April 26th, 2010: One year ago, I posted this very chapter - the first - onto fictionpress. And now, exactly one year later, I have posted the final chapter. I don't know if I've ever been more proud. For the past year+, this story and these characters have been in my life. I'm just so glad I get to share this with the world :) Read on!

She Had Somewhere To Go
Copyright © 2009-10 S.L. Gunn

001.

"Roomie!" he shouted, throwing one of his arms around me as his other hand took one of my suitcases from my arms.

"This is only temporary," I reminded him cautiously as I allowed myself to be squeezed into his side.

"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes, lugging my bags down the hallway. "My humble abode," he grinned, gesturing around as we passed through the living room.

The couch was plaid with bits of fluff sprouting from the corners. The TV was old and decrepit looking, the floor a hideous brownish yellow with many revolting stains. The blinds were drawn on the windows and the overhead light flickered every so often. The coffee table was littered with junk food wrappers crumpled into balls, newspapers, and beer cans. I tried not to think too much about all the infestations that had to be lingering around this place.

He led me down a narrow hallway and nudged open a door with his foot. "Your room, madam," he bowed me through the entryway.

I nearly laughed with relief as I looked around. It was small, a full sized bed fitting snugly in one corner, a desk in another; there was a closet on the opposite end and one bookcase. But best of all, it was clean; hardly touched, it seemed. I grinned.

His face brightened at my reaction. He threw my suitcases down with a loud thud and went to go get the other boxes that had been shipped from home. Quickly, I dug through my first suitcase and yanked out my bedding. I stretched the sheets over the fairly decent looking mattress and threw on the comforter. I cased the pillows in record time and sighed happily, falling back onto the bed.

"You're fast."

My eyes drifted to the doorway where he stood with the rest of my things. He set the boxes down on the floor.

"Thanks," I sighed lazily, draping my arm over my eyes.

After a few moments, I slid them open slowly, surprised to see him still there, leaning against the doorway, watching me.

"It'll be fun having a girl around," he smirked, his eyes scanning me from the tips of my hair to the bottom of my feet in a way that sent creepy little chills down my spine.

"Caden," I groaned, pushing myself up into sitting position.

His smirk remained, his eyes shining a light, dull blue. He moved to come sit on the bed, shaking it a little.

"Caden, I'm tired," I told him wearily.

He grinned and I couldn't help but feel my mood lighten a little. "Tell me something," he said, waiting eagerly.

"What?"

"Anything. How's the family?"

"Mine or yours?" I leaned back against the wall, tucking my legs underneath me.

"Aren't they the same?" he grinned.

"Jessica's even bigger," I told him, referring to his pregnant sister. "She's a freaking balloon!"

"Hey now," he said defensively. "You'll be just as big when you've got a kid inside you."

"Which will not be for a long time," I said, thinking of the sheer impossibility of it.

"Oh, I dunno. Nine months isn't too long," he smiled wickedly, running his hand down my calf. I slapped him away.

"Nick still doesn't like you," I reminded him of my older brother. "He's only a phone call away."

His grin widened, his teeth flashing ultra-white. "I'll behave."

"Good," I sighed, leaning back again.

"For a while," he added ominously.

I groaned, rolling my eyes and pushing myself away from him, off the bed. I busied myself by digging through my suitcases.

"Aren't you a little worried to be living with me?" he asked curiously, taking my place on the bed and stretching out.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're harmless, Caden."

His eyes rolled then. "I wasn't referring to my sexual attraction to you—I meant your obsession with hygiene."

"Oh." My face burned from the first part of his statement. "Well, I'll make do. You have a duster, right?" I added teasingly.

Unfortunately, his answer was dead serious. "Duster?"

I stared at him, waiting for the laughter. It didn't come. I groaned, tilting my head back, as though the ceiling contained the answers I was searching for.

"Show me the kitchen," I said miserably. He grinned, hopping up and reaching a hand out to help me up. I ignored it.

"What, do I still have cooties, Addison?"

"Always have, always will," I said, moving past him out the door. "And don't call me that."

