She Goes Inside

Marie nervously stood up, and paced around the backyard. “I’m stranded aren’t I?” She thought to herself, looking around her backyard. She felt very alone, and removed. A feeling she hadn’t yet felt slowly rose within her. It took her a few seconds to pin down what it was, but eventually Marie knew without a doubt what she felt in her stomach.

Fear.

Fear of being seen, fear of being out in the elements at dark, fear of what might happen to her... She could feel many reasons for it. The sun had dipped below the tree line not long ago, and seemed to be quickly sucking away the heat with it. It had went from a sweltering hot day to a cooling dusk, but Marie knew it would continue to get colder until eventually she would be shivering.

“Marie?” Emily called out, unsure what Marie had heard over the phone. “Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t good news...” Emily thought to herself. She knocked on the door of the backyard gate lightly, hoping she would get Marie’s attention.

Marie’s emotions were enthralled in a great battle for control. Her gut feeling told her she should probably not ignore Emily, but she also knew what choice she would have to make.

“S-sorry. I got a bit distracted.” Marie yelled towards the gate as she jogged back towards it.

“Oh. Ok.” Emily said awkwardly. She decided the best route to figuring out Marie’s dilemma was to be blunt. “So... I guess nobody’s coming.” She said empathetically.

Marie sighed exhaustedly. “No, my parents are out of town, and the only person with a key is going to be at work until two in the morning.”

Emily felt pity for Marie in that moment, and wished she could give Marie an alternative other than the only one she had at the moment. “I wish I had another option to offer you. But my parents refuse to let me bring something out here so you won’t freeze to ****.”

Marie took a deep breath, calming herself. She felt a light wind run across her body, and shivered against the cool dusk air. “If the offer still stands, I think I’d like to come inside.” Marie said, biting her lip. She couldn’t help but blush as she thought about what was to come.

“Wait, really?” Emily said, her eyes widening in shock. She turned to face the gate. “Y-yeah, sure. Follow me!”

Marie gulped as she heard Emily take off towards the front door. She felt panic rising up, and quickly tried to quell it. “It’ll be ok...” She told herself calmly. She crossed an arm over her breasts, and used her free hand to unlatch the gate.

As Marie carefully walked through the gateway, she barely managed to look in the direction of the front porch. Emily’s wide eyed stare turned into an awkward glance away in second hand embarrassment. Marie looked down at the ground, her stomach full of butterflies and her face blushing a bright red. She then looked down at herself, still not quite believing what had happened to her in the past few hours.

Marie snapped out of her self-reflection when she heard a car pass by her right, and briefly begin to slow down. A quick recollection as to why the car might be slowing down brought her back to her senses. She instantly began sprinting across the yard, and brushed past a surprised and bewildered Emily just as the woman who had been driving the car had begun taking out her phone. Emily shook her head in dismissal, before heading inside.

Once inside, Marie couldn’t help but take in a nice long look at her surroundings. She noticed the entire living area looked extremely well kept, and several family portraits lined the back of the fireplace in the living room. A few paintings were scattered amongst the other two walls adjoining the wall with the fireplace. In the middle, sat two couches pointed at the flatscreen TV in the corner, and one recliner placed neatly between them.

Emily managed a cough from behind, and Marie gently sidestepped to let her pass. She had felt embarrassed before, from behind the fence. But now Marie had a desire to go running back at full speed. The unfamiliarity of the house and her neighbors coupled with her state of undress spelled disaster and endless embarrassment in Marie’s mind.