Both Luke and I were horrible surfers, as was to be expected. Between Luke's atrocious lack of coordination and my inability to cease laughing long enough to concentrate on staying on the surfboard, it was safe to say neither one of us was destined to become the next star in the sport. We did, however, have a ton of fun. Though, I'm not sure the same could be said of our instructor, an older gentleman who seemed constantly frustrated at our lack of commitment to actually learning the sport.
"You know, I actually kind of feel bad for wasting his time." I admitted as Luke drove the car back to my apartment. He shrugged, still smiling.
"I gave him an extra tip, so I think he'll be okay." He said simply. I lifted an eyebrow at that.
"Throwing your money around already, hm?" I teased. Luke gave me a look for that one, causing me to laugh.
"I don't throw my money around." He defended. "If I did, I'd have two limos, a chauffer, and seventeen guitars." The matter-of-fact tone he used with his explanation made me laugh even harder.
"The fact that you've even thought about that is awesome. But why seventeen guitars?" I questioned as he pulled into a parking space in the two-level garage reserved for residents of my apartment building. He turned the car off in silence, and I could see the redness blossoming on his cheeks. Whatever his reason, he was embarrassed to admit it. "You're embarrassed," I stated, giving him a sly smile. "Which means either it's a silly reason, or it has something to do with me."
"Well," He drew out the word as we entered the elevator, turning away from me to press the button for my floor. "The age of seventeen was a big year for me." He added simply, looking at the floor. I frowned slightly, trying to think through why that would be true.
I was still thinking when I unlocked the door and the two of us walked into my apartment. October immediately was weaving all around our legs, meowing and sending pointed looks towards her empty food bowl. I rolled my eyes, telling Luke that he was free to sit down while I fed my greedy cat. I was just setting her dish down when I suddenly realized why seventeen was such a significant number to Luke.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, standing up straight. Luke turned to look at me, frowning. "I know why seventeen." In the moments after I spoke, I watched Luke's cheeks turn red again while I felt my own do the same.
"Yeah," He said awkwardly, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. In an attempt to ease the awkward tension, I gestured towards my cat, who was happily munching away on her food.
"I mean, you're not the only one who thought it was a big event." I said. He followed my gaze to the cat, frowned, then lifted his eyebrows in understanding.
"Oh. I've known your cat's name for weeks now, and that literally never occurred to me." He said, chuckling slightly. I shrugged.
"So I suppose it's not something to be embarrassed about since we both did it." I suggested. Luke mimicked my shrug, smiling.
"Yeah, I suppose not."
--------
"Katie, do you happen to have any Aspirin or Panadol or something? I've got a headache." I asked, poking my head into the recovery room, where Katie was currently checking on the dog we spayed yesterday. "It's nothing major, but enough to annoy me while I try to figure out this schedule for our Halloween thing in a few months." I added. She smiled, nodding as she stood up.
"Yeah, there's a bottle of Panadol in my purse. Front pocket." She said. I smiled back at her and began retreating from the room. "Stop stressing yourself out, Daeyna!" She called, chuckling slightly. I shook my head, walking away. This was the second time this week I had to ask her for headache medication. Katie said it was because I was stressing myself out over the things I had to plan for work as well as my relationship with Luke and how I didn't know exactly what we even were. Though I've never gotten headaches while under pressure or while stressed, it was certainly a very real reason why they were occurring, considering there wasn't really any other explanation.
--
One hour. I had only one hour left at work before I could go home. I yawned again, staring at the screen of the computer in front of me. I was trying to look up the cheapest magician in the Sydney area, because Dr. Ventri wanted an entertainer at the Halloween event for the little kids. I figured a clown was not a good choice, considering the increasing amount of people who really dislike them and find them scary. Magic, on the other hand, was perfect. It fit the holiday, too.
But I was so damn tired. Usually I was up and walking around all day, helping with this surgery or that, or checking on animals, taking them out for walks, and so on. But we'd recently gained an intern from a local school, and I figured it would be better to let Katie help her and get some of my other work done instead.
"You know, I doubt sleeping is going to get much work done, but that's just my opinion." I jumped, sitting up straight at the sound of a voice. Katie was standing in the doorway, giving me a sly smile, her arms crossed and purse hanging from her shoulder.
"Shit, what time is it?" I asked, rubbing my hands down my face in an attempt to chase away the sleepiness. Katie chuckled, clearly finding my little disoriented state funny.
"We closed like ten minutes ago." She said. "I hadn't seen you around helping, so I came to check if you'd left already."
"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry about that. Been a bit tired today." I apologized. "Clearly, I'm not used to sitting down all day. I like the bustle of surgeries and such. Wait a second and I'll walk out with you." I added, saving everything on my computer screen before shutting it down, grabbing my purse and water bottle, and standing up. I lifted my hands above my head in a stretch, then turned back to look at Katie.
"I need to introduce you to this wonderful invention called coffee. It does wonders to help people stay awake when they're tired." She said as the two of us headed towards the exit of the building. I rolled my eyes.
"I know what coffee is, you doofus."
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Oh my lordy! I know I make this apology quite often, but I truly am sorry for making you all wait so long for this chapter. I've been super busy with school and work, as well as attempting to deal with my stupid car, which seems hell-bent on breaking down every other month.
Anyways, let me know what you thought of the chapter! I know it's sort of boring, but I promise there is plenty of drama coming up in these last few before the epilogue. And speaking of which, I'm going to try to get another chapter (maybe two?) up today at some point to make up for being MIA for so long.
On a completely different note, I'm a very creepy individual who likes talking to her readers, so if you ever want to chat, feel free to say hi on here or on twitter! I'll try to make sure I respond to you in a reasonably timely manner.
As always, I love you all to bits, and I will see you next time!
YOU ARE READING
Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series
Fanfiction"We're like the stupidest people ever." "Yeah, we kinda are."