"Fine. I'll call you whatever you want me to call you if you let me touch you just once."

"You know my name and how 'bout I touch you?" I grinned craftily.

"Your name is Addison and no, you'll just punch me."

I laughed out loud, throwing a punch into his shoulder before brushing past him again.

"Come on, Addie, you know how it's suppose to go. All this sexual tension has been building since high school—freshman year even. You can't deny it."

"Caden," I turned to tell him off, but something caught my eye before I could finish my sentence. The kitchen. The old, cracked sink was yellowing, and dirty dishes were spilling over onto the counter. The mold was evident. The floor was sticky and grimy beneath my shoes. The counter tops were filled and overflowing with junk food wrappers, cereal boxes, and more beer cans.

I stared, my mouth hanging open, at the seven-foot high tower in the corner—made of rotting pizza boxes. I turned to him slowly, my mouth still open.

"I like pizza," he shrugged, cracking open a can of beer and taking a gulp before offering some to me. I continued with my horrified stare.

"Okay, Addie, this whole staring thing...not gonna lie...it's a little creepy."

I slammed my mouth shut, glaring.

"Ah, much better," he said.

"Get your keys," I growled.

"What?" he smiled, as though humoring me.

"Get your keys."

The grin slid from his face as he took in my expression. "Why?"

"We are going shopping," I tried to say lightly—it came out sardonic.

When he didn't make any move, I stepped forward, reaching behind him and sliding my hand into his back pocket, yanking out his keys. He was too shocked to make a perverted comment.

I stomped out the front door and climbed into his old Chevy truck, shoving the keys in the ignition.

"Hey, no way!" he yelled at me over the hood of the truck. He dashed to my side and I locked the door before he could force me out. "Addie, no way. Look—it's ten o'clock! We can shop in the morning. Just get out of my truck."

"No."

"Addie!"

"No."

"Addison," he said sternly through the window. "You are making a scene."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing at him. "Get in, you idiot, or I'll run over your toes and leave without you."

He didn't seem to like that idea because with a huff, he stomped around the front of the truck and slammed the passenger door behind him, not bothering to hide his muttered profanities. He crossed his arms and pouted like a three-year-old.

I rolled my eyes, completely irritated with him and twisted the key. The engine rumbled to life and I moved to put the truck in Reverse.

That's when my hand froze.

Caden didn't miss a beat. His eyes flickered from my face to my hand and back. I felt my teeth grind unbearably hard against each other as a slow, antagonistic smile spread across his face.

"You can't drive a stick shift," he nearly sang, laughing flippantly.

I threw my fist into his gut—he barely seemed to notice.

"Come on, little princess, let a man drive."

"Don't touch me!" I snapped at him, throwing myself out of the car with a kind of fury I wasn't used to. My feet stomped so hard it hurt as I stalked back to his apartment.

"Oh, Addie Lynn," he called lightly, hanging halfway out of his truck. "Remember the reason for our little escapade—total, absolute filth."

I skidded to a stop, thinking of that kitchen. I tried not to gag. I could have easily punched him. So when I slammed the passenger door behind me, I did.

"Ow," he grinned, rubbing his arm. "You're so abusive."

"I hate you." I slid as far away from him as possible, smashing my forehead against the window and knotting my limbs.

"I could go for some ice cream," Caden commented lightly as he backed out of the parking lot. "Do you want some ice cream?"

My teeth ground together noisily as I grumbled unintelligibly.

"Sorry. I'm not fluent in melodramatic girl."

"I am not being melodramatic."

"Tell that to your dentist, darling. I can hear those pretty teeth grinding away."

And then that little jerk had the nerve to grab my jaw and turn my face towards him. I slapped him hard across the face. My hand came back stinging—I took that as good news.

"Ouch," he said, rubbing his cheek and lolling his tongue around in his mouth a little. He didn't sound as hurt as I thought he should. The asshole was still grinning!

"Your slap is definitely better than your punch," he informed me. "There goes your dentist bill," he added, commenting on my soon-to-be-made-a-habit.

