Clarity In The Chaos by Andrea E. (c) 2021

 Clarity In The Chaos 

The wind was blowing particularly hard the day I met Willard.  He's a 17 year old from a broken home. It was my job to counsel “troubled” adolescents. I was a licensed social worker and I had a great percentage rate of clients who gradually showed mood improvement over time. That's why I had hope for Willard when I first started with him. I had no idea how difficult the journey would be or how far I would go to help him.

The first part of the day went by smoothly, nothing unusual at all. Four o'clock came around, almost the end of the day. But I had one more appointment, a new client. I glanced at the name. Willard Johnson.

As I walked out to meet him, I had the strangest feeling of anxiety. I met with new clients before without any nervous butterflies. What made this time so different? I called Willard's name and noticed a boy with  messy black hair--obviously dyed-- piercing blue eyes, and a silver lip ring. He got up from his seat and walked toward  me. I smiled and ushered him through the door. 

“Hello, I'm Allison Williams. How are you today?”

“Alright, considering my mom made me come here.”

When we stepped into my office, he plopped down in a chair and crossed his arms. From his expression and body language I could tell this was going to be a difficult session. I would try my best to get the most out of these sessions with him. But I knew that people who didn't want to be in therapy, didn't necessarily get anything out of it. If Willard wanted to get better, then he would. I couldn't force him into anything. 

“So, Willard--”

“I prefer Will.”

“Right, Will. You said your mom made you come to therapy. Do you see any reason for you to be here?” I waited patiently for his answer.

“Nope, I'm perfectly fine.”

I frowned slightly. He was going to be a difficult client. Well, I've always liked a challenge.

“Will, I'm going to be frank. Your mom wouldn't have sent you to me if you weren't having some trouble. Is it school? Home life? You tell me because I can't guess.”

“Wow, lady, you've got some brass. Alright, I'll tell you.” he sighed.

“My dad's out of the picture. So my mom worries a lot about me. I'm not doing too well in school. My grades are bad. It's not that I'm dumb, I just don't give a shit.”

“Why don't you care about your grades?” I asked.

“I don't know, I care about my music more.”

“Oh, do you play an instrument?”

“Yeah, guitar. I sing too,” his eyes lit up.

“Wonderful! You know, when I was in high school, I mostly just wanted it to be over.” I said, not telling him it was because I couldn't wait to get to college.

“Yeah, I just want to be done with it. I bet you were good in school,” he examined his finger nails.

“I did alright. So, is there anything else besides school you want to talk about?”

“Eh, not really, can I go now?”

“We still have 20 more minutes and I need some of your history. Have you been feeling down or sad lately?”

“No,” he answered.

He answered no to all of my questions. I was beginning to get frustrated. I glanced at the clock and it was time to end our session.

“Okay then. When would you like to make your next appointment?” I smiled.

“I don't care. Sometime after school, I guess.”

“Right. Here's my card with my extension. You can call anytime during the day. If you don't reach me, then you can leave me a message and I will return it the next day,” I smiled.

“Okay, bye,” he got up to leave.

“Alright. Bye, Will.”

A few hours later, I got into my car and drove home. It was gridlock as usual. It started pouring rain a few minutes before I pulled up to my driveway. Great, I was going to get soaked.  I hurried to the front door. I dropped my keys and cursed. Turning the key, I finally and stepped in. 

I checked my voicemail on my cell. Maybe Ron had called. He was a college boyfriend I'd reconnected with and we'd rekindled our relationship. As I went through the messages, I got a feeling he didn't call. But I still had one message to listen to.

“Hey, Ally. I know you're at work, but I'm going to have to cancel our date tomorrow night. I have to stay late at work. Sorry, babe. Talk to you later.”

This was the second time he'd done this. I was starting to think he was seeing someone else on the side. I sank into my easy chair and kicked off my shoes. Without giving it much thought, I flipped  through the channels on the TV. Nothing grabbed my attention. It was the end of the message that bothered me. He didn't say “I love you” at the end like he usually does. I picked up the phone and started to call him. It rang 3 times. I was formulating in my head what to say in the message. But then he picked up. 

“Hey, Ally. What's up?”

“I got your message saying you had to cancel our date. Is your boss on your case again?”

“Yeah, he's a dick. You know Ally, I really have to go.”

