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Chapter 14-2

  She sat in her front yard, seated on the stone bench under the tree. Soft sparklets of water could be seen gently falling like snow. Natalie bundled herself up closer in Jacob's sweater and her scarf. It always seemed to be colder when your emotions were down.

She looked over to Audrey's house, which was visible from her spot—straight down the middle of the road. As if purely by coincidence, Audrey was just getting him with her family. They must've had a family outing or gotten groceries. The dad, Audrey, and her brother held bags of groceries. Natalie could barely hear the sounds of joy and happiness the family exuded.

  Natalie took this as a sign. Hesitation took hold of her for a moment, not sure if it was right to intrude but she hoped Audrey and her family wouldn't mind. She was confident they wouldn't. Another deep breath out and she stood up and made her way to Audrey's.

  That odd, strange feeling hit Natalie as she made her way to the house. A feeling of anxiousness, a feeling of cold feet. There was no reason to be nervous. Right? Whatever it was, it amplified the feeling of cold she felt. She began to shiver.

  Finally, after what seemed like a longer walk than it should have, she arrived at the door. More hesitation took hold of her but she already made it this far. No turning back now. She needed answers.

Ding dong!

  Natalie waited with her hands bundled together in her sweater. She blew out air from the cold, her breath floated out like steam. Audrey's little brother opened the door, his look of annoyance disappeared quickly when his eyes looked upon her. He looked as if he jumped into his skin. His eyes were wide and a little bit of blush started to color his cheek. Ummm was all he could say as he looked at her. Natalie found it amusing.

  "Hi, may I come in?" she said.

  He didn't respond much to that either, still maintaining his awestruck face. Audrey came around the corner. She too looked like she jumped in her skin then quickly recovered with a smile. "Hey, Nat! What're you doing here?" she asked. She had an apron on and her hair tied up.

  "I was just wondering if you wanted to come over for Thanksgiving," Natalie asked. Judging from Audrey's attire, it was obvious what the answer would be.

  "Oh, Sorry, but I'm Not sure I can leave on Thanksgiving, it's kind of a family thing."

  For some reason hearing her say that hurt Natalie. One bad thing after another just piled on her today. Still, she resolved to save face, not letting Audrey know how she was feeling. She gave a quick nod and an okay but didn't look her in the eye.

  "Sorry," Audrey said.

  She was always saying that. What did she have to be sorry about? It was fine, another Thanksgiving, just another day. Natalie reassured her that it was fine.

  "I uh- I better get back, happy thanksgiving Audie."

  Natalie started her way back but just before she left, Audrey's mom appeared.

  "Natalie! What a pleasant surprise, how are you?"

  Natalie turned around quickly and moved back closer to their door. "I'm good, just wanted to see if Audrey could hang out for a bit but I see you guys are busy."

  "Yeah sorry honey, are you celebrating Thanksgiving? Did you want to stay here for a bit?"

Audrey looked at her mom, another look of embarrassment. "Mom! I'm sure she already has plans."

  "Actually, I can hang out, if that's okay?" Natalie said.

  Audrey looked surprised. Her mom seemed more than happy to have her. "Are you sure it's okay with your parents?" Audrey asked.

  They won't even notice.

  "Yeah, totally," Natalie said.

Authors Note
Hey everyone! Still no art! Working on it! Trying to find more motivation. Short upload today, gotta fix somethings before I upload the next part and this seemed like a decent stopping point as ever. What do you think so far?

Editors
Elem
naomi14
Eric_Authority

Next chapter
Thanksgiving at Audies!!! How exciting.