Hey everyone! Alrighty, here's chapter 2. It's long, and it kind of follows a bunch of subplots, but I hope you like it. Sorry it took a while, but life's a little crazy with finals coming up, and I must say this is a pretty long chapter. Anyhow, please PLEASE let me know what you think so I can use your criticism, compliments, etc to help me shape how I write the next chapters. Thanks so much to all who left feedback – it really means a lot to me. I don't know when the next will be up, but I'll try for sometime this week. Thanks guys, and enjoy,
Love always,
M.
Chapter 2
Have you ever been in bed, lying awake, wishing you were asleep, but not being able to because you were anxious about something? That was me at about 6 am. For the majority of the night I slept soundly, but at just about sunrise, my eyes opened and I saw patches of the room where it wasn't quite as dark: shadows with blurred edges were cast onto the walls, the sun not having made its grand appearance quite yet over the silhouetted horizon. Ashley's arm held me to her body with the same force as when she placed it around me those hours ago– we hadn't moved all night, and truthfully, given the choice, I wouldn't move all day. Her body provided me with the perfect warmth in a chilly room, my little space heater. I was curled up comfortably, and I was still so tired. I knew I should be out of here by 7, so I permitted myself to sleep another hour, but to no avail. I was awake, knowing I had to leave, knowing that Ashley may not have any idea who I was today. This notion upset me a little. Would we otherwise be friends? Would she choose to talk to me when she was sober? Was I the type of girl she could be friends with?
It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know this girl at all. I knew her name, and that she could get drunk… oh, and that she was my brother's girlfriend. I barely knew her at all, and yet still I wanted to be friends. I couldn't understand myself – why would I have such an inclination towards someone I knew nothing about? Why did I care whether she would like me or not? Frankly, I should have disliked her on principle just given that she was dating Glen. Still, for reasons I couldn't begin to grasp, I wanted to know her, and I wanted her to know me.
My wild thoughts were interrupted by a gentle breath, and a little noise coming from the girl whose face pressed into my neck and shoulder. I hoped desperately that she wasn't waking up. Thankfully, after a minute of holding my breath, it was clear that she was still sleeping. I decided that was too close– time to leave.
Taking her hand in mine, I gently peeled her arm off of me, and placed it over her side, which rose and fell evenly. I sat up as slowly as possible, trying not to shake the mattress. I stood and lifted the blankets over her – feeling a little bad that I was robbing her of authentic body heat.
The thing that happened next is something I couldn't explain one bit. Without thought, without hesitation, without any reason – I took my hand and gently wiped a piece of hair from her face, gingerly tracing her cheek with my fingertip and lingering a moment. As soon as I realized I was affectionately touching an unconscious girl who I barely even knew, I ripped my hand away. Why did I do that? That could have awoken her. I scolded myself as I walked from the room. I descended the stairs, stepped over some dormant bodies that had drunkenly chosen the floor as their bed, and left the house, knowing full well that I was going right back to sleep as soon as I could reach my room.
I had crossed the threshold and bee-lined for the stairs when someone spoke.
"Spencer?" I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Oh my god, you scared me." I replied breathlessly, running a hand into my hair.
"Sorry," Aiden laughed. "What are you doing up so early? Did you go out last night?"
"Yes and no. I helped Ashley home last night and I ended up crashing there. At the risk of her not knowing who I was, I wanted to get out of there fast."
"Good, for a second I thought maybe you were a little more like Glen than I had thought – going out with literally no one you knew and staying out all night and all."
"No," I exhaled, "at least not intentionally." There was a pause.
"So you spent the night with Ashley…" Another pause.
"Yep." I replied awkwardly.
"Is… everything okay? With you I mean?" His eyebrows furrowed together.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"
"No reason, she can just be … a lot to take in sometimes. She comes on a little strong." I knew that wasn't all that he wanted to say, but I figured I'd wait until I knew him a little better before I pressed him for details.
"I guess so. You know her well?" I figured that was a fair question.