“Oh. Listen, I know it's late, but you think you could come over? I really need to see you. I miss you, baby,” I put on my best sexy voice in the last sentence.

“Honey, I'm really tired. Hopefully, I can meet you for lunch sometime next week. Talk to you later, okay?”

“Well, Okay. I'll call you later. I love you.”

“Alright, bye, babe.”

The line went dead. I went to bed feeling cold and alone. Strangest thing was, I thought I heard a woman’s laugh right before he hung up. 

A week went by with no word from Ron. I had called and left messages.  I didn't want this relationship to end. I loved him and I knew he loved me.  I went to see Ron at his office to bring him lunch. When I walked into his office, what I saw made me gasp. A woman was bent over the desk, her skirt pushed up and her panties around one ankle. Ron had his pants around his ankles. They both turned around and looked at me. I stood there frozen, not believing what I was seeing. 

“Ally!”

“You son of a bitch...” I said, my voice low and angry. 

Before he could explain any further, I left in a hurry, not wanting him to see me cry. The first tear fell just as I got into my car. I stared at the steering wheel and more tears poured out. I wished so bad I hadn't walked in on that. To have found out any other way would have been better. That asshole! That slut! Whoever the hell she was! Where had he met her? How long had it been going on? Those questions and more rushed through and spun in my mind. I loved Ron and I thought he loved me. Was there something wrong with me? Was it because of my hair color? I didn't dress sexy enough? I drove back to work on autopilot.

I wanted to cancel my appointments for the rest of the day, but I had a commitment to my patients that I needed to uphold. My following 3 appointments went by quickly. When 4 o’clock came around, I was ready to go home. But I had one more client left, Willard. I walked to the waiting room and called his name. I saw his eye. A bruised, black mess. I waved him over. He got up slowly as if he had, perhaps, been beaten. The limp he sported confirmed it. I helped him into a chair.

“Who did this to you?”

“I can't tell you...” 

“If someone is hurting you, I have to report it. Confidentiality doesn't apply here.”

“I know, that's why I can't tell you,” he frowned.

“I can help you.”

“Ms. Williams, in 4 months I turn 18 and I'm fucking out of there!”

“Will...” 

“You're not going to let up are you?” he sighed.

“No, I'm not.”

We sat in silence for a while. I saw tears well up in Willard's eyes. I decided to try a different approach. 

“Can I get you some ice for your eye?” I asked and he nodded.

I left the room and went to the small kitchen to get the ice. Someone was hurting him. I knew I had to get him to tell me who it was. I walked back to my office. Willard was there staring at the wall. When he turned to look at me, I saw more tears streaked across his face.

“It's my mom's boyfriend. He beats me.” 

 

“Go on,” I looked down briefly and wrote on my note pad.

“I can't. Look, can we end early? I have band practice.”

“Please, just give me his name and I promise you it will never happen again,” I looked in his eyes. He was tearing up again.

“His name is Keith. Keith Davis.”

“I'm very glad you told me. Everything will be okay,” I assured him.

“Yeah, sure,” He scoffed.

“I'm going to give you my cell number. Just in case you'd like to discuss anything before the next session,” I wrote my number on a business card and gave it to him.

“Thanks,” he said.

He turned to walk out the door.

“Everything will be fine,” I assured.

“Yeah. I'll see you next week, Ms. Williams,” he left.

It was 2 in the morning when I got a call from Will.

“Hello?”

“You said it would be alright! My mom kicked me out!” Will yelled, his voice shaking.

“Where are you?”

“Outside of Jimmy's Guitars. You said it would be alright...”  he said.

I normally wouldn't do this, but it was late and I didn't want him to get more upset than he already was. 

“I'll come get you, stay there.”

I drove to Jimmy's Guitars in a hurry. When I got there, Will was sitting on the curb with his duffle bag and guitar. He put his things in the back seat and got in. He was beaten badly and I could see blood crusted around his nose. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I didn't mean to yell at you over the phone,” he said, ignoring my question.

“It's okay. I should have done something sooner. I failed you.”

“What happens now?” he asked.

“Do you have anyone you can stay with?”

“I don’t know anyone beside Jeremy, and he’s on vacation in Florida,”

I didn’t know what to do. Unless he stayed with me. 

“You could stay with me, just for tonight,” I said reluctantly.

“ Thank you. That's nice of you.”

