Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC
The rest of the party went rather normally and it just reinforced my idea that whatever the little moment Carlisle and I had in the kitchen was just a fluke. Carlisle had disappeared to talk with his family for a little bit, during which time I had found Ben and talked with him about this and that. Carlisle had found me a while later as I was sitting in one of the living room chairs, half falling asleep. I was surprised at how tired I already was but Carlisle assured me it was fine and had promptly driven me home. He didn't seem bothered at all, treating me as he always had, still opening the car door for me while keeping a respectable distance. It was as if nothing happened, nothing at all.
As soon as I heard the door close and Carlisle's car drive off, I collapsed onto the couch, exhausted from the day. I was just being ridiculous, all of this was absolutely ridiculous. I shook my head, looking through my bedroom door at the suitcase that was on the floor. I needed to pack for my trip tomorrow.
Right after my last shift at the bookstore tomorrow, I would be going straight to the airport and off to Colorado for three-weeks. My parents were expecting me already and they had already prepared their guest bedroom for me to work out of for the weeks that I would be there. I was excited to see them and excited for my training but now, I just couldn't get Carlisle's face out of my head.
I spent the rest of the night packing, shoving various items into my bag without much thought. My mind was spent flipping through images of the day, going over how Carlisle's hands felt grasping my waist as I leaned ever so slightly against him. I couldn't believe that had happened. I'm sure not all friends did that, at least I didn't do that with my friends. Maybe Carlisle did that with all of his friends, after all I had never met his friends outside of Forks. I was just overthinking it, that was all it was.
The next day I was all packed and ready to go, straightening out a few things at the house before loading my bags into my car. The drive to the bookstore was an oddly sad one. This was my last shift at the bookstore. Honestly, I didn't know how I felt about that. When I first took the job, I was still in college and I didn't think I'd be working there very long but here I was two years later and now it was my last day. I didn't think I'd be so sentimental.
I parked my car, locking the door as I walked to the shop. I think I really would miss this place. The small back room with the big dusty bookshelves, the narrow aisles, and the outdated register. I said goodbye to the new girl who had been working the shift before me and looked around the place.
Yeah, I would miss it here. This was where I had met Ben and learned all about his many endeavors. Ben would be off to college at the end of the summer and it was unlikely that I'd see him again before he left. There were so many people that I knew from this book shop, so many customers.
I had also met Carlisle here. Carlisle. What was I going to do about him? A part of me wasn't worried about our friendship but that was a very small part. The larger part was dying to know how our friendship would be when I came back from my trip. I wouldn't be working at the bookstore anymore and I'd really have no reason to see him at all. Sure, I might see him from time to time at the hospital one day a week for a few minutes at a time but that wasn't the same. Not when comparing it to the hours upon hours I would see him at the bookshop per week, at least. I just knew that things would be different.
As if on que the bell to the entrance rung and Carlisle walked through the door. I had only just seen him less than 24hours ago but my face still lit up as I saw his wide grin.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wasn't about to miss your last day" He came up to the counter where I was leaning against the wood with my head perched on my hand. "And I brought you something" he said, pulling out a slightly long black box and sliding it over the counter.
I quirked an eyebrow, "What's this for?"
"It's just something small to congratulate you on your new job" he said, easing the box closer to me in little increments until it pushed against my arm.
I looked at him with a small smile, taking the box from the counter. I watched him closely as I opened the box, marveling as I took off the cover. Inside was a pair of engraved silver pens. Looking closely, I held the box closer and saw that it said 'Ms. Coraline Parson' on the side. The pens were absolutely beautiful and no doubt very expensive.
"Carlisle," I looked up at him, shaking my head. "You shouldn't have, this is just so wonderful, thank you" I said gratefully. He had the most wonderful eyes that were looking at me with a sparkling shine to them. God, I could just look at him for years and never get bored.
"Thank you, Carlisle, really thank you" I reached over to grab his hand, reveling slightly at the tingling that shot up my arm as we touched.
"What are friends for, right?" His words put a stop to my thoughts and I felt myself falter for a second before I gave him a smile, squeezing his hand one more time before letting him go.
"Well, I really appreciate it"
This is a short chapter but I just felt like I needed to write sort of a filler chapter just because sometimes I feel off about the pacing and this helps me think. I will write a longer chapter next time, probably. I also really appreciate you all and I read and love all of your comments and they really inspire me. So, Read! And Review!