"One might say that." He replied, looking at the floor. "Well, we've lived in the same town our whole lives. We're bound to know each other."
"Right." I admitted, making a mental note to dig for more later. Wait, why was I even digging? Why did it matter? The questions prattled on. Aiden looked up at me with tired eyes, and gave me a closed mouthed smile.
"Well, what are your plans for today?"
"Um," I stammered. I actually didn't really know. "I was just going to go back to sleep for a while. I don't have to be at the building site until next week, and I don't have to be at film classes until Monday. I guess I could go today, but that's not until about 2."
"Well, before you can start building on your own at the site, you've got to shadow someone for a day just to see how everything works." Aiden suggested.
"What, they don't think I can handle it on my own?" I teased.
"We use power tools, for manly men. Little girls like you aren't naturally equipped to deal with these kinds of things." He smiled.
"That's the second lack of brute strength joke you've made at me in the last 24 hours. Watch it, or I might just have to beat your ass." I threatened with a laugh.
"Oh I'm scared now." He replied, throwing his hands above his head, his eyes wide with mock fright. I went to jokingly punch his open chest, when his hand quickly caught my wrist. "And that's the second time you've tried to physically harm me. I'm calling the police. This is domestic abuse. You will be jailed for sure."
"They can't do anything to me, I'm still 17. And I figure it's only a matter of time until you start to exhibit the signs of Stockholm Syndrome, then you'll never report me."
"Damn," He exhaled, rolling his eyes, "there goes my dignity and strength." His hand still gripped my wrist. Our eyes met, as if we had both realized our continued contact at the same time. We lingered there for a moment, stagnant. Finally, I gently brought my hand back toward me, looked at the floor, cleared my throat and put on a half smile.
"So this shadowing thing… You're suggesting that I do it today?" I spoke, trying to diffuse the silence I couldn't quite understand.
"Well, you could always do it next week and just really start a day later, but if you felt like it, I'd be happy to show you the ropes today." He answered. Before I could say something, he continued, "And if you wanted to, I could drive you to your film class at 2." I thought for a moment, and then agreed.
"Okay, sure." The only other thing I would have done would have been sleeping, I had no other plans, and Aiden made the offer sound enticing. I also noted that I wouldn't mind being able to chat with him for the day. "Just let me go up to my room and get ready."
"Okay, don't worry about looking nice – you get a little messy when working on the homes."
"Oh please, I always look nice. I'm offended that you'd suggest anything otherwise."
"Oh shit, I stepped in it." He laughed. "Well it's going to be hard enough to keep all of the guys there from stepping to you – it'd help if you didn't try to look any more beautiful." I could feel myself blushing. Beautiful?
"Quick recovery." I joked, hoping that I had concealed how flattered I really was. "Alright, I'll be back down in 5, and I'll be ready for adventure"
"Perfect." He said, flashing me a beaming smile. "Well, as long as you don't plan on abusing me." He covered his head, pretending to be afraid.
"You and I both know that I can't do that in public. Consider yourself spared."
The building site was a busy place, a bunch of kids my age running to and fro, with some moderating adults sprinkled into the mix. From what I could see just by looking, there were 3 homes going up, the skeletons of which stood tall and sturdy in the morning light. Aiden lead me to the one that he'd been working on: the one all the way on the right. He told me that the framing for this house was finished, so our job was to install windows and doors. There was a crew of people gathered around the house who turned around when we approached.
"Everyone, this is Spencer. She's Glen's little sister." Aiden said to the bunch, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Spencer, this is Michael Gladstone," a small but built guy with visible shadow around his chin shook my hand heartily, "this is Cameron Lockley," a tall blonde guy reached out and took my hand, "this is Shelby Thompson," a tall girl with the body of a basketball player said hello, "and this is Tom Randall," a guy of medium height with long brown hair nodded his head in my direction.
"It's nice to meet you all." I said collectively.
"Glen's also in this group, but I expect that he'll be late." Cameron said, elbowing me.
"I wonder if he'll bring Ashley around today." Michael wondered aloud.
