give her love » james potter

50

I take the longest shower in history the morning after.

Rubbing off champagne and makeup that should've been taken off the night before is surprisingly the easy part. But, there's this grime that sticks to my skin. I feel so dirty and I'm scrubbing my skin so hard that every part of me has turned a violent red.

At this point, I just want to tear it all of because I want to get the feeling off of me but it never leaves and I know if I try and scrub one more time my skin might just start bleeding, so I relent and give up.

I'm filling in Aunt Sally about the wedding and she notices that something is wrong because this woman has known me before I even entered the world.

She refills my mug with more coffee, "Maybe you just need some fresh air before you and he can have a talk about the whole situation," she tells me after I give a brief explanation. "You have that orientation for healer school tonight right?"

I nod.

"Do something before that to freshen yourself and let your mind rest from thinking about him for a bit."

It's a twenty-minute walk but I wind up back on my old street, keys in my hand like last time and maybe a bit more courage to go inside.

Yet, I don't even make it to the front door because I spot someone.

Nathan does seem to be a car person. He's outside in the blistering sun fixing up a red car that already seems to perfect, but from the frown on his face, I know there's some flaw that a mediocre car enthusiast like me could never find.

I'm walking towards him and starting to forget my plans already.

"Nice car," I mumble, as he turns towards me. My eyes go to the logo and though the shape of it already gave it off, I know what it is now. "My little brother loved mustangs."

He looks up at me and smiles. "I know, Will came to help me last summer. Future mechanic in the making, my mum would call him."

I feel the sadness crawl into me and maybe it does into him too, but we're both smiling at the idea of a little boy fixing cars.

"Is that what you're planning on being," I ask. "A mechanic?"

He laughs. "Well, I feel my dad would think all the money spent on military school would've been a waste, then."

The neatly trimmed hair and the tanned complexion and seriousness that's too old for our age, it all comes together at that moment. Piecing together to create a portrait of who he is and a realization of how I never knew anything.

But, I need to know one thing so I ask, "Do you still read Shakespeare?"

"Sometimes, but I've moved onto incorporating a bit of everything to become more well-rounded."

"So what're you reading now?"

"Jane Austen," he says, closing the lid of his car. "I liked Pride and Prejudice, so now I've started Mansfield Park."

For a moment, I think I might be staring at him in awe. Then I try to think of something witty to say back because I've never met a boy who reads Austen. "I like Emma," I tell him, dumbly. "It's the only book by her I truly like."

He looks at me for a moment too long. "I'll see if my nana has it." Nathan looks down at the watch on his wrist. "What're you reading right now, Angelina?"

"The Chrysalids," I say, knowing the chances of him knowing the book are non-existent and I wasn't even aware of it until Uncle Winston gave me his copy.

Nathan doesn't but he still asks me to talk about it, and though my explanation is poor and lacks a sense of direction. but he continues to listen and asks if I'd be willing to lend him my copy when I'm done. I tell him a dozen books I want to give him and he looks like nobody has ever cared enough to say something like that.