“No,” I said, fixing my purse as it began to fall down my shoulder. “He rubs me the wrong way.”
“At least you have parents,” she said. “My dad hated everything Mom did.” She shrugged. “I was too young to really know what went down. And I’m okay with that, for the most part. So, I can understand not having a place to call home. Ooh! Maybe we could be roommates!”
“Uh…” I didn’t think that’d be the greatest idea.
“Not now. Like, when we’re both ready to move on from this lovely town. Or maybe we can stay here. I don’t really care. But I’d be amazing to have a friend to live with. And the kitty, too.”
“We’ll see. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“But you should. I think we’d be great living together.”
“You know we’ve barely known each other for a week, right?”
“And us meeting is just fate! We’re meant to become friends from the start.”
“You believe in fate?”
“Well, yeah. There is a higher power, and he’s leading us where we should be. You were meant to come here all along, and I have this feeling we’re meant to be there for each other.”
“If you say so.”
“You don’t believe it?”
“How could I?” My words were laced with gloom. “No one was there to save me when I needed it the most.”
How many times had I begged God to come rescue me from what Alan was doing?
“Sometimes, life gives us experiences that teach us to help others. We are put into certain scenarios to learn not only how to cope, but to have a story to share with someone we’re meant to help.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Someday it will.”
I gave Sawyer a tight smile, not agreeing with her at all.
Sawyer talked the entire way about nothing important. Most of it went in one ear and out the other, and she had to know I wasn’t paying attention to her. If she were anyone else, she’d have gotten bored of me not being there mentally, but she wasn’t. Sawyer understood me better than I did myself.
Maybe she was right. Or maybe she was just optimistic of life in general. Whatever it was, I was glad she entered my life. I wouldn’t change that.
As we walked, I couldn’t help but let my eyes drift to all the babies in strollers. Okay, it was maybe three, and I wasn’t ashamed of counting. My heart hurt, knowing I’d never be able to be in that position.
“This store has your style of clothes,” Sawyer said, drawing my eyes off the current stroller that was stopped at the crosswalk. “Come on.”
I followed her in through the open door. There were racks of everything, workout clothing wise. Pants, shorts, shirts, bras. Everything anyone could possibly need.
“You think you know my style?”
“You’re simple,” she shrugged. “You don’t like to show off skin. No bright colors, but this place does have those if you wanted them. But I’m guessing you like dark colors.”
“I’m not picky.”
“Simple, see?”
I didn’t know what I liked, but I was, in fact, simple. I didn’t want pricey or eye-grabbing.
I followed Sawyer around the store, and she seemed to be in her element here shopping. She pulled a few different things off the rack andpracticallyshoved them into my arms. There were only a few things I made a face at, and she put those back where they were.
By the time we left the store, I nearly had a full week’s worth of clothes. I was more impressed that I didn’t panic. I wasn’t sure if it was because Sawyer was with me, or because I’d already got past that issue with Dominic.
