Somehow, she didn't have a hangover. After such a long, drunken night filled with sobbing and an emotional phone call with her mother, Kenna got up off the ground and chose to clean herself up. After a long, so-hot-it-burned, shower, she donned a pair of light colored jeans, a cream colored tank-top and a pull over red knit hoodie. She laced up her knee-high black converse, put on some light make up, and went out the door.

Today was a new start.

It had been nearly two weeks since she had visited the Downtown Café for the first time. Despite the events that had transpired, the place itself had been nice. It wasn't big or flashy. In fact, the name was a perfect fit for the place. It was in a tall, Victorian style building that blended in with every other building in a mile radius. The only thing that gave it away as a café was the hand painted sign that had weathered nearly thirty years of Michigan's volatile weather. It had character.

Maybe this place that didn't stand out was going to be the perfect place for her. She tugged at her hoodie, hazel eyes flitting about the faces in the crowd of people walking the street. She didn't know them, and they would probably never know her. Not for who she really was, anyway. Not to say that Kenna didn't hear the mutterings of the strangers as they passed one another by. Word had gotten out about her struggle the night before. The men must have been residents of the town.

Sighing, she dropped her head. It would always be one thing after another trying to bring her down. Kenna stopped walking, pinching the bridge of her nose for a minute to get herself back on track. It was too easy to lose herself in the negative thoughts. Today was going to be good, dammit. It had to be.

Pushing her way forward, Kenna sighed as the café sign came into view. Maybe inside she would get a slight reprieve. She shoved her way into the building, bellying up to the counter. Her timid smile to the woman behind the counter was returned much more warmly than she could say she remembered the last time she was here.

"Hi… I'm new to the area," Kenna started, swallowing the lump of nervousness that made her want to babble. "Um, two things: one, do you have frozen green tea lattes?"

The woman, an older lady with pale blonde hair and eyes that glittered with the fond memories of someone who had a long, loving life, chuckled at her, nodding. "We do."

"Okay, I'd like one of those, please. And, uh, secondly, do you have any applications handy?"

The woman, whose name tag read Vicky, grinned, reaching under the register to retrieve a single sided piece of paper. "Here you are, hon. I'll have you drink in about five, alright?"

Without waiting for her nod, Vicky turned around, gathering the necessary ingredients to mix together the drink. Kenna moved away from the counter, pulling a pen from the pocket of her hoodie, to start filling out the application. By the time she had finished the page, Vicky had returned to the counter to ring up the latte.

"It'll be about five fifty four," she crooned, smiling and accepting the application from Kenna.

The younger woman pulled a ten dollar bill from her pocket, handing it to the counter woman with a smile. "No change. Thank you, Vicky." She turned to leave, sipping contently on the drink.

From there, she headed toward the park. It was one of the few places in town she could walk to without fear of getting lost, and had thusly become a favorite place of hers. As she made her lazy way, she didn't notice the man twenty feet behind her, following her steps.

Jason didn't mean to be a creep, but he knew that there was no way that Kenna would stop and talk to him if she could get away with a sneaky escape through the crowd. Ball cap pulled low over his eyes, he kept his sights set on the dark red of her knit hoodie- the same one she wore when they had their falling out. He was certain he knew where they were going when she turned down an off street.

They wound their way through the back roads until they were on the paved path of the park's walkways. It seemed like Kenna was never going to stop walking, which was- for all intents and purposes- irritating to Jason. All he wanted to do was clear the air with her; to start over. Finally, after what felt like hours of her aimless wandering, he jogged up to be beside her.

Throwing the man beside her a rather dark scowl, Kenna sighed. "Hello, again, Jason. What do you think you want from me?"

Feigning hurt, he lifted a hand to his heart. "You wound me. What makes you think I want something?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that I told you to leave me alone. So, either you're someone who likes being told no- in which case I recommend a psychiatrist before you go on a rape-fest- or, you want something from me that you apparently need badly enough to continue to pester me after I told you off. Either way, I really don't want to spend time with you. Self-punishment is no longer my ideal date."

