Alone by Tiffany Lovering Read Free Book Online

eyes adjusted to the light. The overhead lights were brighter than most places. I needed the light for when I worked late at night.
    “ Sorry,” I said as I went to a smaller lamp next to the side table next to the couch and turned that on so I could turn off the overhead lights. “I work late at night and need it that bright. I am used to it.”
    “ It's okay,” she laughed. “It's usually only that bright in a hospital or some institution.”
    I laughed at that. She was right of course, but that was also part of the reason I had taken this apartment in the first place. “Would you like some coffee or something?”
    “ Coffee would be great thanks.”
    “ Go relax on the couch or something, I'll get it ready.”
    She opted instead for the bar stool on the other side of my kitchen island watching me work. She rested in her head in her hands looking tired.
    “ Do you mind if I clean up a little bit?” Sara asked shyly after a few minutes of silence. Of course she would want that.
    “ Not at all. I'll show you the bathroom. You're more than welcome to take a shower even, if you'd like.” I glanced over at her saw her eyes light up a bit. I grabbed a towel from the closet and found some warm clothes for her to change into. We were about the same size so she should feel a little more comfortable than in the dirty over-sized get up she was wearing now. “I think everything you need is in there. If you need anything else, just yell, okay?”
    “ Thanks.”
    As she took her shower, I put together a snack tray of fruits, veggies, crackers and cheese for us to share. I had no idea what she liked, but there had to be something there she would eat. When the coffee was finished brewing, I poured myself a cup and drank slowly at the island until she came out.
    Sara's hair was a lot longer than I had imagined when I saw it in the knot on the top of her head earlier. It flowed effortlessly to the middle of her back, a honey brown color that would lighten even more as it dried.
    “ Thanks,” she said as she looked down at her new clothes and pulled up the sleeves of the hoodie to reveal her hands.
    “ No problem. I made a snack for us,” I said bringing the tray into the living room and put it on the coffee table. Sara had grabbed the mugs of coffee off the island and followed me.
    “ Wow. That looks so good.”
    “ I wasn't sure what you liked so I grabbed a bit of everything. Take whatever you want.”
    “ Thanks again Willow.”
    I watched her eating the strawberries the juices of them turning her lips a brighter red. She caught me staring at her and blushed a little making her look healthy and almost normal despite the bruises.
    “ What are you thinking?” she asked.
    “ Just kind of wondering where you came from. I've never seen you before that day on the street.”
    “ I've always lived here.”
    “ Really? Me too. I can't believe I've never seen you before like in school or something.”
    “ Weren't you a little busy in high school? You know, putting together an art portfolio for colleges?”
    I laughed that she would remember that. I hadn't exactly made it a habit to tell people what I was doing in high school. The theories that the gossips came up with were always more interesting.
    “ Did you ever end up going to college?”
    “ No, I didn't,” I said trying to sound confident in my choice to stay. “I got a spot in the gallery here and decided to stay. After all, making it into an art gallery was my whole objective in going to college. Once I was accepted by Miss Morgan here, I didn't see the point in going anymore.”
    “ I see. You were so focused in high school I thought for sure you'd get out of this town.”
    “ Did I have any classes with you?”
    She laughed, “A few.”
    I struggled thinking of how I could miss her in the small student body at New Jollie High. I was focused on my art, but I wasn't blind. People change though, and it had been a few years. How strange it was that I didn't