"Ugh, I hope not," Shelby said under her breath, then whispered to me, "no one focuses when she's around. It takes ten times longer to get things done." I laughed nervously. "Have you met her yet?"
"Yeah," I replied, "but she wasn't exactly in her right mind, so I might have to meet her again."
"No surprise there." Shelby added, "She's trashed all the time." I nodded, looking down. Was she really drunk all the time? I wondered what her home life was like, if this was true. Some foreign protective instinct disliked the way that Shelby spoke so openly about her in this way.
"Hey," Tom chimed with a clear voice, "you never know what's going on with someone, so don't be so quick to judge."
"I'm not judging," Shelby retorted, "just stating the facts." There was a moment's silence. Tom looked over his glasses at Shelby, over to me, and then back to Shelby.
"Well I think we've all got some incriminating facts on each of us, so unless you want the world to know your facts, cut it out." Tom turned and walked toward the skeleton of the house, sandpaper in hand. Shelby rolled her eyes.
"Just ignore him. Sometimes he feels the need to be the righteous one." I offered a smile in response, deciding against telling her that I agreed with his side.
"Hey, Spencer," Aiden called from behind me, "How about I give you a tour of the site? I want to do that and then show you how to use the power tools before I take you to your film class." I stepped toward him, opening my mouth to agree when a voice spoke from behind me.
"You like film?" I turned and it was Tom.
"Yeah, I can't really get enough of it right now" I smiled.
"Me too. Wait, did you say you were taking a class?"
"Mmhm" I nodded.
"Here at the high school?"
"Yep."
"Me too. I can take you there if you want." He turned his gaze to Aiden, "Save you the ride?"
"Uh, okay." Aiden nodded, his eyes darting skeptically. "If that's okay with you, Spencer?" The way he was looking at me, it was as if he wanted me to say no. His eyes were pleading. It made me sad to see him this way, but at the same time I wanted to get to know Tom a little bit better – he was kind of intriguing.
"Yeah, totally fine." I said to Aiden, then smiling at Tom.
"Cool." Tom replied, the corners of his mouth turning up subtly. There was something very cryptic about him – perhaps just the fact that he was a little more stand-offish than the others – regardless, he seemed interesting, and the thought of spending more time with him excited me.
"Ready?" Aiden asked, reclaiming my attention. I nodded and joined him as we began to walk the perimeter of the site.
He pointed out everything: the tool shed, the picnic tables, the port-a-potties, and finally the maroon pavilion. Located at the center of the site, the pavilion was like a huge covered gazebo, with tables inside. On the tables were the plans for each of the three houses, as well as sign up sheets for tasks on each of them, lined up with dates. Aiden suggested that I sign up to be in his group for next week, so I did. While looking at the plans for each house, Aiden began asking me questions.
"So do you like living in New York?"
"Yeah, I mean it's really busy so it's nice to get away to somewhere so quiet, but I do like the constant activity. You don't really get bored there. What about you, living here?"
"Eh, it's alright. It's mainly fun in the summertime. It gets a little too quiet in the off seasons. Do you have a lot of friends at home?"
"Yeah, one or two may come visit this summer actually. They're great."
"Oh that will be fun." He added, absently. There was definitely something else he wanted to say.
"Yeah." I said, filling a silence that was growing a little awkward.
"Do you, uh, have a boyfriend?" There it was. I paused.
"Nah, nobody really special." He nodded, his eyes changing in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on. "What about you? Have a girlfriend?"
"Nope." He replied simply.
"No one meeting your standards?" I teased.
"No, that's certainly not it." He laughed.
"Why, do you like someone?"
"Who knows"
"You should know." I said, lowering my eyebrows in a scrutinizing way. He looked at me blankly, and I pursed my lips in a scowl. I couldn't exactly fathom why I was pressing him – if there was something I wanted to hear.
"Well maybe I'll just keep you guessing – add a little mystery to this dynamic between us."