The sarcasm in her voice made it hard to hold in his laughter. Ultimately, Jason ended up snickering, however, shrugging at her. "I think it might be a combination of them both," he shot back, grinning. "I'll call Doctor Wilkes in the morning about the rape-fest, but for now I just wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry for before. I was an ass."

Slurping her drink, Kenna looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Ya think?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, actually. Will you let me explain why?"

"That depends. Is your explanation going to be shit?"

"I guess that depends on how you look at it. C'mon, let's go sit somewhere and I'll tell you the whole truth."

Reluctantly, to put it best, Kenna followed along with Jason, one hand tucked into her hoodie pocket. Eventually, they settled for sitting on one of the picnic tables near the Rifle River.

"Alright, so, I'm going to sound like a total ass. You remember when I went with you to your apartment so you could change? Well, I spotted the picture of you and that guy, and you were showing off an engagement ring in the picture. Then, you weren't wearing it- excuse me, aren't wearing it. I couldn't figure out if you came out this way to just get laid, or if you're looking for a rebound from a bad break up, or if you're one of those girls just looking for friends. I don't like not knowing what I'm getting into, so I figured it's better off to leave well enough alone," he rambled, only pausing for a breath after he got out the complete thought. "But then," Jason continued. "I ran into you again, drunk as hell and a total mess. You looked pretty broken. And, I felt bad. I decided I'd rather be your friend than, as you put it, just let you self-destruct in peace."

Quirking an eyebrow at him, Kenna nodded. "Yeah, you sound like an ass. A major ass, actually. And, did you even bother to breathe through that?"

She was laughing. Relief washed over him and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "No, should I have?"

"Probably, oxygen is good for the mind and body. But, thanks for thinking I was a slut. Real ego booster there, pal."

"I didn't know what to think, that's the problem."

Her laughter died out, slowly. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was that of the river rushing over the rocks and through the roots. It was still too chilly for kids to be out playing in the park, there was a chance that the weather might change its mind and go back to being cold once more. It wouldn't be until May or June that the gleeful shrieks would fill the area once again.

"The guy in the picture was Eric, my fiancé. That picture was from my freshman year," Kenna said slowly, as if picking each word with extra caution. "He died in a bad car accident a year after the picture was taken, to the day." She chewed her lip, fidgeting with her hands. "He was my high school sweetheart. When he died, part of me did, too. I came up here to get away from the memories; not to get laid or get over a bad break up. I just wanted to start over again."

As she spoke, her eyes clouded over with tears. The fight to not release them was more than she had strength for. When Jason reached out to wipe them away, she almost recoiled from his hand.

"I'm much more of an ass than I thought," he murmured, watching her. It was like watching someone's heartbreak again and again, almost as if it were on repeat. "To be able to sit here and tell that story… you have a lot of strength."

"Thanks," she sighed, closing her eyes. The remnants of her tears flowed freely down her face as they succumbed once again to silence.

Crying wore her out, every time. She leaned against his shoulder, happy for a little human contact. After the accident, Kenna hadn't been able to bear even her mother's caring hugs. The thought that she could never feel him next to her again was more than enough to send her into a full blown panic attack.

After that, she distanced herself from her friends, who could only look at her with pity in their eyes, and her family, who wanted to hug her until it stopped hurting. She dove into her studies, successfully getting not only her bachelor's degree in English, but also successfully completing all but one course for her master's. After next semester, she would be the most well educated member of her family.

Jason watched the girl beside him with a tightly drawn frown. She didn't seem to be old enough to have so much already on her plate. At most, she was twenty-five. Sitting there beside him, she looked young; barely old enough to be considered legal. It was unfair. He reached over, tucking some stray hair gently behind her ear. Her shoulders visibly tensed, only making him frown all the more.

They stayed that way for a long time, companions in silence, just listening to the sounds of the world around them. It was in that silence that he was sure that he was forgiven, and that she was sure their friendship stood a chance.