returning {to the past} -crystal

[~echo~]

After she was finished, Anita wiped her mouth and took out her wallet. "At least let me leave the tip."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Carlos laughed and spoke up before Alex could protest. "Fine. Can't argue with a lady." He shot Alex a look and the older man shut his mouth.

[~echo~]

Anita smiled and dropped a few dollars on the table.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

When they were done, Alex pulled out his debit card to pay for the meal. Once that was taken care of, he gestured for Anita and Carlos to get up.

[~echo~]

"Thank you for lunch, Alex," Anita said quietly, standing up and looking at him.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Alex smiled at her as he slid out of the booth. "My pleasure," he said. He turned to Carlos. "You go home and start gathering your things. I'm going to drop Anita off, then pick up Mom and come get you. Okay?"

Carlos nodded, though he still looked uncertain about what he'd agreed to.

[~echo~]

Anita listened to them and then looked at Alex.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

They walked back to Carlos's apartment building, where they split up. Carlos headed upstairs and Alex walked Anita back to her car. "You go home, okay?" he said. "I'll call you later."

[~echo~]

Anita looked up at him, blinking. "Okay. Let me know what happens."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Alex nodded. "I will." He stepped toward her like he was going to hug her, but then he hesitated. Was it proper to hug her after all this time? With all their history? A handshake seemed far too awkward, so he drew back and just smiled at her. "I'll call you," he said again. Then he turned toward his car.

[~echo~]

"Okay," she murmured, watching him leave. She eventually got in her car and drove off to her tiny apartment.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Alex drove to his mother's house, pushing his 'no more than five miles over the speed limit' rule. She protested a bit, but he finally got her out the door with a suitcase packed for a week. He could make a trip back if he needed to. Then he drove back to Carlos's place, hoping he was ready to go.

A little over an hour later, both his mother and brother were set up in a motel room a good distance away. He promised them he'd be back that night before hurrying out the door, already pulling his phone from his pocket. He dialed Anita's number on his way out of the building.

[~echo~]

Anita chewed on her pencil a little while she worked through her textbook, when she heard her phone buzzing in the tiny kitchen. She rushed to it and was just able to answer before it stopped ringing. "Hey, Alex!" she said, her voice sounding perhaps a little too excited. "What's up?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Not much, really," Alex said. He couldn't exactly tell her he'd just wanted to hear her voice. And maybe see her. "My mom and Carlos are set up in a motel. I'm going to find Arlo and explain the situation, but first would you like to join me for lunch? And then I want to show you something."

[~echo~]

Anita looked at her textbook for a moment before she replied. "Yeah, sure. Where do you want to meet?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"The park," Alex said. "The park on redwood street. You remember how to get there?"

[~echo~]

Anita gave a faint smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I remember. I'll be there in a few minutes." And she was. About twenty minutes later, she pulled up the a parking spot and got out, looking for Alex.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

(If you were wondering, the first time they skipped school together they went there xD)

Alex hung up the phone and then headed to his car. As he drove toward the park, he tried to formulate what he was going to say to Arlo when he talked to him. He also tried to decide whether to just call the man or risk facing him in person.

He pulled up to the park a bit later and got out, glancing around to see if Anita was already there.

[~echo~]

(Yeah, I figured )

Anita looked at the park. It was mostly unchanged from when they skipped school here together all those years ago. Anita bit her lip. How was she going to tell him that there was somebody else, that she was trying to move on? She couldn't let herself get involved any more. But she knew that she couldn't stay away from Alex anymore than she could keep from breathing. They would have eventually crossed paths, no matter if she tried to stop it.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Alex spotted Anita and broke into a grin. He knew this wasn't going to last, that it couldn't, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face when he saw her. There were too many memories. He gave a wave and then jogged toward her. "Anita! Hey."