The Relentless Past

Ch.Eight

Ch. Eight

Audrey was waiting near the college gate, she was clothed in a blue butterfly dress with a heavy coat draped around her. Maddie stood near her slanted on the wall. They were waiting for William to arrive.

Audrey didn't know why but something didn't set right about this guy William. Of course, she was grateful to him for coming to her rescue and it would be nice to repay him back with a cup of tea but she wanted nothing more to do with him. She wanted nothing to do with the humans.

William appeared right then, running towards them from his dormitory side. His hair was ruffled and parted, he wore a long leather jacket.

" Think of the devil" Audrey found herself saying before her brain even registered to those words.

" Why would you be thinking about me" The guy had the audacity to smirk.

" Cause you were late" Audrey grimaced.

" Now now, it's almost getting late, let's hurry up, shall we?" Maddie held up her car keys. It was a pink 80s car,  not really suitable for  any of their taste but it was what Maddie's father gifted her so she couldn't refuse. Also, it was the only car among the three.

Maddie drove, Audrey sat beside her on the passenger seat. She turned up some music and they drove through the city. Audrey reflexively, through the front mirror, watched William. He was looking out the window, his head bobbing with the music and his left thumb raised slightly to caress his left cheek with the scar. Audrey had wondered about this scar far long then she should've. Was it just an accidental one? But the scar looked too deep to be one. It was small but definitely deep. Almost as if someone had taken their time to carve it out. Audrey fell deep into the thoughts, her eyes still focused on him and it was a good three seconds later when she noticed William looking at her through the same mirror and he winked. Then went back to look out the window.

Audrey whacked her head away from the mirror, almost snapping her neck in the process.

Maddie seemed to still sing aloud Taylor Swifts "Mr. Perfectly Fine" even when they had arrived at their destination. It was a small Cafe, few tables were outside the cafés balcony, it gave out a homey atmosphere that they missed. The walls were decorated with vines and small flowers here and there.

They chose one of the tables outside, a cool breeze flew past them. An old man came to greet them. He passed them the menu card. It was like a leafy pamphlet.

" wow...the dishes are royal" William found himself saying.

" royal?" Maddie asked, William seemed flustered. Audrey narrowed her eyes at him.

" the good kind. A royal dish, the names they look royal. You know." William said.

" ah...that's...nice." Audrey said, not really bothering with the royal stuff. But she had to agree, she hadn't tasted any of these in her entire life. She didn't even know the names of a few. She chose the least complex name, so that she could pronounce it correctly whenever the waiter asked,and not embarass herself.

They chitchatted for a while before the waiter came to take their orders. They learnt that William had a sister, Amber, she wouldve graduated by now but was held back a year due to some illness, he never mentioned what illness and said she was doing a major in plant biology. He showed a picture of her and Maddie exclaimed that she had met Amber in her class and that she was super sweet. Audrey too admitted that Amber was definitely pretty. William seemed proud.

Maddie told them about how her parents worked for the government, which was an incredible lie as her parents were one of the nobles of the Royal family. She talked about her cousins, and how she spent most of the time with them as her parents were busy. Maddie also said how she spent most of her childhood with Audrey and how she was grateful for a supportive friend like her. That earned her a hug from Audrey.

The waiter came right then to receive their orders. It was a lady dressed in a green uniform, her tag said "Mrs.Terry". She smiled as she nodded to Audrey and Maddie  but as she turned towards William, her smile faded and she almost dropped down to a subtle bow. William lowered his eyebrows and the lady stood straight. That definitely didn't escape any of their eyes.

The waitress went away hurriedly, trying not to run but also not walking leisurely. She seemed stiff.

" damn what was that all about." Maddie spoke first.

" you tell me" Audrey said, they both looked at William.

" haha, it must be my aura." William joked, then quickly changing the subject he asked about Audrey. True, she hadn't talked about anything yet,  just quietly listening to the two. She brushed her red hair to one side and said,

" I dont really have anything to talk about. I was basically raised by my dad. He used to be an alcoholic, he's stopped now. He works here and there, he doesn't have a permanent job. I mean, he does. From  time to time. I appreciate he's trying now, as he did mess up before. We almost had to sell our house, dad wouldn't stop spending money on alcohol and due to that, we didn't even have money for basic necessities. Maddie's family took care of us during our downfall so I really am thankful to her. " Audrey smiled.

" I'm sorry to intrude but did something happen that he relied upon alcohol that much?" William asked.

" He used to be really nice and he was my best friend until I was 4 or 5 . But then, he and my mother got into some terrible disagreements, I don't really remember...both my grandparents got involved and they blamed dad for something he argued he didn't do. Mum was really hurt that time, you could see it in her eyes. Both of them cried that night, the whole night and when I woke up the next morning, I had a loud crash, the sound of a door banging and then mum wasn't there anymore. That led dad to be an alcoholic. " Audrey's voice was shaky by the time she finished. She didn't know why she was telling these here, she hadn't thought about it for a really long time, almost like she had forced herself to not think about it, for she knew it would only bring her pain, void, sadness, a sense of not being loved. She didn't remember at all why her parents fought. Everytime she asked her dad, he would shout and yell, he would then come back at night totally drunk and would retreat to his bedroom and cry.

Her parents were so happy together, loving, caring almost as if they were meant to be with each other. Or maybe that was what her younger self thought. She didn't even remember the name of her mother....

Faintly through her thoughts, she could hear Maddie saying something along the lines of , " you'll be okay it's all in the past". She could feel the warmth of Williams hand on her waist, comforting her.

Their meal arrived and they ate silently, quiet laughter and jokes cast in between. They shared their vivid memories of their past with each other, it almost seemed nice to be friends with William. Maybe, humans werent that bad.

All throughout their little meal, Audrey noticed William's hand hadn't shifted from her waist.