We got back to my house around four AM. I made Will a bed on the couch. He kicked off his shoes and was asleep in less than 5 minutes. Poor guy. I was determined to fix this mess. I was going to call CPS first thing in the morning. In 4 hours.

I couldn't sleep after I brought Will back with me. I glanced at the alarm clock every 30 minutes. I was so angry with myself for not handling it as soon as I could. But it never occurred to me that his mom would be so selfish and kick him out. She chose her scum of a boyfriend over her son and that was not okay.

When 8 AM rolled around, I had not slept at all. I got ready for the day, fighting fatigue. I tip-toed my way into the kitchen to make myself some coffee. In my open concept house, the living room was fully visible from the kitchen. I looked over at Will, still asleep on the couch. He had his mouth open slightly. His jet black hair was mussed from sleeping. I smiled. I found myself comforted somehow. I'd been lonely here. Ron used to sometimes sleep over. I'd forgotten how it felt to have to be quiet in the mornings. This was not like Ron and I. Will was only here for a little while and was certainly not, by any means, my boyfriend. The feeling of comfort was replaced by shame and a little embarrassment. I looked away from him and finished making the coffee. The aroma of the coffee was strong. I heard him yawn and then heard a thud. He'd fallen off the couch. I rushed over to him.

“Are you okay?” He'd barely missed the coffee table.

“Yeah. Where's your bathroom?”

“It's down the hall to your left,” He was fine.

I told him I'd pour him a cup of coffee. As I poured the coffee into my Georgetown University mug, I got a strange feeling that something big was about to happen. I could be just nervous about calling CPS. But I never have any nerves when speaking to them. I was quite friendly with the head of the CPS office, Sheila, here in San Diego. This was different. I'd allowed myself to get personally involved. Therapist's rule number one: DON'T GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED. But I only let him stay because the circumstances were extreme. Besides, no one will know about this. Unless CPS asks where he slept last night and I know they will. Shit. I'll just tell them the truth. I think I'm screwed.  Just then, Will came out of the bathroom and sat down at the kitchen table. 

“Thank you again, Ms. Williams. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't picked me up,” I handed him his coffee. He took a sip and made a face.

“Oh, sorry, I didn't ask you how you take it.”

“Just black with sugar,” he cleared his throat.

“Here you go,” I handed him the sugar and a spoon.

“You know, I really appreciate what you've done for me.”

That sentence caught me off guard. 

“You're welcome. I don't want you to be scared or nervous about anything that might happen,” I said in a tender tone.

“I know. It'll be okay. I'm not going to a halfway house or something, by the way. You can save your breath,” 

“I have to make sure you're safe. There is a house for teens...” 

“No. I can stay with my friend, Jeremy, until I can get a job and find my own place.” 

Will stared at the table and started trembling. 

“He'll be prosecuted for what he did to you,” I put my hand on his shoulder.

“I want them to lock that bastard up and throw away the fucking key,” he said, his tone turning dark.

He let out a big sob and clung onto my hand like it was his lifeline. I told him everything would be alright and put my arm around him. Throwing his arms around my waist, he sobbed. I tried my best to soothe him. My nurturing side took over and I found myself rubbing his back. Pulling  me in close, he hugged me tightly, then he pulled away from me a little. Our eyes met. 

“You must be starving. Do you want breakfast?” I said, trying to shake the uneasy feeling I had.

“Yeah. Thank you,” he said.

I could feel his eyes linger on my back. Had I imagined a moment between us? Allison May Williams, that is ridiculous! 

“How do you like your eggs?”

“Do you know how to make an omelet?” he asked hopefully.

“Not really,” I admitted.

“That's okay. I'll show you.”

Before I could protest, Will was out of his seat and had come up behind me. He showed me how to flip the omelet by placing his hand over mine on the spatula. He was very close to me, so much so, that I could hear him breathing. This was a little unnerving to be honest. Not to mention inappropriate. I almost stopped him, but something felt good about being so near him. 

We ate our breakfast in silence. I drove Will to the CPS office and  saw Sheila, she assigned Will a case worker. They sent out an investigator to Will's house that same day. I sent Will to school with a note as to why he was late that morning. I told him to go to my office after school. When he hadn't shown up by 4:25 p.m., I started to get worried. I called his cell. He answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“It’s Ms. Williams. You were supposed to come by my office after school, remember?”