"I don't like guessing." I rolled my eyes. "But for you, maybe I'll make an exception. I mean, you did selflessly pick me up from the airport and all." He smiled and turned to walk out of the gazebo. I followed, noting a smile on my face, too.
We stopped at the picnic tables and sat down, each of us grabbing one of the sandwiches from the neat pyramid on the tray. We chatted easily over lunch, and I was glad to be getting to know him a little better. He seemed genuinely nice, unusual for a guy of his attractiveness. He listened intently to me, seeming to hang onto my every word. He remembered details, small things that I said in passing and brought them back up in later conversation. I wondered what he really thought of me. Was his first impression of me as positive as mine was of him? I hoped it was. I couldn't figure out exactly how I wanted him to think of me, or what I wanted him to think, but I knew that I wanted it to be good.
When we had finished eating, we walked over to the tool shed, where he grabbed two pairs of goggles and two pairs of gloves. While fixated on the giant gloves as I pulled them over my hands, Aiden placed the goggles on my face, setting the band just underneath my ponytail, which he tousled playfully. He showed me each of the power tools, each one buzzing powerfully, cutting with ease into test wood. I was nervous to try them, but with his help I cut through planks of wood, and drove screws in and out.
The chainsaw buzzed violently, vibrating in my hands as I cut through a log, when suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder on the side opposite Aiden. Startled, I swung around, almost forgetting to flick the switch on the chainsaw as I turned and nearly hit Tom.
He jumped backwards, his hands up on either side of him as if surrendering.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" I gasped. "You just scared me."
"How kind of you to return the favor." He said. At first I couldn't tell if he was joking or using passive aggressive sarcasm, but after a couple moments the corners of his mouth perked up, and I sighed. "It's about quarter of two so I figured we should get rolling."
"Right." I muttered, suddenly remembering that I was going to the film class today. Aiden had distracted me well. I put the chainsaw down on the table, quickly pulling off the gloves. "Alright, let's go."
"Just one thing you're forgetting," He said pointing to his glasses. I reached up to touch my face, and remembered that I had goggles on. "unless those are the latest fashion statement that I simply missed."
"Funny." I said sarcastically, as I pulled them off. I turned to Aiden, "I guess I'll see you later at the house?"
"Yep." He replied, looking a little defeated. "Have fun at your class."
"Thanks," I called over my shoulder as Tom and I began to walk, "and thanks for showing me everything today. Now at least I know what I can kill you with when you threaten to call the police on my domestic abuse." He laughed, which made me feel better about leaving him. Tom threw me a cynical sideways glance. "Don't even ask."
"Wasn't going to."
The ride to the high school was a short one, and relatively silent. Tom looked out at the road, his long wavy hair gently blowing in the air coming in through the open windows. From what I could see, he seemed perfectly content to be sitting in silence, his face not showing any signs of tension, so I relaxed too. It was strange, to be with a stranger in a comfortable silence: something unusual, and certainly profound enough to remark upon. In a way I can't quite explain, I felt that were going to be friends. We just clicked.
"I like you." He said suddenly. Once again, in a way I can't explain, I could feel that he meant platonic 'like,' and I was happy he said it,
"I like you too." I answered. "And thank you so much for taking me today. I really appreciate it."
"Anytime. I could take you everyday. It's obviously not out of my way at all, and you're not annoying, so I really don't mind."
"Thanks" I said, offering a smile, which he returned. "Tell me something about yourself."
"I would, and basically could because I could tell my life's story in a matter of seconds, but we're basically here so I'll save that conversation for the next ride." He pulled into a parking spot and pulled the keys from the ignition.
We walked into the school together, passing generic classrooms that looked just like one another. When we finally arrived at the correct room, he held he door for me. We sat down beside one another in the third row of desks. We had another 5 minutes before class began, so he explained to me that Mondays and Tuesdays were film watching days, sometimes Wednesday if it carried over the two hour long periods. When this wasn't the case, Wednesdays, and then Thursdays and Fridays were discussion and assignment days. He wished today was a film watching class.
