Seth parked his car in the driveway. He had no idea if Tilda had made her escape safely. She had to leave her phone behind so he hadn't been able to contact her. He could only hope everything had gone smoothly.
He got out of the car, opened the trunk, and grabbed his backpack. He didn't plan on staying more than one night, maybe two max, but he needed to make sure she was actually there and that she was safe.
"Excuse me," a voice sounded.
Seth turned around and stared at a man in shorts and t-shirt by the end of the driveway. He had no idea who the man was. All he knew was that it wasn't Tilda's ex Dean. He had looked at enough pictures to remember that face in case he ever came face to face with him.
"Can I help you?" Seth asked.
"I'm Roman. I'm the gartner out here. I've never worked on this house but I can't help but wonder if the old couple sold it since I've never seen you or the woman before," Roman said.
Seth smiled at that. This Roman guy had seen a woman here. That meant Tilda was here.
"My parents were the owners but they recently sold it to me to keep it in the family. I'm Seth Rollins," Seth said.
Roman turned his eyes to the mailbox and saw the Rollins name there. That made him feel at ease. He knew the old couple had children. He just didn't know how many or what genders they were.
"Is Tilda your sister?" Roman asked.
Seth's smile turned into a sideways smirk. It wasn't hard to figure out that Roman liked Tilda. Just the way he seemed to long for some sort of answer. He was probably trying to figure out if she was single or not.
"What is it to you?" Seth asked.
"Oh, nothing. You just said it was a family home so I just figured she might be your sister or cousin," Roman said.
"No, we're not related," Seth said.
"Oh," Roman nodded. "I gotta get back to work. Sorry for snooping. Let me know if you need any work done. If you can't find me, just ask old man Hunter at the grocery store. He always knows where I am or how to reach me."
"I'll keep that in mind," Seth said.
Roman walked towards the neighbor and disappeared into their driveway. Seth walked up to the front door, opened it, and walked inside.
"Tilda?" He yelled.
She appeared two seconds later. He dropped the backpack and rushed to her. He gave her a hug and laughed.
"I'm so happy you made it out," he said.
"Me too," she said. "I baked you an apple pie. It's in the fridge."
"Sweet!" He grinned.
He opened the fridge and took out the pie. She had already had a piece yesterday when she made it. He cut himself a piece, put it on a plate, and grabbed a fork.
"Who's loverboy next door?" He asked.
"That's Roman," she said.
There was a weird dreamy tone in her voice. She walked back into the living room, and he followed with his plate and fork in his hands. She walked over to the window and looked out. He walked over there too and saw what she was seeing. Roman was up on a ladder, once again trimming bushes in the garden next door.
"He asked if we were related," he said.
"What did you tell him?" She asked.
"I told him no," he answered. "He probably thinks we're dating."
She looked at him and he grinned at her.
"Do you want me to go out there and tell him you're single?" He asked.
"I don't know," she looked back at Roman. "He's gorgeous, don't you think?"
He looked at Roman too. He could admit the gartner was attractive.
"I guess," he said. "I'm not into men, but if I was a woman, yeah, I'd probably fuck him."
"Seth!" She laughed.
"I'm trying here," he laughed too. "So how are you? What else have you been up do other than baking a pie and fixing your hair. That style and color look amazing on you, by the way."
"Thank you," she said. "I've been sleeping and just hanging out."
"And creeping on the sexy gartner," he said.
"Gorgeous," she said.
"Sexy," he said.
They looked at each other again and started laughing.
"He is sexy," she said.
They both looked back out and noticed Roman was watching them. Like two children getting caught, they both dove down and hid under the window.
"Shit, he saw us," she said.
"Why are we hiding?" He asked.
"I don't know," she answered.
They laughed again and decided to pop their heads back up. Roman was chuckling while trying to pretend not to notice them. They retreated from the window and sat down on the couch.
"Thank you for helping me. I didn't know who else to turn to. You're the only drugdealer I know, and Dean doesn't know who you are," she said.
"You do know I stopped dealing drugs more than a decade ago, right?" He asked.
