Chapter 10

Audrey got to her vehicle quickly, once inside she allowed her self a minute to catch her breath. She was still winded by the kiss. She was trying to rationalize the reason why Emma would have kissed her and would simply not believe that it was because she liked her. It can't be, she thought, I mean there was Will, Kieran and even Eli. Audrey shook her head as if to shake her thoughts into place. After a short moment Audrey started he car and started driving to her house; she hadn't been lying, her father was coming home soon and she had to clean up a little before he did.

Audrey had just stepped out of the shower when her phone started ringing and left her heart up in her throat. Audrey both hoped it was Emma and dreaded it would be her. This feeling was the worst, when you thought you had a chance with the person you love but at the same time you don't want to let yourself believe in case you actually didn't. Audrey hurried to get her phone and again she had mixed emotions; disappointed and glad it wasn't Emma.

"What's up Foster," she answered as she saw her best friend's name on the caller ID.

"Hey," he answered gleefully, "so, we're all going to see that new comedy tomorrow night, you in?" He asked.

Who's we? She wondered. "Sounds good," she said because she wasn't going to pass on a night out with friends. Audrey had realized that life was short and you really need to enjoy it while you can. "I'm working tonight so I can get us the tickets… how many?" She asked while she finished getting dressed.

"6," Noah said.

Audrey counted quickly in her head and she figured there was one ticket too many, "you mean 5 right?" she asked to confirm.

"No 6 was right, I'm bringing a friend." Noah advised.

"Oooh, Foster do tell," Audrey said with a large smile. She knew Noah was still shaken by Zoe's death but he needed to move on—he deserved to find someone that would making forget and be happy.

Noah laughed, "there's nothing to tell really…" he said and it didn't sound like he was lying. "You'll see tomorrow." He added.

"What? No you need to explain," Audrey said with disappointment.

"Talk to you tomorrow," Noah said with a laugh and hung up before Audrey could protest.

Audrey went about her as per usual, her father arrived around mid afternoon and staid long enough to ask who Audrey was doing before he left to go to the church. Audrey loved her father and she was pretty sure he loved but he wasn't really present for her. She knew that if she really needed him he would be there but when it came to day to day things he was not the most available father.

Audrey wasn't complaining, she was a pretty independent girl and she was glad her father didn't smother. Before he left to go to the church he told Audrey all the new updates from Boston and her mother's condition. Things weren't getting better but they weren't getting extremely worst either. Audrey's mother had a sever cancer and it was to be expected. At this point the doctors were trying to make it more comfortable for Audrey's mother rather than trying to save her.

Audrey sat there for a moment after her father had left, somehow she had always known her mother would never get better but now that it was confirmed made it so much more real.

Audrey came to terms with the news and had to go about her evening. Audrey went to work and her shift went by quickly. She got the movie tickets for her friends as planned and went back home. Audrey had checked her phone many times during the night and was surprised that Emma hadn't texted or called. She made it home around midnight again, once home she gave it another hour to see if Emma would call and then went to bed.

Morning came as per usual; it was bout nine when Audrey woke and about 10 when she finally decided to get out of bed. For some reason she felt like staying in bed all day to day but unfortunately she knew it wasn't an option.

Audrey had never been a huge runner but since the whole killer thing she started to keep her cardio up a little more and as far as self-defence went thing were covered there. Audrey had always worked out and trained to defend herself. Also since her father was often away he had invested in a few self-defence classes to make sure Audrey was equipped with the necessary skills if needed.

So the first thing she did was go for a 5 km run, then a little season against her punching bag in her room and then she called it a day. Her gunshot wound had healed completely, other than leaving a nasty scar but for some reason she still felt something pull whenever she did any physical activity. Audrey wouldn't say it was painful it was discomforting. Audrey took a well-deserved shower, she stayed in until water started to become cold and then started to dress.

Audrey stopped in front of her mirror before putting her shirt on. She had caught a glimpse of that blemish on her body and couldn't stop herself but to look at it. Audrey had tried hard to not look at the scar as much as she could but she now found herself glaring at it.

