Adam&Audrey

Rule #14: Best Thing I Never Had

Rule #14: Best Thing I Never Had

As I leaned back, both our eyes fluttered open, and I stared into the depth of her vulnerable, beautiful soul. Then her face blanked completely, and it felt like a bucket of cold water had just been sloshed all over me.

She jumped back as if she had been shocked. “Adam-”

My eyes opened wide, and I began stuttering. “Au-Audrey, I didn’t mean to-”

Her blank expression fell for a moment, crumbling and becoming crestfallen. “Didn’t mean to… oh, Adam.” Her voice broke, and I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

Crud. Why did you do that, Adam, why the hell would you take advantage of her like that? Why would you single-handedly destroy years of friendship over your stupid hormones? As if Granny’s death hadn’t shaken her enough; as if Brandon… Why?

“It was… ah... heat of the moment… I’m sorry!” I blurted out, standing up quickly. My lips still tingled, and my heart pounded wildly. I forced my eyes away from her slightly swollen lips. No, Adam, no. You’ve done enough damage already.

Her eyes were glazed, still in shock. I raked a hand through my hair roughly. “I-I’m sorry,” I whispered harshly, backing out of the room. “I’ll-I’ll-” Losing the courage to finish my sentence, I turned on my heel and ran.

There was a hot pricking behind my eyes as I sat with my head back in the lounge room.

What have I done?

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

“I swear, Auds, we’re not lost!”

She stomped her foot, shoving the map in my face, making me veer our rental car slightly to the left. “Watch it!”

“What’s the point? We’re lost anyways! But Your Dumbness won’t bother stopping and asking for directions!”

“Did Christopher Columbus need directions? Did he?”

“He was looking for India, Adam. And he found America. I’d say he definitely needed them.”

I huffed in frustration. “We’re in Canada, alright?”

She was absolutely livid. “Adam Finch, don’t you dare-”

“I’m kidding! Listen, I know we’re on the outskirts of Ottawa, just let me somehow get in the city. We both know our way from there, right?”

There was a short silence following my statement slash question. “Right,” she muttered disagreeably.

My eyes drifted to her frame which was side-turned away from me. Thoughts drifting to last night, the ache in the pit of my stomach started throbbing again, making me want to stop the car and hurl. The image of her crestfallen face was forever imprinted in my mind.

And when she acted so indifferent all this morning, not acknowledging the – the kiss at all, I accepted that it was truly a mistake. But what is it really?

Breaking out of my thoughts, I forced myself to smile widely. “That’s the spirit! Now c’mon, let’s… somehow get home.”

Thankfully, we did manage to find our way to a familiar road. “This is the main intersection near your house, right?” I asked Audrey.

She moved her sunglasses down, squinting in the early morning sun, and then her face broke out into a sunny smile, bringing the churning feeling inside me back to the surface. “It is! Now, just take a left…”