This Story's Going Somewhere

Chapter 4 - Nora

Over the next couple of weeks, I dealt with near constant pestering from Ellie and Shauna. Both of them insisted that Patrick and I at least try to be friends, but I just couldn't bring myself to show my face in that apartment again. It began to get a little annoying, as Ellie was spending so much time with Pete, and Shauna was always able to go with her. I was spending more and more time at home, and while I cherished the time with my father, it wasn't exactly how I had expected my last summer before college to go. Still, I at least had a lot of free time to walk around Chicago and take some pictures of my city before I left it.

                It was a Friday morning when I decided to head out to the river. I took my camera and my purse, and put on a pair of white skinny jeans with a flowing green blouse, and decided to walk all of the way there. It was a fifteen minute walk from my house to my favorite section of the Chicago River, and it was beautifully sunny day. I was about halfway there when I felt a sudden cramping in my abdomen, and it hurt so much that I had to stop and sit on a street bench for a few minutes. I guess that just goes to show how out of shape I am. While I was sitting there, I felt my phone vibrate in my purse. I pulled it out to see a message from Ellie.

                Shauna and I are going to get lunch later with Joe and Pete. Patrick won't be there, if you want to come along.

                I hesitated as I stared at the message, contemplating going with them. Ellie would pick me up from the river, of course, but I didn't want everyone to know that I was very systematically avoiding only Patrick. It was bad enough that Shauna and Ellie knew everything that had happened that night, and I could only imagine what Patrick had told his friends. I felt embarrassed just thinking about it. Finally, I decided to just tell Ellie that I couldn't make it.

                Sorry Ellie, I'm out taking pictures today. You guys have fun though!

                I put my phone away and decided that I should try walking again. The cramps persisted, and I ended up making a silent pact with myself to start working out regularly. Eventually, I made it to the part of the river that was particularly picturesque. I took out my camera and snapped a few photos, taking care to stay out of the way of tourists and other city people just milling about. I spent almost two hours there, before I finally sat down to just look through the pictures on my camera. I pulled out my phone as well to see that Ellie had responded to my message.

                Nora, I know you're just avoiding him. Let me just say, Patrick has been acting just as ridiculous as you.

                I wondered what that meant. Patrick was acting ridiculous? I didn't even know I was acting ridiculous. Last time I checked, most people actively tried to avoid their one-night-stands. Why was it such a problem to everybody else that I was doing the same thing? Annoyed, I threw my phone back in my bag and didn't bother to answer Ellie again. I began my walk home, having to stop to catch my breath again when the cramping got bad.

                When I got home, it was almost dinner time already, and my dad was in the kitchen boiling a pot of spaghetti. He looked up when I walked in the door, a bright smile on his face. "Hey sweetheart," he said cheerfully, "How was the river?"

                I sat down at the table, collapsing into a chair rather dramatically as I held my stomach. "It was good," I sighed, "I just have these awful cramps from walking. I think I need to lay down for a while."

                My dad looked at me curiously, stepping away from the stove for a moment. "Are you sure? Is anything else wrong?"

                "No, dad," I assured him, "I'm fine, it's just a cramp. You know how out of shape I am." I laughed at my own teasing, and my dad smiled at me.