the amnesiac

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

We hear the music before we see the house.

I can tell that there's probably a lot of people there, and my predictions are proven correct when we pull into the street full of cars parked along the grass. Troy parks behind a beat-up Jeep almost two blocks away from the house. "I guess we're gonna have to walk." He looks down at Kate's heels. "Do you think you can make it?" he asks sarcastically. "Ha ha," she replies, rolling her eyes.

I groan when I see just how far we're going to have to walk until we even come close to the party. "I might need some help," I say. Kate laughs. "You'll be fine," she tells me.

I don't think I believe her.

One Hour Later

"Would you like a drink?" Jack asks me. "Sure," I shout over the loud music.

I watch him as he heads off towards the kitchen.

Much to my surprise, I'm actually having fun. The music isn't too bad, the people aren't terribly drunk, and the party is going a lot better than I thought it would.

Kate and Troy left about twenty minutes ago to hang out by the pool, but I doubt that's where they are at the moment.

I watch the crowd of people dancing, and everything I said about the party going perfectly fine has been destroyed.

Aaron Rush continues to walk my way from the other side of the room.

Don't make eye contact. I tell myself. He won't see me of I don't see him.

Of course, all hope is lost when I hear my name. "Hannah?"

I look up to find Aaron standing in front of me. "I didn't except to find you here."

"Why is that?"

He shrugs. "I guess you just didn't seem to be the kind of person to go out on a Friday night anymore."

I laugh harshly. "I can still go out on a Friday night if I'm single, you know."

"You're still single?" he asks.

I glare at him, wondering whether he's being sarcastic or not. I don't think he is.

"Yeah, I am."

He doesn't say anything to that, much to my surprise.

"What do you want?" I finally ask him. He looks at me, dumbfounded. "Oh, come on. You came over here for a reason. What was it?"

He sighs and leans on the table next to me. I try my best to not move farther away from him.

"I just wanted to talk."

"Talk?"

"Yeah, you know, about, what you said. About what I said, too."

I roll my eyes. "There's nothing to talk about. Anything that was needed to be said was said then."

"Things have changed. I'm sorry. I was being such a dick, I know that now. If you could just give me a chance to explain myself-"

"Explain yourself? What do you have to explain?"

"I still love you. I'm in love with you, Hannah."

"If you loved me, then you would've at least acted as if you cared about what happened to me."

He cringes, but I ignore it. "I was thinking about myself. I realize that I do that a lot, especially when I talk to you, which used to be all the time." He makes a move to brush my cheek, but stops himself when I tense up. "Now, it seems like forever since we've said a word to each other."

"It has been forever. According to me, we're just two strangers that have never even smiled at each other."

"Please don't say that, Hannah." I cringe as he says my name. His hand goes up again, not topping this time as he takes a strand of my hair and places it behind my ear.

"I'm really sorry, Hannah. About everything. Please, I'm begging you, forgive me. I promise, I'll never hurt you again."

He pulls his hand away, waiting desperately for my answer. I sigh inaudibly. Without looking up, I say, "I have to find Jack." I brush past him, then turn and say, "I'm sorry, Aaron. That just wasn't good enough for me." I turn again and find my way towards the kitchen, leaving him speechless.