Small Town Big Man

“Ohhh, thank you, Dustin!” Laney yells as she charges forward and hugs him too.

Dustin's cheeks turn red as he blushes, and he stands awkwardly with his hands still in his pockets.

Looks like I'm not the only one with a crush on Laney.

It's no surprise that Laney has other admirers, she's an incredible girl. Anyone with two eyes can see how great she is.

As she looks through her stuff, pouring out tears over her lost parents’ belongings, and the simple things most take for granted, I realize just how special she is.

This girl has gutted me. She bore a hole straight to the one place I swore no one ever would again. My heart.

It's been off limits, boxed up, and locked away. But she somehow found her way in.

I'm falling for her.

Straightening my back, I try to stop my heart from imploding inside my chest. It's beating hard, fast, and I'm afraid it's going to launch through the skin and land on the ground.

How? How can I be falling for a girl I hardly know? And am I ready?

“Marc's gone I think,” Beth says, glancing at the house, and pulling me out of my head.

“Yeah, it's Saturday. He has a frisbee league today.”

“Frisbee?” I ask, quirking a brow.

Laney giggles, and shakes her head. “Yeah, you heard right.”

“I'm sorry, but we haven't met. I'm Beth.” She holds out her hand to me for to shake.

“Oh, I'm sorry, Beth, this is Anders,” she says, moving a hand between us. “Anders, this is Beth.”

“Nice to meet you,” I answer, taking her hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Anders.” Beth gives me a smile, and winks at Laney with a little smirk on her face. “He's cute.” She whispers not so subtly.

Laney giggles again, and her cheeks blush as she shakes her head to agree. “He is, isn't he?” Her eyes jump to mine as her smile deepens. Clearing her throat, she looks back at Beth. “I'm going to go get a storage unit, and I'll get this stuff out of here for you.”

“No, don't worry about it. Save your money, it can stay here as long as you need.”

“Are you sure? I don't want to take up all the space in your garage.”

“It's fine, really, come get it when you're ready. There’s plenty of space still.”

Laney's face crinkles as her eyes glaze over. Her chest begins to rise and fall rapidly. Blinking, she releases a rush of tears. “I have no idea where I'm going to live.” Her hands fly up to her face as she cries.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I pull her in and envelope her in a big hug. Burying her face in my chest, her shoulders shake as she weeps. I hate this. I hate seeing this poor girl in ruins.

“You still have the cabin for another month, right?” With sobbing noises she nods against me. “Marla is a nice lady. She won't kick you out. And even if she tries, I won't let her.”

Pulling her back, I pinch her chin in my fingers and force her to look up at me. I wait for her to eyes to focus and the tears to stop falling from her eyes.

“I won't let you be homeless, you hear me? That's a promise.” Sniffling, she just stares at me like she's lost. “Why don't you grab the stuff you need for now, and we'll put it in my truck. But, I don't want you to worry. Beth and Dustin took care of this all. For you. Your friends came through and now’s the time to be grateful. Worrying about what comes next can wait for another day, okay?”

“Okay,” she says, her voice just a whisper as she wipes her eyes.

“Tomorrow is a new day, Laney, don't let this guy tear you down like this. You don't deserve it. He's a dick, and you're going to come out of this on top. I promise you.”

“All right,” she answers as she turns and starts to pull different items from different boxes. “Maybe I can stay with a friend for a bit,” she says out loud, but quietly to herself.

As soon as the words come out, her body begins to shake as she cries even harder.

“I don't even have any friends anymore. They're his friends, not mine. I'm too quiet and he's so outgoing. They'll never choose me over him.”

Beth lets out a loud cackle as she throws her head back. “Laney, honey, if they choose him over you, they were never your friends to begin with. Those aren't the type of people you want around you anyway. Real friends don't need to choose.”

“Thanks, Beth, I know. It's just so hard to see through the dust when the wind is blowing, you know? This isn't where I thought I'd be.”

“I know, honey,” Beth answers, rubbing her back gently, motherly. “Come on, I'll help you box up what you want right now. But you should listen to your new friend, Anders, he's right, everything is going to be fine.”