“Oh I know. I'm at my friend Jeremy's. He just got a sick new video game.” I could hear loud music in the background.

“You really should have called, Will. Where does Jeremy live? I'll pick you up.” I was a little peeved.

Will texted me Jeremy's address after we had hung up. When I got there, I noticed loud music coming from the house. I knocked on the door. When no one answered after a minute, I knocked more loudly. A light blond haired boy Will's age, answered. His eyes were glassy and he reeked of pot. 

“Hi, is Will here?” I asked.

“He might be. Or not. Are you the therapist?”

“Yes, I am. May I come in?”

“What's the password?” he smirked at me, looking me up and down.

I was just about to give this boy, whom I presumed to be Jeremy, a piece of my mind, when Will appeared in the doorway next to him.

“Hi, Ms. Williams,” he smiled and to my discouragement, he also reeked of pot. 

“She doesn't know the password, man. She can't come in.”

“Lay off her, Jer. She's cool,”

“In that case, mi casa es su casa, baby.” Jeremy laughed, then coughed.

“Thank you.” I smiled politely and walked through the door. 

To my surprise, the house was immaculate. They must have a maid. Then, I caught a glimpse of a messy teenage boy's room. Messy was an understatement. There was a bed, a full, and a makeshift bed on the floor. I assumed that was where Will was sleeping.

He stood very close to me, unintentionally making me uncomfortable. It was his pot smoking that made me uneasy, or at least that's what I told myself. But deep down, I knew it was something different entirely. 

“I hope you don't smoke pot often.”

“Sure, we'll go with that,” he smirked and looked at me playfully, biting his lip a little bit.

If I didn't know better, I'd say he was looking at me the way he would a girl his age. Almost like he was interested. What. The. Hell? 

I shook off the feeling of uneasiness, sat on a desk chair and started his check-in. 

“How are you doing? Have you spoken to your mother? She hasn't returned my calls.”

“I'm fine and no, I haven't talked to her. It doesn't surprise me you haven't been able to reach her. At this point I'm considering myself an orphan.” He said it all very matter of fact, which bothered me immensely. 

I suspected he was suppressing some serious abandonment issues.

“Do you want to talk about what you're feeling right now?” 

“You'll get it out of me one way or the other, right?” he looked completely lost.

I didn’t know what had gotten into me. I had never felt this protective of a client. Every time I saw Will upset, I almost couldn't bear it. Of course I had learned to desensitize in school, but it was like all that went out the window when it came to him. I patted his back and just like before in my kitchen, he threw his arms around me. Our eyes met, my hazel-green ones and his teary blue ones. I brushed a tear away from his cheek. He smiled slightly. Before I could stop myself, I kissed his forehead. Just then I heard Jeremy scream that they were out of Doritios. Had he not screamed, I might have kissed Will on the mouth next. My eyes went wide with shame, embarrassment, and about thirty other emotions. I mumbled something about having to leave.

“Before you leave, I need to give you something.” He jumped up and started rummaging around in his backpack.

Will handed me a flier for a concert tonight. It was for Will's band, The Killjoy Riots.

“I didn't know you had gigs now, Will. That's really great!”

“So you'll come?”

“I'll be there,”

“Promise?” The look of hope in his eyes was adorable.

“I promise.” I smile a toothy grin.

“Thanks, you rock!”

We said our goodbyes and I promised to be at Sparky's at seven. I had to admit the last concert I went to was a long time ago. I was really into country music in my early college days. A far cry from what Will described as “the greatest rock show you'll ever witness.” 

At six 'o clock, I started to get ready. I stripped out of my work clothes, put my hair up, and got into the shower. After that, I put on a black t-shirt and some dark jeans that I thought would be appropriate attire. I straightened my hair and fixed it in a sleek ponytail. For my makeup I went a little heavier than I usually do for the eyeliner and put on false eyelashes. My lips became a glossy, bright pink. I nearly tripped out the door in my black, high-heeled boots.

When I got to Sparky's it was so crowded, I could barely move. The ticket price was reasonable, though. At 10 after 7 The Killjoy Riots took the stage. They opened with what started out as an eerie guitar riff, played by Will. He then sang a few haunting, drawn out words... 

“Everything in this world is a LIE!!!”

When he screamed the word 'lie' the crowd erupted in cheers. I have to admit, screaming isn't my thing when it comes to music. Or anything else, for that matter. But he seemed to know what he was doing and his singing voice more than made up for it, besides. It was sort of raspy, but somehow at the same time clear. 

