? My hair is probably falling out of my ponytail, too.”
“The look works for you,” Layne replied. “Hey, can we sit?” she asked and pointed to the grass.
“Out here?”
“Where else? It’s safer outside, right?”
“I guess.” Shay waited for Layne to sit in the grass before she followed suit several feet away.
“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I’m not mad. I’m trying to be supportive and understanding. I guess… I guess I was hurt more than anything. We were talking every day, and then, your mom got sick, and it was, like, nothing after that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Shay, I’ve never had someone who needed or wanted to hear from me before. Then, all of this bad stuff started happening. I didn’t know how to deal with all of it and still do what we were doing.”
“I get it. Even though it still hurt, I’m not mad. Is your mom okay?”
“She’s back at work finally and said it was exhausting, but okay.”
“That’s good.” Shay paused. “How are you?”
“Well, I’m here.”
“That’s not an answer to my question, Layne.”
“I feel like I finally got a decent night’s sleep for the first time in a long time a few nights ago.”
“Yeah? That’s good,” Shay replied before tilting her head and asking, “What are you not telling me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Layne, I stared at your face on my phone or laptop every night for a while there. Half of it might be covered right now, but I know your eyes. What’s going on?”
Layne looked down at the grass and said, “I got it.”