Audrey was always surprised at how big it was, it wasn't circular-ish, it wasn't smooth, and it was hideous in every way. Audrey was simply upset that her body was now marked so horribly and that every time she would look at it she would remember all the dreadful memories.

Audrey had gotten tickets for the 7 o'clock viewing at the Zenith and decided to head to the Ground House for a quick coffee. Audrey brought with her a stack of college pamphlets; senior year was coming up and then would come college. She had to start giving it serious thoughts because the deadline would come faster then she could realize. Audrey hadn't given it much thought before because she honestly didn't know if she would have survived the killings but now that it was over she had to.

Emma woke that morning feeling extremely tired. She had had one of the worst sleep yet and she had feeling it was because Audrey wasn't there and because she hadn't been able to stop thinking about her.

Emma was looking forward to tonight because the whole gang was going to the movies, which meant Audrey would be there and she couldn't avoid Emma. The day was burning quickly and by the time she was out of the house it was already 1 o'clock. Emma went grocery shopping, the whole time she was trying to think about what she would tell Audrey and how she could make her see that her feeling weren't driven by guilt.

Before she even realised it was 6 o'clock and Emma was not even ready to go yet. Emma got ready in record time, she took a quick shower, did her hair and make up then picked out her outfit.

By 6:45 Emma was out the door and minutes away from the theatre.

Audrey started headed to the theatre at around 6:30 and was hoping the extra time would allow her to figure out what she would say to Emma. After she parked Audrey got out and saw that Brook and Stavo were already there. Brook was snuggled in Stavo's arms and she looked happy. Audrey was glad that Brook had been able to move on but she was still able to tell that brook was sometimes hunted by memories of Jake but all in all she was mostly happy.

"Hey guys," greeted Audrey.

Brook let go of Stavo and came over to give Audrey a big hug. "How are you?" she asked once out of the embrace.

Audrey smiled at her friend, just over a year ago they would never have said a word to each other and now they were great friends. "I'm good, you?"

"I'm really good," Brook answered with a genuine smile.

They both turned around when they heard a vehicle approach, it was Noah, both brook and Audrey looked in his direction with curiosity. Obviously Noah had told Brook about the friend he was bringing. Audrey was quizzical when no one else came out of his vehicle besides him but only Brook voiced her displeasure, "where is she Noah?" she asked disapprovingly.

Noah looked as though it was obvious he would have been alone, "she's coming with her own car." He said and Brook's relief was abundantly clear.

"Speaking of the devil," Noah said while pointing at a small Smart car.

Audrey was happy that Noah finally found someone and she couldn't wait to meet her. The girl that came out of the vehicle wasn't much taller than her; she had long red-ish brown hair, pale skin and had a sweet smile. The girl was beaming at the group while she approached and Audrey thought Noah had done good—she was really pretty.

The girl stopped next to Noah and for some reason she was looking mostly at Audrey. Audrey smiled to be polite.

"Hey guy's this is Gina, we met during one of the space program convention." He said as he introduced everyone, "that's tall drink of water there is Stave," he said first, "that's Brook and this is Audrey." He finish and Audrey swore she heard him emphasize her name.

Audrey gave the girl a polite nod but couldn't help feeling that knowing smile on Noah's face was about to change the course of her evening. Audrey had an uneasy feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach when the girl extended her hand toward Audrey but not the others.

"It's nice to meet you," she said sweetly. Audrey politely shook her hand but with drew as soon as she could and that's when Emma decided to make her appearance.

"Gina, this is Emma… Emma this is my friend Gina." Noah made the introductions.

Emma had seen the whole interaction with the new girl and really did not like the extra attention she gave Audrey. Emma wanted to push the feeling back like she used to do and pretend she didn't have those feelings but she had decided not to ignore them anymore. Obviously Emma was not a rude person she would act childishly but it didn't mean she didn't that pang of jealousy.

When Emma had joined the rest of her friends Noah made the introduction and she responded politely. "Nice to meet you Gina." Emma said while taking a spot next to Brook. "I heard you met at a space program convection," Emma said almost like a question.

"Yeah last summer, but I've been away while I was in the program but Noah's pod cast kept me updated." She started out with a light tone that quickly turned a little darker at the end. Gina had been fully aware of what had been going on in Lakewood.