His voice is sexy, too. 

An inner voice nagged at me. I was furious at myself for having that thought. He is 17, you harlot! I became flushed and almost left when the song ended. Applause and cheers filled the room.

“All right, this one's called Alison and it's dedicated to my new friend.”

I jumped a little when I heard him say my name. Will started into a up-tempo version of the Elvis Costello song. This was inappropriate. He was dedicating a song to me?  All right, Ally, calm down. He probably just is expressing his gratitude towards me. That's all it is. But what if he had developed a crush on me? That would be disastrous. 

The song ended and I made my way to the exit. Once outside, I tried to take deep breaths. Part of me knew I was overreacting. I went to my car and put the key in the ignition.  But, I couldn't bring myself to turn it. Will wanted me to experience this concert with him and I was acting like a child. 

I got out of the car and marched back into the club. Several songs later, I was glad I went back. Will's band was actually something I could see myself listening to. When the concert was over, it left me in a daze. I walked to my car and noticed I had received a text from Will. 

Did you like it? The text read.

Yes! It was fantastic! I texted back. 

Where are you? I want you to come celebrate with the band and me. 

I'm in my car, but I have to get up early tomorrow. I sent back.

Don't leave yet, I'll be there in a bit.

Okay. I was beginning to get nervous.

A few minutes later I heard a tap at my car window; it was Will. I unlocked the door and he got in. His hair was disheveled and he was sweaty, which inadvertently made me think of other situations when he might look this way. 

“So, which song was your favorite?” Will asked me, excited. 

“I liked the opening song a lot.”

“What about the Elvis Costello song?”

“Y-yes I liked that one too,” I stammered.

“I thought you might. You know, Ms. Williams, ever since I started seeing you, I've felt better about my life. I've felt hope for the future and I didn't think I was going to make it another year. I was thinking about killing myself before I started talking to you. But you saved my life.”

Will never talked to me about suicidal thoughts. My mouth was agape. My first instinct was to throw my arms around him. As we held each other close, Will began rubbing my back slowly. I pulled away from him, not because I didn't enjoy the feeling, but because I was enjoying it a little too much. He looked at me curiously, but didn't say a word. I gazed into his sky blue eyes. I needed to set things straight. 

“Listen, I--”

“Don't say anything,” Will put his pointer finger on my lips.

Our lips were separated by only his finger as he kissed me. My breath caught in my throat. I was getting a fluttery feeling in my stomach. But at the same time, I felt myself panic. I had to stop him. I pulled away.

“This is extremely inappropriate. I'm going to ask you to get out of the car. I'm going to recommend another therapist for you. You've obviously formed an unhealthy connection to me.” 

 

“You're afraid of what I can bring to your life,” he said in a low voice.

“And what is that?”

“Clarity in all the chaos.” With that he exited my car.

    I arrived home at a quarter to ten. Throwing on some pajamas, I trudged to the bathroom to take off my makeup. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I got into bed and about a minute later, I started crying my eyes out. I cried for me, for Will, the awful night. I hadn't cried myself to sleep in a while, not since I found out about Ron and his skank. But these tears felt totally different. I was crying because the almost kiss felt good, no matter how much I didn't want it to. 

The ring of my phone sent an anxious jolt through me. I knew it was Will. I know I shouldn't answer it, but I found my hand picking it up anyway.

“Hello?”

“I know I'm the last person you want to hear from right now. Just admit you like me.” The words rang in my ears.

“I will do nothing of the kind.”

“We could kiss for real next time.” His voice was drenched in sensuality. 

“I'm hanging up now, Good-bye.”

“Wait a second! I like you, a lot. You believed in me when everyone else just thought I was a burn-out. You still believe in me, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted. 

“You think you could believe in us?”

“There is no us, there never will be. I'm sorry.” to my horror my voice was cracking.

The call ended.

 

Four Months Later

    Things had gotten back to normal, more or less since my kiss with Will. Maybe more importantly, no one had found out about it. I hadn't heard from Will and I was glad. Reason being, I had reconciled with Ron and he'd asked me to marry him. I know what he did was scummy, but I love him and he loves me. 

    I was organizing my desk, when I heard Marjorie, my assistant, yelling.