"It's just that…. Well, Mrs. Higgins is a little arrogant sometimes. She definitely knows her stuff, but she makes it her job to berate some students. I just prefer classes where she doesn't play much of a part. Just make sure not to get onto her bad side."
"Will do, thanks for the warning." No sooner had those words escaped my lips when someone came through the door. Another student, but not just any random student. I'd seen her before. She'd randomly popped up in my thoughts all day. Ashley.
Once she sat down, she tucked her legs up beneath her in the desk diagonally in front of mine. She was focused intently on something she pulled out; a crinkled piece of lined paper in front of her with traces of erased scribbles over almost every inch. A pencil gripped in her hand, she would write furiously for a moment, pause, and then erase: a consistent cycle – a steady rhythm. I fell easily into watching her, not even noticing that the class had begun, and Mrs. Higgins had started her lecture. Ashley was much more interesting There was something graceful about her gestures, however erratic and indecisive they might have been. It might have been the way that she had one hand twisted into her reddish brown hair, propping her head up… or the way that her fingers gripped the pencil tightly, with some sort of purpose. Maybe it was the slow rising and falling of her back with each breath. I didn't even realize how long I'd been watching her until I was rudely ripped away. Tom snapped his fingers in my direction to get my attention, but it was too late. Mrs. Higgins had caught me in her sight.
"Who, my attention lacking friend, are you?"
"Erm," I stammered, "I'm Spencer Carlin. I officially start next week, but I was here so I thought I'd stop by. I'm sorry for not giving my full attention. Must be jet lag." I offered.
"And where are you from, Ms. Carlin?" Oh no, I thought.
"New York." I said quietly, after a long pause.
"Dear, there is no jet lag between here and there. I ask that you pay attention from this point on." I nodded my head apologetically. I tought she was finished, but she continued, "You should know that I have a policy against copying other students."
"Mrs. Higgins, I'm so sorry, I was just - "
"But if you are going to copy someone," she interrupted, "It should not be Miss Davies. She's not what you would call a model student." Some of the class chuckled, throwing sideways glances. I was mortified. She would certainly know now that I'd been watching her. I didn't even know if she remembered who I was. She looked up and around. She smiled smugly.
"Damn proud of it, Mrs. H," she said happily. Then turning to me, she spoke, "And for the record, should you want to, you're welcome to copy me anytime you want…." She held out her hand to shake mine. In her eyes there was no recognition – no slight twinge of 'have I seen you before?' or 'you look familiar.' In one way I was happy she didn't recognize me, didn't find my on looking creepy. In another way, however, it stung. For whatever reason, I guess I wanted her to remember me, and my chest felt a little hollow as I groped for breath to speak.
"Spencer." I finally exhaled.
"Spencer… I like it." She smiled a little more widely, and I couldn't help but note the way her nose crinkled. "I'm Ashley."
"Nice to meet you, Ashley." I replied with a forced smile. God, this was weird: meeting someone for the second time in 24 hours.
"Not to interrupt, but may I get on with my class?" the teacher asked sarcastically.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize to her," Ashley hissed in a whisper. "She's an asshole."
"What was that Ashley?" chimed a disgruntled teacher.
"Hmm?" Ashley mocked, playing dumb. The teacher turned away with a huff, and continued scrawling on the board. Ashley giggled lightly then shot a wink in my direction. My anxiety dissipated a little, and I was smiling before I could even register what had happened.
The rest of the class passed quickly by, analysis words floating in and out of my head at quick intervals. I was distracted by the girl before me. I admired the way that she was so at ease about everything – even about a teacher being so out of line as to call her out for no reason – I was the one who was supposedly looking off another after all. All I could think about was how much I wanted her to know me. A desire burned through me, and I realized I had never wanted to be someone's friend so badly before, so desperately. I was at a loss for what to do. It briefly occurred to me that I should actually be listening, given that the subject matter was why I was here, but I was blinded by the girl before me.
The class was dismissed, and for the first time, I averted my eyes from Ashley and back to Tom, who looked at me very skeptically.
