VAGABOND

Ana

FOUR

Things were finally starting to come together. She was making progress on a lot of her projects that she now had some time on her hands. All week she was trying to keep herself busy and forget about the tangled web she was slowly spinning.

With spring break only two weeks away she was anxious to have a break from everyone here at the school, including Beth. Everything about her was making it hard for her to stay away. But as she sat at the kitchen island toying with a now worn business card, half of her screaming to throw it away and the other half begging her to just call.

Ana pushes herself up to her feet and begins to pace around trying not to look in the direction of the damned card. She turns on the TV and starts to absentmindedly flip through channels before landing on the weather channel. Anything to drown out the images in her head.

It had been a week since she had her in her apartment and yet she could still feel traces of her lingering in the air.

Ana was struggling with this. It had been so long since she felt this kind of connection to anyone. The only other person who made her feel this way had left a void in her. Something she wasn't sure could ever be filled.

She tries to shake the images from her head and focus on what the weather man was saying about a local storm. But she had already lost interest and was now standing in front of the dreaded card.

She picks it up in with her left hand while her right hand begins to type out a text and hits send before she could even think about changing her mind.

She stares down at the screen biting her bottom lip hoping it won't go through.

A notification pops up making her almost drop her phone in anticipation. She begins to read it and her heart sinks. It was Donovan wondering if he could come by.

She wasn't in the mood to entertain but she also knew she couldn't hide away alone in her apartment, so she texts him the address to her favorite pool hall telling him she wanted to get out of the house and if he could pick her up.

She waits downstairs until she sees his car pull up and he reaches over and opens the passenger door for her.

"Always the gentleman. But I've told you, flattery will get you nowhere with me."

The color starts to rise in his cheeks as he mumbles something about just trying to be nice as he pulls back onto the road.

"Any plans for spring break?"

He asks, trying to get any hints on if she was going to stick around campus or not. Donovan never left for holidays. And she was never really sure where he went in the summer. He has always been reserved. But with Ana, he would allow sneak peeks into his life before shutting her out again.

She could sense his tension. She reaches over and rubs the back of his neck with the tips of her fingers.

"I think I'm going to stick around and see what kind of mess I can get into while everyone is gone."

He stares out at the road while nodding his head. She slumps back into her seat hoping they would get there soon so she didn't have to sit in this awkward silence any longer than she needed to.

They park on the side of the pool hall and Donovan is out the car before she could even open the door. She trails a few steps behind him as they make their way through the crowded tables until they find one that looked as if the guys were on their last game. Donovan pulls out a few quarters, placing them on the pool table.

"Let's go get a drink", He barely manages to grumble. Ana's eyes scanned him as they stood at the bar waiting for their beers. Something was off with him. She hadn't seen him this unhinged in years. On instinct, she reaches out towards him and to put her hand on his arm but before she could even get near him he was already pulling back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?", her tone starting to rise by the second. She wasn't always the most patient person, but she was really trying to not react at the moment.

"I'm fine! Stop looking at me like that. I don't need your pity today Ana." He snaps, his face now going deep red.

"Well fuck me for giving a damn!" She practically yells, drawing unwanted attention.

She opens her mouth again to really tear into him but before she could get the first word out he is shoving her aside and stomping over to the pool tables like an angered bull seeing red.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? We had next game!"

He yelled down at the guys who were now advancing on him.

"I don't see any quarters up asshole." The smallest guy spits out.

"That's because you stole them didn't you fuckers" He was now drawing a crowd.

"Donovan maybe we should go." She pleads.

"Maybe you should listen to your bitch and get out before you get hurt." The bigger of the two snarls.

Before she could even blink Donovan was on him. He slammed their bodies to the ground and wrestled around until he was on top of the stranger, his fist landing hard and fast on the sides of the man's head as he tried to protect his face.

From behind him two bouncers wrap their arms around his arms and head and proceed to drag him outside while Ana tries to push through the crowd after them.

Once she finally makes her way through and is racing outside, she only see's the now pissed off bouncers standing near the entrance in case he tried to come back. She was to late He was already peeling out of the parking lot and racing off down the street abandoning her.

That escalated way too quickly. What is going on with him.

She decides to just walk to ten blocks back to her apartment. It was better than hanging around here. They probably have already called the cops and she did not feel like having to explain his actions to them when she was just as clueless as to why the incident even happened.

Once she reaches her building she sits outside on the steps catching her breath from having half jogged all the way over to try run from these thoughts she was starting to have about Donovan. He was terrifying when he was in a mood. There was only one other time she has seen him this way and she always tried her hardest to erase those images.

She tries to light a cigarette despite her shaking hands and leans back against the steps looking up into the sky. She wished she could see stars out here. But those were one of the disadvantages of living the city life. She would give anything to be able to lay under the stars with nothing but darkness all around her.

She lets out a sigh as she starts to get up and in the same motion try and shove her lighter back in her pocket which was proving to be more difficult then it needed to be. She reaches in and pulls out the damn thing that was getting in her way. She examines the crumpled card, amazed that it was even still in her pocket. She unfolds it and pulls out her phone. She was tired of letting it eat away at her.

Her hands glide across the screen as if she already knew exactly what she was going to say like she had been planning it all along.

Maybe deep down inside you really were. You just needed to be pushed off the edge.

She quickly hits send and her stress instantly floats away with it. It was simple and to the point. Asking if she would care to see a private look at some of her work tonight at her place.

Her hands are sweating, and it had only been a minute since she sent it. The phone gives a little vibrate and her heart hits her stomach.

That can't be her already.

She quickly unlocks her phone and her eyes skim the message.

I'll be there at ten o'clock.