Judging by the look on her face, she didn't know. How could she know? They haven't been in contact for so long.
"It was my way of acting out. I thought I was edgy and cool. I was a jerk. For some reason, I could only be myself around you. You saw right through me. You were my only real friend," he said.
"You were my only real friend too," she said.
"You were so pressured from home. I remember that," he sighed. "How are your parents?"
"I don't know. We haven't been in contact for about six years. I met Dean and he made it so easy for me to cut them out of my life. Back then it felt like the right thing to do, and it probably was. I just wish I knew back then what I know now. I would never have entered a relationship with him if I had known the hell that awaited me," she said.
"He played the game well. They always do," he said.
He finished the pie and placed the plate on the coffee table.
"If you don't deal drugs anymore, how did you manage to get those pills?" She asked.
"I called up an old contact from way back then. He thought I wanted to get back into the game. I told him I just needed to sleep. I knew it was risky going back there but I didn't care. You needed my help. That was more important. I could have told you the truth but there wasn't time to catch up. You needed to get out. Fuck anything else," he said.
"But there's time now," she smiled. "So what do you do these days?"
"I own a chain of coffee bars across the states. I'm pretty successful if I must say so myself," he said. "And I got married a couple of years ago."
"Married? You? I never saw that coming. Who's the lucky woman? And is she okay with you being here? Does she even know about me?" She asked.
"Slow down, Sherlock Holmes," he laughed. "Her name is Becky, and she's okay with it. She trusts me completely. She knows I can't tell her much about you yet, but she knows it's important that I'm here helping you. I'll tell her everything once I go home. She told me to give you her love and to tell you she's looking forward to meet you," he said.
She smiled as he talked about his wife. Clearly he was deeply in love, and she loved that for him. He deserved being happy.
"Trust," she said. "Do you think I'll ever be able to trust someone like she trusts you?"
"Not if you keep dating shitty people," he chuckled. "Even back in high school you sure knew how to pick all the losers. They looked mighty fine on paper but they were all dicks."
"All the guys my parents approved of," she sighed. "They actually approved of Dean too. They told me to go with him when he asked me to move across the country. And then I was isolated and hurt."
"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.
"No, not really," she answered. "I just want to meet that one winner among the losers, you know. But maybe I'm just not meant to be happy with someone. I'm gonna give up on dating."
"And creep on gartners next door instead," he said.
They looked at each other and started laughing again. It felt good being able to laugh and be happy.
"I had a panic attack yesterday," she said. "Roman helped me inside and calmed me down."
"So far he doesn't sound like a loser," he said.
"I'm scared. I think Dean ruined everything inside me when it comes to trusting any man except you. You proved your worth 20 years ago. It's hard to break the trust I have in you," she said.
"You just need to get past this. If you don't wanna date, at least fuck the gartner. Use him as a rebound," he said.
"Seth!" She laughed. "You're disgusting."
"You love me," he grinned.
She grinned back at him and nodded. She did love him. He was her best and only friend. He was the only person in the world who had her back. Even after all these years with no contact, he dropped everything and came running to help her.
"What do you want though?" He asked.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I just want someone to hold me tight and make me feel safe in their arms. I never felt safe with Dean. Not even in the beginning. I should have run while I still had the chance."
"Come here," he said.
He spread out his arms and she leaned in for a hug. He could be a safe haven for now. The friend she needed. The shoulder to cry on if she needed to let it all out.
"You're safe," he said. "He's never gonna find you here."
"Thank you for everything, Seth," she said.
"No problem. You can stay here for as long as you want. No rush. Take your time. We'll figure out what to do when you're ready," he said. "Oh, by the way. I bought you a present."
He got up and went to find his backpack he had left in the kitchen. He came back with the backpack, opened it, and took out a new phone.
"We need to be able to contact each other," he said.
"Seth, it's too much," she said.
"Didn't you hear me before? I'm successful. That means I can afford this, and I'm not taking no for an answer," he handed her the phone. "I already set it up and put both my and Becky's number in it. If you ever need me but can't reach me, call her. She'll help you. And of course the phone is in my name so that Dean will never be able to find you that way."