Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.149.

Opal POV  

  I wake up Sunday morning to a tear stained pillowcase.

  The reflection in the mirror revealing red rimmed, swollen eyes.

  As much as I had grieved the death of my grandfather for days, I had yet to grieve the loss of my relationship with Chris.

  That moment finally came to a head last night.

  I had convinced Chris to check out of the hotel and stay in the carriage house. After a couple hours at the Arts Market I drove him to the hotel so he could gather his things. Once back at Magnolia I helped him get settled.

  There had not been much more discussion of the reasoning behind my actions, the dance giving me a sense of finality that I wasn't prepared for. That small band aid was ripped off and thrown away much quicker than the time spent on securing it in place. 

 "How is your mom doing?" I ask as I begin changing the sheets.

  Chris passes me one side of the fitted sheet, putting his own in place. "She's alright I suppose."

  "Still doing her water aerobics?"

  "Actually, she had begun doing a bit more cardio, going a little harder," he chuckles. 

  My eyes go wide at the thought of Lisa doing anything  more strenuous than simple aerobics. "Why would she do something like that?"

  "She wanted to make sure she could fit in her Mother of the Groom dress," Chris answers, his voice getting quieter by the time he finished the statement. "I'm sorry."

  I swallow the lump that had formed quickly in my throat. "No reason to be," I assure him as I flounce the top sheet in the air, laying it down to begin tucking it in place. 

  We finish making the bed in silence, feeling more awkward than any other moment in the last twenty-four hours. Once I place the last pillow on the bed I finally speak up. "I added you to the list for dinner tonight. You've got a six o'clock seating. And um, breakfast tomorrow. I seem to recall you have to leave pretty early but Mila said if you sneak by the kitchen she'll have a breakfast sandwich for you to take with you."

  "Will you join me?" he asks, unpacking his bag, pulling out the items he'll need tonight and in the morning. I'm not entirely sure if it's coming out as a question of wanting me to, or just asking if I'd planned on being around.

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea," I answer sadly. 

  He stops his actions and holds one of my small hands in his. "At least for dinner. Please." 

 It's the last word that gets me, letting me know that he wants me to actually join him. And just like that I'm brought back to his initial pursuit of me, except this time I don't want to fight him on any of it. 

 "I'll see what I can do, I suppose."  I bid him goodbye, heading back to my office for a couple of hours until dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Meet me in the house instead of the dining room.

  I'd already been walking in the direction of the kitchen, quickly changing my steps towards the back porch. I didn't need to alert the staff since I wasn't actually slotted to be in this evening. 

  Knocking on the door, I take a step back and wait for him to open it. Surprisingly he calls out to me instead. "It's open!"

  "Hey, I was gonna ask-"