The Final Project

Chapter 52

Liam

The raindrops fall loudly in cadence, somewhat obstructing my vision as I drive. Ava's house is about an hour away, and I kinda wish I sent Jason with her instead.

Or perhaps I don't wish that. He's been pissing me off ever since Ava got here. It's so blatantly obvious that he wants to get with her, and I don't like it one bit.

"You can drive all night

Looking for the answers in the pourin' rain."

The radio starts playing, and when I look at Ava, she grins, and starts singing along.

"Wanna find peace of mind

Lookin' for the answers."

Her hair messily covers her face as she opens the car window, letting in a nice breeze but with that, a lot of rain. "What're you doing?" I ask, half-laughing, half-concerned.

"Living." She sticks her head out of the window, and continues screaming the lyrics. I watch in fascination, her eyes closed, and her arms sprawled out. Her hands guide themselves through the wind, and her laugh echoes in my ears.

God, if I could bottle that laugh, and drink it every morning, I'd be the happiest man alive.

I haven't seen Ava ever be so carefree, and I think a part of the reason she's doing it is to get me in a better mood. I was an ass earlier, but it's hard not to be when that's what I've been teaching myself. It's hard not to be when I'm afraid that just as I've started to find my footing, Ava will come into my life, and stomp all over it. Again.

But when I look at her catching raindrops on her tongue, and smiling to herself, I somehow know she doesn't want to hurt me. I somehow know she cares for me too.

She sits back in her seat, her hair drenched, and body shivering. I'm unsure what comes over me, a surge of adrenaline perhaps, but I open the sunroof. Rain pours in, and I lift my head up for a second, and let the cold droplets infiltrate my body. "Liam! What're you doing?"

"Living." I feel a smile form on my face, a real smile, and I can positively say my heart might explode.

In this moment, Ava and Liam aren't two people with a complicated past. They're just two people existing alongside each other. And they would exist alongside each other forever if they could.