Audrey listened to what Gina said but got a little stressed when she said she'd known Noah for a while. There was no way Noah would not have told her about this girl unless she wasn't his type or the other way around. Audrey started to see clear in Noah's intention and shot him a glare. Audrey was infuriated at Noah's response; he gave a knowing, gleeful, mischievous smile. Clearly he knew Audrey had caught on to his little plan; Gina wasn't here for Noah, no she was here for her and that made the tense feeling in her stomach even worst.

She had also become super aware of Emma; she was on the other side of Brook and it felt like there was an invisible line that was touching them. Audrey didn't know if it was just her that felt the connection but regardless Gina was making her feel very uncomfortable.

"Audrey you have the ticket?" Brook asked with her regular smile though there was an extra twinkle in her eyes.

Audrey looked at her and in the process at Emma as well. She looked great as per usual. She didn't know if it was because they had kissed but to Audrey Emma looked more radiant. She was meant to answer Brook but her throat was so dry any words had remained stuck there. Audrey pulled out the ticket and gave them a shake as an answer.

"Great, let's go then." Brook said grabbing the tickets from her hand and giving her a wink as she walked away.

You've got to be kidding me! Audrey thought, clearly Brook knew what was going on, she was having way too much fun with it. Brook and Noah had come up with this little matchup there was no doubt and Audrey was liking none of it.

The group made into to the theatre, Noah had volunteered to get the snacks and drinks while everyone went to reserve seats. Audrey decided to go with Noah and used the pretence to help him in order to get away from both Emma and Gina who appeared very interested in knowing her better.

"You're dead Foster," she said the moment they were out of earshot.

"What did I do?" he asked bringing his hands in the air in a clueless fashion though his face had guilty as charged all over it.

"Seriously what were you thinking?" she asked this time she almost sounded a little panicked. Audrey had things to sort out with Emma and if she was lucky she was going to get the person she had loved for the better part of her life. This thing Noah had arranged had the potential to screw all of it and ruin any chances she had. To be fare though it's not like Noah had any idea what was going on. "I'm really not interested right now," she said a little gentler.

Noah gave her a sheepish grin while they got all the refreshment needed and joined their friends. "This keeps getting better and better," Noah said so low Audrey wasn't even sure he'd said it. Noah hurried to go sit next to Stavo at the end of the row leaving a seat between Emma and Gina just for Audrey.

"Foster, Foster!" Audrey tried to get his attention so they could switch but no luck. Audrey knew Noah very well and he was clearly pretending not to hear her.

To her utter dislike Audrey sat between the two girls and offered both of them drinks. I'm gonna kill him, she thought as she settled in her seat and tried her very best to avoid Emma's curious eyes. No really, what am I supposed to say now? She thought and to make matters worst Gina resumed her 'get to know you better' questions. As much as she could Audrey tried to answer the questions with fewer words as possible or none if she could. She knew she was being somewhat rude but really this was not helping her situation with Emma and she seriously feared it would wreck things. Not that they had a lot going on right now but she felt like there was a possibility thing might grow.

Audrey felt relieved when the light dimed and the trailers started because Gina finally quieted down. Thought for the remainder of the evening Audrey was the least bit comfortable she had ever been. Her heart was racing, her palms were sweating, she couldn't concentrate on the movie and she was pretty sure her whole body was shaking from anxiety. If anyone asked her what the movie was about se couldn't tell to save her life. All she seemed able to register is whatever movement Emma did on her left and what Gina was doing on her right.

Her whole body started feeling numb, she felt so helpless, she couldn't leave and she couldn't move. Her eyes were glued to the large screen in front of her but god knew she wasn't actually watching the movie.

Audrey had her hands on her thighs and tried not to move… at all. She could feel the tension between her and Emma. It was so thick that it was almost visible and surely Gina could feel it. For some reason Audrey felt she was doing something wrong and she was about to be scolded.

On her way to the theatre Audrey had been exited to spend an evening with her friends and see what seemed like a good movie but now she couldn't wait for it to be over so she could run and hide.

The end to this movie could not come any sooner. Audrey was so uncomfortable and anxious that she stopped breathing.

To be continued

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