"I'll explain later." I whispered, and he seemed satisfied with that. We stood up, and I scanned the room once more for Ashley, who seemed to have vanished completely. I felt my spirits fall a little, and for the first time I didn't really question myself as to why I was so immersed in her. This was not because I knew why, I didn't, but asking myself was getting old. Tom and I exited the room, and I had turned for the way we came in when I heard a voice behind me.
"Spencer," her voice rang. I immediately knew who it was. I whipped around so quickly that I must have gotten whip lash.
"Hey, what' up?" I fired out a little too quickly. Why was I so awkward?
"Nothing too much," she replied, running a hand through her hair. "I just wanted to properly introduce myself." She jokingly bowed, swirling her hand in front of her. "Ashley Davies, at your service." I laughed, maybe a little too hard.
"Spencer Carlin, very nice to officially meet you." Third introduction, and I hoped this was truly the official one.
"Carlin…" She stared, "Oh my God, you're Glen's sister!"
"That would be me…" I muttered, "Do I fall short of your expectations?"
"Not at all." She said seriously. Her look suddenly changed. "And I see you know Tom. The crème de la crème of Seabrook guys." She laughed.
"Very funny." Tom said sarcastically.
"I like to think I'm hilarious, actually."
"Well I like to think I'm a rhinoceros, but I'm not." Tom said. You could tell he was joking, but Tom said things in such a dry manner that he could probably be misinterpreted in the wrong context. Before Ashley could continue the repartee, Tom continued, "I hate to disrupt what is clearly an unbelievably sophisticated conversation, but Spencer, my mom texted me mid-class and she needs something from me, so I think we've gotta go so I can drop you off and get home."
"Okay, I'm ready whenev"
"Well I can take her." Ashley interrupted me, looking at Tom. Her gaze shifted to me, and then back to him again. "It's really not an issue, I was going to go see Glen anyway. You can go on home, I can take her from here." Tom searched my face for approval.
"That's fine" I said, excited to get to talk to her a little more.
"Okay, well then Spencer, Ashley, I'll see you two later." He nodded his head, then turned and walked towards the door. I looked to Ashley and smiled.
"Well." I said definitively.
"Well indeed." She turned and began walking towards the door, which I followed. "Tell me something about yourself."
"Um…" I paused to think. Well, I've actually met you once before and completely took care of your drunk self last night. "I live in New York City."
"Something I don't know through already knowing Glen, please."
"Okay… well I'm nothing like my brother. How's that for a fact?" I replied.
"Eh, kinda lame."
"Oh really? Fine, what can you tell me about yourself that is so much better?" I challenged.
"Easy. I'm a shit ton of fun, I love to laugh, I find mushrooms disgusting, I can't swim," I interrupted her.
"You can't swim?"
"I'm also not finished." I widened my eyes and raised my hands in sarcastic apology. "Thank you. I have a pet horse, I love Christmas, my dad's a rock star, my mom's a whore, I'm not narcoleptic, nor am I albino, I hate school, love partying, and…" she paused, clicking her car key. "Perfect timing. I have a Porsche." She looked at me expectantly. I didn't quite know how to respond to all of that.
"Okay. So you can't swim?" She laughed a genuine laugh, and I couldn't help but love the fact that something I said prompted such a nice sound.
"No," She said, climbing into the drivers seat. "Still in swimmies. You know, those blow up floatation devices that go around your arms?" I stared at her incredulously. "I'm kidding. I just don't get in the water." I sat in the passenger seat, and within moments, we were speeding out of the parking lot. "Don't be alarmed, I speed, but I'm a good driver."
"Oh I'm sure."
"Is that sarcasm, Miss Carlin?" She looked at me with questioning eyes, one eyebrow raised.
"No, please just look at the road." I said, taking my hand and gently pushing her cheek so that she was facing the road. I don't know what motivated me to do it, to touch her. I wasn't actually afraid of us crashing, but for whatever reason I did it, and something happened. I can't explain it, but it was like a spark ignited beneath my fingertips. I jerked my hand back quickly, looking away. I could feel her still looking at me – did she feel it too?
