New York • Sean & Kaycee

The Encounter

The moment was short lived as Sean continued to pack his things.

"What are you doing?" Kaycee said, unable to keep the edge off her voice.

"What does it look like?" He replied over his shoulder.

She took a deep breath. Then, with as much strength and composure as she could ever muster, she grabbed the duffel bag, and began taking his things out.

"What are you-" He said. "Stop-"

Sean tried to snatch the bag out of her hands, but she stepped away quickly and continued. Tears quietly streamed down her face, but Kaycee didn't care. 

Stay stay stay stay!

"Kaycee, stop." He said quietly, grabbing her wrists. The duffel bag was nearly empty, his clothes thrown haphazardly over his bed. "Stop it, please."

"No." She uttered, removing the last of his belongings from the bag. She picked up a few of the shirts that were thrown onto the bed, and moved to put it back in his closet. But Sean matched her movement and blocked her way. They continued the ridiculous dance, shifting left and right, until Kaycee had enough.

"Dammit, Sean!" She exclaimed, shoving him in the chest. He stumbled slightly, and Kaycee took the opportunity to sidestep him. But Sean regained his balance quickly. He clamped his arms around her waist and gracelessly carried her out to the living room.

He set her down once they were out of his bedroom, and she whipped around to face him immediately. Kaycee had half expected Sean to bolt back into his room and lock her out, but instead, he stayed right where he was. He shut the bedroom door behind him, keeping them both in the living room.

For a long moment, they just stood there, staring each other down.

"What are you doing?" He growled, trying to keep his temper under control.

"What am I-" She started, biting back a bitter chuckle. "What are you doing? Why are you packing your things?"

"Why do you think?" Sean retorted. He opened his mouth to say more, then clamped shut again, struggling with his words. He paced away from her, roughly running a hand through his hair. 

"Why are you even home? I came here because I thought you'd be out on your date until later."

"It wasn't a date." Kaycee quickly said.

Sean chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, sure. Because you're just friends holding hands on top of the table. Sure. Definitely not a date."

"Sean, I'm telling the truth." Kaycee pleaded, taking a step closer to him, relieved that he didn't back away from her. "It wasn't a date. I turned him down, and we were just talking."

Kaycee sighed and summoned courage from every atom in her body, reaching up to touch him. His eyes revealed nothing as she rested a hand on his chest, feeling the heartbeat she knew like her own.

"In fact, we were talking about you." She whispered.

Kaycee traced patterns over his heart, unable to look him in the eye. "I messed up, Sean. I know that, and I'm so so so very sorry. I should never have gone on that date. Heck, I should never even have said yes to it."

"Then why did you?" He asked quietly, afraid to talk above a whisper. There was a fragile tension in the air, both aware that things could go either way at the end of it.

"Because the lines were getting blurred again." She finally admitted. "We were getting so comfortable - having breakfast, going grocery shopping, FaceTime calls with our parents. It was all so real. It showed me all the things we could be, but also everything I could lose. So I did what I do best - run away and dig my own grave. But then that night, you got drunk, got that hickey, and rejected me."