"Caden." My voice was low, deadly.

"Yes?" he chirped back.

I winced. "Get me to my fucking cleaning supplies. Now."

Just then, he whipped into a parking lot and I ripped off my seatbelt, wanting to get the necessities and get home. I growled, closing my eyes tight when I remembered there was no more home. There was Caden and his disgusting apartment.

I was wallowing in my self-pity when I heard the voice. "Welcome to Dairy Barn, how may I help you?"

My eyes shot up and I snapped my head to the left. Caden was staring at a light-up menu.

"Don't do that, dear, you'll break your neck," he commented indolently, scanning the board as he patted my hand. I ripped it away from him, the rage coursing through me.

"I'll have a vanilla shake," he told the bodiless voice before turning to me. "What would you like, Addie?"

I glared at him with incredulity—my eyes flashing dangerously. He watched me for a few moments before turning back to the speaker. "Make that two."

The voice gave him a total and he pulled forward.

"I hate vanilla," I nearly snarled at him.

"You love vanilla," he told me, digging through his wallet. "It's the only ice cream you'll eat."

I tried burning a blazing hole in the side of his head. He was right, of course. Vanilla was the only ice cream I ate. Not that I'd admit it.

When he handed me my shake, I just stared at it, my arms and legs still tightly crossed. He looked up at me and sighed, setting it in the cup holder between us before sucking on his noisily.

I glowered out the window as he pulled out into the suburban street—so much less traffic than back home.

.

Caden and I had grown up together in Houston, Texas. We'd gone to the same grade school and high school, our families growing up together as neighbors—my two brothers, his two sisters. After high school, I'd attended the University in the city, living in my parent's house because what was the point of paying room and board? Unlike me, he'd packed up and got out of there as fast as he could, flying north, north, north so he could go to the Seattle University, getting away from whatever he hadn't liked in Houston.

It wasn't as though this had been heartbreaking for me; there never had been a deep relationship between the two of us—though he'd hinted to it plenty of times. Hell, I'd even lasted two years of college without him there, without ever seeing him, without even one phone call.

But as time progressed and I got myself stuck deeper and deeper into predicaments I had no ability to control, that delicious cloud cover seemed more and more appealing. But I was still stuck in Texas, under that sweltering, blazing sun, where there was no where to hide; where I was placed under a microscope and scanned head to toe, picked apart and put back together how others wanted me to be.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to run, and run fast. I threw my stuff together and made the hasty arrangements. I told my parents I wanted to go anywhere—anywhere was better than Houston. If they were offended, they didn't show it. They made all the arrangements for their baby girl, calling the Siddoways and seeing if their boy was still living up in Seattle. He was. And so, two weeks later, they and my sixteen-year-old brother were kissing me goodbye at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, waving to me one last time before I escaped my personal hell.

Thinking back on it, I realized I'd probably insulted my parents more than I'd ever meant to. They hadn't understood what caused this rash decision, what the sudden rush was. They didn't understand because they didn't know. They didn't know the danger I was in if I stayed in Houston much longer, they didn't know the possibilities... Because, of course, the heat wasn't all that was getting to me, destroying me... But I didn't think of such things anymore.

.

As I watched the windshield wipers slide back and forth across the window, I felt myself cooling down, the anger being replaced by morose and homesickness.

However, when Caden cut the engine and all I could see was the damp darkness—no lights in sight—the anger flared again.

"Where the hell are we?" I demanded over the pounding of rain.

"Pacific."

"Well, why the hell—really?" I couldn't keep the curiosity from my voice.

His teeth glowed in the darkness. "Well, it's Elliot Bay...but after that, it's all ocean."

"Where?" I tried to find a horizon, but all I could see was thick blackness

"It's there," he assured me, sucking on his shake.

"I've never seen the Pacific," I muttered more to myself; I reached for the door.

"Whoa, Addie," Caden grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer to him. "It's pouring out there."

My face fell as I pushed him off of me, sliding to my window. I watched miserably as the drops of rain slid down the clean window, making liquid webs.