There was a long silence, a lull, a pause where I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my head. What was she thinking? She cleared her throat and swallowed.
"You look terrified." She said quietly. I honestly couldn't tell if she was serious. "are you?"
"No" I murmured. Somehow, I felt like I was lying. How was it that the mood changed so dramatically so quickly?
"Could have fooled me."
"Well I'm fine." I replied stiffly. The silence between us was undeniably uncomfortable. And it was undeniably mutual. "So… you have a horse?" I asked, hoping desperately that my internal panic would dissipate with the silence.
"Yeah," she spoke, "I've had him for years. His name is Riddle. Have you ever ridden?"
"No, I've always been too scared."
"Well maybe I can take you with me sometime. I promise I'll keep you safe." I felt myself starting to smile.
"Maybe." I said. "So can I ask you a serious question?"
"Yeah, shoot." She looked a little skeptical.
"What is it that you see in my brother?" She laughed. She looked… relieved? Was she expecting something else? "I mean, maybe it's just because he's my brother, but he's just… I don't know."
"He's definitely an interesting character." She paused. "I mean, he's hot." I winced. She laughed, "Sorry." She looked like she was still deep in thought, but she didn't say anything else about it.
"Well, fair enough. It's not my business, so sorry if I was intruding there."
"No, please, you're not at all." She said this easily, but she looked tense. The mood in this car fluctuated more than I cared for. "Speak of the devil."
We pulled onto the site, and Glen was jogging towards the car.
"Hey baby," he said once she had it in park. He leaned into the convertible and pressed his mouth to hers, winding his fingers into her hair. My stomach turned. I just attributed this to the fact that someone would willingly let Glen touch them like that. Close to her face, he spoke again, "what are you doing hanging around with people like this?" He carelessly gestured towards me without looking at me.
"Hey, be nice." She said, looking at me from the corner of her eye. "I like Spencer." She winked for the second time today in my direction, and for the second time my stomach fluttered.
"I see you two have reunited." Called a voice from the other direction. I turned to see a muscular silhouette headed our way, shaded beneath the trees.
"Aiden." I said quietly.
"You know Aiden?" Ashley asked me quickly, grabbing my wrist. I tried to ignore the tickle of flames that traveled up my arm at her touch.
"Yeah, I'm guessing you do too?"
"One might say that." She said, looking up. There was more to that story. I knew I'd have to press it out of one of them. "Wait, what does he mean reunited?"
"Oh nothing - "
"Aiden, what are you talking about?" She ignored my attempts to cover up the truth.
"You know… last night?"
"Aiden, please." I begged. I think he finally understood, recognition dawned on his face, but it was too late.
"Spencer, what is he talking about?"
"Oh my God." Glen exclaimed, realization dawning on him as well. Except for him, it was the return of a drunken memory.
"What?" Ashley repeated.
"I'm sorry, Spencer." Aiden began, "Ash, you were really drunk last night…."
"Yes…"
"And you met Spencer."
"Well that's embarrassing. I'm sorry for not remembering"
"That's not all." Aiden interrupted. Ashley's eyes froze, her gaze remaining on me even though it was Aiden who spoke. "Spencer really took care of you. Like, really. She took you home and you had her stay with you."
Ashley's eyes suddenly fell, her hands flying up to her cheeks. Staggering silence settled in around the 4 of us, and I felt like I needed to gasp for air. We were all suspended there, hanging in mid air, waiting for Ashley's words. My heart pounded in my chest and I prayed that this didn't change anything. That it wouldn't change our potential friendship. I wanted it so badly, her friendship. I couldn't understand why, but I did. I wanted it. I needed it. I longed to reach out and touch her shoulder, her arm, her cheek. Tell her that it was fine, that I didn't mind, that she didn't need to be embarrassed. I waited there, watching her intently, my mouth ajar. I wanted to say something but I couldn't, so I waited. This matter of seconds seemed an eternity.