Robbers I Paul Mescal

Chapter 5

Sienna woke up the next morning with a sense of emptiness in her chest. She had spent the night with Paul, a man she had only just met, but one who had made her feel alive in a way she hadn't felt in years. But now he was gone, and she didn't know if she would ever see him again.

She got up and went about her day, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. She tried to focus on her music, on the gigs she had lined up for the week, but her mind kept wandering back to Paul.

She didn't have his phone number, and she didn't even know his last name. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

Sienna tried to tell herself that it didn't matter, that she had only just met him and that it was foolish to become so attached so quickly. But deep down, she knew that she couldn't shake the feeling that she had lost something important.

Days turned into weeks, and Sienna continued to play gigs at small bars and coffee shops around the city. She tried to focus on her music, to pour all of her energy into the songs she was writing, but Paul was always there in the back of her mind.

Social media didn't exist in those days, so Sienna couldn't even turn to Facebook or Instagram to try and find him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

She began to feel like she was going crazy, like she had imagined the whole thing. But then, one night, she was playing at a little bar on the outskirts of town when she saw him again.

Paul was sitting at the bar, smoking a cigarette and sipping on a beer. Sienna's heart skipped a beat as she saw him, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

She finished her set and walked over to him, trying to keep her cool. They talked for a while, catching up on the weeks that had passed since they had last seen each other.

Paul didn't ask for her phone number, and Sienna didn't ask for his. It was as if they both knew that this was a moment that was meant to be lived in the present, without worrying about what might happen in the future.

As they sat there, talking and laughing and smoking cigarettes, Sienna knew that she had found something special in Paul. And even though she didn't know where this connection would lead, she knew that she was willing to take a chance on it.

Over the next few weeks, Sienna and Paul kept running into each other at different bars and music venues around the city. They would spend hours talking about everything from music to books to their hopes and dreams.

Sienna felt like she had finally found someone who understood her, someone who shared her passion for life and creativity. And Paul felt the same way about Sienna.

One night, after a particularly long conversation about their favorite bands and artists, Paul told Sienna more about the Mojave, the place he used to go to when he was a child.

"It was just this vast expanse of sand and sky," he said, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "I would go there with my dad sometimes, just to get away from everything. We would set up a tent and spend the night under the stars. It was like nothing else mattered except the two of us and the desert."

Sienna listened intently as Paul spoke, picturing the two of them in the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing but sand and sky.

"That sounds amazing," she said, smiling at him.

"It was," Paul said. "I haven't been there in years, but I always think about it when things get tough."

Sienna knew exactly what he meant. She had her own escape, her own way of getting away from the noise and chaos of the city. For her, it was music.