When Lightning Strikes

When Lightning Strikes: Chapter 23

A/N: I know it is a little fast-paced, but when I wrote this I think I was looking forward to solving things. So this is set a while from Aubrey's 'finding out' :) Oh, and also I added some dramatic instrumental for you on the side :) Enjoy, my lovelies xoxo

Days passed by. Whenever I came downstairs for breakfast, mom would tell me that Aubrey had eaten early. If I needed a ride to Mercer, she would be at work already, claiming that the boss wanted her to go in early. When I walked into her bedroom to talk, all that greeted me was dust.

Not seeing her around was a big blow to me but I deserved it. I always wondered whether she was constantly cursing me and Jason or if she was on the road to forgiveness. I would shake my head bitterly when I thought of that question. It was ridiculous. This was huge. Kissing a sister’s fiancé was not something to be taken lightly.

My parents had obviously noticed the drift between me and my sister, but I found it funny that mom hadn’t overheard our conversation. Both have asked frequently but I always kept my trap shut. I couldn’t tell. I’d be an embarrassment to them. Who went around stealing taken men for themselves? And anyway, it might force my parents to take sides. I didn’t want another detachment in the family.

Also, a few days before, I had received a text message from Michelle, actually thanking me for telling my sister the truth. It was a rather bizarre moment for me but I appreciated the small amount of gratitude.

It was two weeks after I had told Aubrey the truth when I first glimpsed her. She had just arrived home from work late at night, but her shoulders were slightly hunched and her lids were heavy with drowsiness. I couldn’t bring myself to even take a step forward.

Although I convinced myself I was doomed for life, things slightly improved. Aubrey was finally able to tolerate being in the same room as me, but I longed for us to be able to smile at each other and talk about our day – something that most people took for granted. I would do anything just to have a simple conversation with her.

I hadn’t seen Jason for a while either, but I knew that Aubrey was on speaking terms with him … though it wasn’t necessarily a ‘friendly’ conversation. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I’d hear Aubrey talking in hushed whispers, telling him that she needed more time to think. So they were on their way to solving the problem.

Meanwhile, my sister couldn’t look me in the eye. I felt utterly useless and horrible.

Before I knew it, the seasons were shifting. Temperatures dropped, the icy wind would blow against my face and hair even in the afternoon and the crisp leaves of trees were falling, leaving orange and brown all over the lush lawns of fresh grass.

The coldness matched my mood perfectly. It felt like I was slowly starting to slip into depression. Ruby was always trying to boost my happiness level. Sure, venting it all out to her, leaning back in a bubble bath, reading magazines and shopping helped, but she could only do so much.

Now, it was my turn to cheer her up. It was only yesterday that she found out. Ruby had decided to take my advice and ask him out. She had been chewing on her nails all day, expecting a no … and she got it.

I had been outraged when Ruby told me that part, but she had shushed me to tell me the reason: Vince was flying back home to France today. That meant they couldn’t date.

“He said that he really liked me but that he couldn’t lead me on,” Ruby had explained, swiping at the tears dripping from the corner of her eyes. “I was right. It would just hurt us more if we started dating and then all of sudden, he has to go back, and you know that long-distance wouldn’t work. It would just be too hard.”