Free When You Come to Me by Jade Alyse

common ground with Brandon in standing in a corner, laughing at how silly drunk people looked and acted. It was Natalie’s suggestion.
    “You’re right,” he’d told her. “This is much better than getting drunk…did I look this stupid on my birthday?”
    “Yes, I can honestly say that you did…”
    “Well, I’m even more sorry than I was before…”
    Natalie locked her arm with his.
    Afterwards, they went back to their spot at the overlook and watched the stars. Natalie talked of her ambitions, of her fears, of who she was, of where she came from. She was a sweet, country girl, who wanted nothing more than to get her education, and pay back her mother for all of the great things that she’d given to her over the years.
    Brandon talked of his future, which, of course, included a concise discussion of Sophia’s importance to him, how they met, and why he loved her so much. There was something unfailingly sincere about him, something expressive, something vulnerable. And Natalie soaked it in. In the peaceful whispers of the night, she’d learned that Sophia was his first love, that Sophia was his first secure relationship, that, although Sophia had high hopes of their marriage to one another one day, he was more than skeptical, more than fearful, more than unwilling.
    And Natalie only listened. That was what she was best at: listening. She felt that listening to a friend’s woes was much more satisfying than trying to administer advice. They sat on the hood of the green Explorer for hours, it seemed, reminding her of the first night that they met. It astonished her as to how much two people could grow together in a matter of days, minutes it seemed. Natalie, who once detained a fear of the disparity between them, allowed it to subside at that moment beneath the stars.

Brandy
    THE HOUSE ON TRENT ROAD became her second home. She got more of her studying done there then she ever could in the library or in her dorm room, where her roommate and her pitiful boyfriend still prevailed. She was there during the week, with her books in tow, coming over to teach Brandon how to cook a meal, she was there on the weekends, watching reruns and ordering pizza. She generally was there when Sophia wasn’t, whenever she was bored and needed someone to talk to, or when Brandon needed someone to vent to about Sophia’s many rants of his behavior.
    “Where do you go every night, Natalie?” Sammy asked her as they watched a rerun.
    She wanted to tell her roommate that she’d finally found a place of peace, her place of escape. Instead, she chose to be as secretive as possible; she got a kick out of being a young woman of mystery.
    “Just someplace,” she said quietly.
    If she wasn’t sure of how important Brandon was to her, she most certainly realized it the Friday night that Scotty called her from Brandon’s phone, early into her sophomore year. It had been a slow night for her and she, who had chosen to stay in her dorm room, and lounge on her bed, watched television. She’d just dosed off when her cellular phone rang. She didn’t answer it initially, couldn’t think of one person that she wanted to talk to that late at night. When it rang again, she grew nervous, thinking it could be someone from her family. She rolled over groggily, slid off the bed, and went to retrieve the small device off her desk.
    She’d cleared her throat, and had answered no more than above a whisper.
    “Yes? What do you want?”
    “Natalie, it’s me, Scotty.”
    She, who leaned against the desk for support, now raised her body, opened her eyes a little more, thinking the worst immediately. If the way her stomach churned wasn’t an indication that she cared for the boy, then surely her heart pounding was.
    “What’s up?” she’d responded.
    “It’s Brandon…”
    There was a lot of noise in the background, and a couple of times, she swore she heard Brandon, attempting to yell into the phone.
    “Clearly,” Natalie said.
    “Did I