It wasn't until we were walking home that I decided to tell Talia about the events had happened earlier. She had been pestering me while I ate but I ignored her. Part of me wanted to just enjoy my food in peace and the other part was trying to figure out what had just happened.
"So they were brother and sister? David and I definitely don't fight like that. Fancy that, hitting your own sister in the middle of the street." Talia had barely taken a breath this entire walk. I hadn't answered any of her questions yet, it was all like a big blurr to me and I wanted to wrap my head around it all. I shook my head.
"He didn't hit her, and it wasn't the middle of the street. And they did look like brother and sister, but...ugh I don't know" I threw my hands up in the air. I gave up on trying to articulate what I had seen. Talia put her hand on my shoulder to get my attention and slowed down so we were almost standing still. I look at her and she was frowning in confusion.
"So you're defending him? Claire, he looks like a real dick. Who cares if he didn't actually hit her, he could've hurt her, and you for that matter. Who do you think you are running over there? You don't know that guy he could've been dangerous." I already knew that. I did. He could've been a psychopath and I ran straight over to him on my own. But there was something about him. The way he looked at me, like he had so much anger built up inside of him but he wasn't going to let it explode in front of me. But what if it did? What if he did explode and hurt me or Dani? All those years of learning about stranger danger and I throw it all out the window in one go. Make smart choices echoed in my mind. Sorry, mum.
I was shaken furiously at the shoulders. Talia's eyes were drilling in to mine, full of worry and frustration. It was only then that I realized we were stopped dead in the middle of the side walk and a middle aged couple had to step on to the road to get around us.
"Earth to Claire! Hellloooo? You in there?" She shook me again. She threw her hands up before letting them fall and smack down on her thighs.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about how badly that could've ended." That wasn't a lie. It could've ended badly and I knew that, but thinking about it, it really didn't bother me. There was something about Ben, about both of them, that made me feel brave. We began walking again as I told Tahlia the entire story, leaving out my inner monologue of course, and before I knew it I was standing outside of my aunt's house. Talia had definitely changed her tune and she had started gossiping about boys from school. Any opportunity for cute boy talk, Talia. I brushed her off politely and promised to call her later before saying goodbye and walking inside.
I threw my bag next to the front door and ran upstairs. Nobody else was home so I turned on my laptop and opened itunes, letting my 'most recent' playlist play loudly as I got changed in to something more comfortable. I flopped on to my bed and stared out the window. I knew it was crazy to be thinking about a crazy man and his naive sister but the events of today replayed in my head. Over and over again.
Ben. Dani.
I wondered if I would see them again? My mother was a huge believer in karma and everything happening for a reason but I was never too sure. What reason would there be for me to meet those two again?
I sighed and shut down my laptop. I had been so nervous about starting school today that I had no sleep last and it was catch up to me now. I rolled on to my side, not even bothering to pull the blankets over me and I waited to succumb to sleep.
It worked because I was woken up suddenly by the blaring of the alarm clock that sat on my night stand.
How long was I out for?
My hair was covering my face almost completely and I ran my finger through it to adjust it a little bit. Very messy hair was a result of my constant tossing and turning in my sleep. I never use to move around in my sleep but now it was a bit of a normal thing. Normal restlessness.
