Sincerely, Sinclair || Sinclair Bryant x Reader ||

Chapter 18: Important Conversations

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"I...I don't know. I guess it could've been." 

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"So there's absolutely no chance of you going out with him?" I pleaded with Audrey.

"I'm not interested." She called from her kitchen.

"He might be really fun!" Jade tried.

"No thanks." Audrey responded dryly.

After having my million dollar idea of setting David and Audrey up together, I ran the idea by Jade. We agreed that it was worth a shot, and that it was a no-harm done situation if things didn't work out. Besides, it occupied my mind from Sinclair's mysterious phone call that I had been obsessing over.

I hadn't gotten over it yet. I know that I had said that I trusted Sinclair and I DID trust Sinclair, but something about this felt off. I didn't like how it felt, and for some reason it felt all too familiar. 

"He's a really sweet guy, Audrey. I wouldn't vouch for him if he wasn't." I remarked, leaning back against the couch pillow behind me. 

For a change of scenery, the three of us decided to crash at Audrey's apartment for once. Her apartment was roughly the same size as mine, and really our only other option since Jade's apartment was crazed with boxes that she was in the process of packing up. 

"I'm just not really looking to date right now," Audrey remarked, returning into the living room. She took the empty seat on the sofa next to Jade, reaching for the pack of cigarettes on her coffee table, "I'm just not interested."

Audrey plucked a fresh cigarette from the pack, lighting it quickly and taking a drag from it. Jade and I had given up on trying to get Audrey to stop smoking. Audrey had smoked on and off since we were teenagers, and it always seemed that things weren't going well for her when she was smoking.

Audrey didn't look well at all. The dark circles under her eyes were prominent and her movements were sluggish. Jade and I had a silent, yet mutual understanding that Audrey wasn't doing well mentally.

Audrey had never been one to open up, even to us. Audrey had struggled with depression as long as I had known her. Some points in her life were better than others, but it seemed that the older we got, the longer that the bad phases lasted. She preferred to suffer in silence, and she didn't like it when Jade and I asked too many questions about it. Audrey knew that we were resources for her, and that we were always available to talk. Still, it hurt us to see her struggling and there wasn't much we could do. 

"Well, if you change your mind, you can always let me know." I ended the conversation.

Audrey nodded as she took another inhale, exhaling the smoke through her nose. Jade sensed that Audrey didn't want to be the star of the conversation anymore, so she turned to me.

"So, [Y/N], any luck on your book?" Jade questioned.

"You're funny." I snorted.

Despite the fact that I had gotten my deadline extended, it seemed that the extra breathing room didn't do anything for my flow of inspiration. I was still just as stuck as before. I didn't have so much as even a title idea. 

"We're going to be in the same boat if you don't get on that. We're both close to being out of a career." Jade pointed out.

Audrey didn't say anything. She only listened, which was another telltale sign that something was wrong. 

"I know, I know. You know that Mum offered to help? I love her, but the woman can't write to save her life," I giggled, remembering how Mum had attempted to work with me over the phone a few nights prior, "Dad could maybe write a book on plants, but that won't sell for me."