Something ice-cold nudged against my arm. I turned slowly to have a milkshake shoved in my face. "It's your favorite," Caden grinned, nudging me again.

I glowered at him some more as he attacked me with a delicious dairy treat some more.

"Fine," I grumbled, snatching the cup out of his hand and making a show of slurping it loudly.

He grinned. We sat in silence, just losing ourselves in the steady drumming of rain and sipping slowly—it really was very good.

"You like it," Caden told me. His intense gaze made me slightly uneasy. I still felt like punching him.

"You never told me," he said, unperturbed when I didn't reply, "why'd you leave Houston?"

Okay, now I really wanted to punch his face in. He had to go and bring up that subject. As if the churning in my stomach, the burning in my chest wasn't enough.

"Addie?"

I turned myself away from him sharply; I was annoyed with the prickling I felt behind my eyes.

"Hey," his voice was lower now, on my neck. I jerked away, pressing myself to the door. "Ad—"

I was gone, flinging the door open and slamming it shut, before he could finish my name.

I sprinted to the water that I so desperately craved—or in the direction I hoped it was. My clothes were soaked through, my jeans and long-sleeved shirt clinging to me. I barely noticed when my toes touched the chilling water. Before I knew it, I was out up to my thighs. That's when I stopped, gulping for air and breathing hard. The water on my face, seeping from my eyes, was rain.

The moon was nearly full and it shone across the sky, illuminating the endless black waters before me. I swallowed the chill hungrily, the ice sliding across my skin. It soothed the fire that was burning me from the inside out.

Caden's hand was pale white and shaking when he found me. He yanked me out of the waters and back across the soggy, thick sand. I didn't try to fight him, just stumbled after. His ice-cool touch felt good on my wrist.

He threw open the passenger door and pushed me in. "Are you insane?" he demanded.

Probably, I answered silently. But my lips didn't move. I just stared at his face, inches from mine. Beads of water leaked from his darkened hair, down the planes of his face, over his neck.

When he didn't get the answer he wanted, he huffed in frustration and yanked my seatbelt over me, slamming it into the buckle. He didn't even try to make an inappropriate move.

The ride home was one of an undefined silence—was it tense, awkward, comfortable?

As water started pooling on Caden's leather seats, I slurped on my milkshake until I came to the very bottom. I worked to get every bit of the creamy dessert. Caden shot me an annoyed glare—that made me grin.

I followed him into his apartment. He threw the keys on the counter and before I could walk past to my room, he had me cornered, pressing his hands to the wall behind me. "You look good when you're wet," he murmured.

For a brief, insane moment, Caden felt like him—the one I'd been trying to forget. And all I wanted him to do was press me harder against the wall and slam his mouth to mine. That passed quickly, while my racing heart and flushed cheeks remained.

He grinned at me deviously. "You're cold." He brushed his fingers slowly down my jaw, though he was staring a lower position on me. My body chose that moment to shudder as his fingers explored down my neck. "I could warm you up," he said, his voice smoother than usual.

I pressed my hands to his chest and shoved as hard as I could. His eyes lessened with intensity as a lighthearted grin spread across his face.

"Another time then..."

I shoved my hair roughly over my head and let out a groan of frustration. He caught my fingers before I could slam the door in his face.

"Hey." His voice was soft, understanding. His mood swing threw me so much I actually paused to listen. "We'll get your cleaning stuff in the morning."

I watched his face—full of sincerity—and nodded curtly once before moving to close the door.

"Wait," he said quickly. He opened a closet and grabbed something. "You might need this," he handed me a towel, that smirk back on his face as his eyes skimmed across my clinging shirt and wet skin.

I groaned at him yet again and snatched the towel from his hands, locking the door behind me. "G'night, Addison, darling," he said lightly through the door.

I gritted my teeth, pressing my eyes shut tight.

"Ah, ah, ah," he called, already moving down the hallway to his room. "Remember your dentist bill."

-
a/n: man oh man, this has been my devotion for the past three months. i hope it pleases :)