    “You can't go in there. Come back here!”

    I heard a knock at my door, and honestly I was a little scared.

    “Who's there? I said sternly.

    “Its Will.”

   

    I opened the door reluctantly.

    Marjorie rushed to the door. I told her that everything was okay.

    “What are you doing here?”

    “I had to see you. I missed you so much.”

    He took my hands and pulled me out of my chair. He stood four inches taller than my 5'7. His eyes were more blue than I had noticed before. He suddenly put his arms around my waist, drawing me closer to him. My arms were limp at my sides. Then, on their own it seemed, they went around his neck. I laid my head on his chest. As I looked up at him, I remembered one crucial detail. Ron.

    “I'm engaged...” I half-whispered.

    Almost immediately he let go of me.

    “I don't know what to say. I guess I was stupid to think that you'd be single still,” he said.  

    “We were seeing each other for a while. We were broken up when you kissed me, if that makes a difference.”

    “Why did you break up before?”

    “He cheated on me.”

   

    Will's eyes went wide.

    “Are you serious? And you're marrying him?” He started to yell.

    “That is hardly your business.”

    “You're right. I just thought you were smarter than that, Ally.”

    “I know what I'm doing, okay?” I shouted defensively.

    “How can you marry him when he fucking cheated on you?” he yelled back.

    My face became pale and I sat back down in my chair.

    “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Its just that, I think I love you,” he knelt down beside me and took my hands in his once more. 

    “What?” my breath caught in my throat. 

    “Yeah, I kind of came here to tell you that.”

    My first instinct was to tell him he was confused. That it was an infatuation and nothing more. How could this boy love me? I was 10 years his senior. More importantly, I was in love with Ron and we were getting married. I had to end this infatuation. Now. 

    “Do you know how old I am?” I asked him.

    “Twenty-eight. Age is just a number, anyway.”

    “You're 17,” I paused.

    “Actually, today I turned 18. You won't get into trouble, I'm legal now.” he half smiled.

    “You're still too young and that's assuming I was interested.”

    “I've seen the way you look at me,” he lowered his voice in a sensual way and placed his hand on my bare knee.

    Before I knew it, it traveled across my thigh until his fingertips were at the hem of my skirt. He looked up, presumably waiting for me to tell him to stop. I couldn't move or speak. I was frozen in disbelief. I finally worked up the courage to move his hand away.  

“You should go.”

“You're making a mistake marrying him.”

“Please leave.”

“I love you,” he gave me a gentle peck on the cheek and left.

                      ***Three months later***

The day of my wedding came around. I had forced myself to forget about Will and the incident in my office. As I looked at myself in the full length mirror, everything seemed perfect. I smiled. I felt and looked beautiful. I heard a knock at the door, it was time to walk down the aisle. 

The music was queued up and everyone was waiting in their seats. My dad had flown in from Texas to give me away. As I walked, I gripped his arm tightly. He quietly asked me if there was something wrong. I shook my head. But deep down I know something was wrong. Will had planted doubt in me. Did I really love Ron? Or was I just settling? 

Dad and I reached the altar. It was about to begin and I felt sick to my stomach. I knew it wasn't supposed to be this way. I was supposed to be happy, damn it! Tears formed in my eyes and I pretended they were joyful ones.

Just then, I heard the doors open. Everyone turned to look, including me. I couldn't believe who it was.

“Allison! Don’t marry him. I love you!” Will ran up to me and took my hands.

“What the fuck?” Ron yelled.

“What are you doing here?” Honestly, I was relieved. 

“Rescuing you from a big mistake,”

“Who the hell are you?” asked Ron.

“Sorry, dude. I'm gonna have to steal your girl,” Will pulled me away from Ron, and I let him. 

We ran from the church and didn’t look back. We found a park nearby and we rested on a bench. As I sat there beside him, I gazed at him as if seeing him for the first time. He was actually pretty good looking. His longish hair whipped in the wind. He put his arms around me and I leaned on his shoulder. He kissed my head and then pulled away to look at me. As I looked back at him, I felt the overwhelming feeling to kiss him. I stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. 

    “I'm glad you came for me,”

    “It was a little dramatic. But necessary,” he said. 

    I laughed at that.

“Yes, but at least now I have clarity. No chaos to be found,” I smiled.

He cupped my face and kissed me. We sat there on the park bench and watched the sun go down.