Never Again

Chapter 21

Hello, all! I'm so sorry that it has been a year since my last update! This past year has been very crazy for me. I also got wrapped up in trying to finish my own original novel in time to enter it in the Wattys.

So here's the deal: I'm moving to college tomorrow and likely won't have a lot of time to write, at least not for the next few weeks. I've also been lacking a lot of inspiration lately.  Lucky for me, my roommate is a huge SOA fan, so I think that I'm going to take the next few months to re-watch SOA with her so that I can get back into the groove of things and finish my outline for this novel. Then I will resume writing during Thanksgiving break. In the meantime, I will be slowly releasing the ten chapters that I have stocked up.

I hope you enjoy!!

-Kirsten :)

*****

Two weeks passed. The days dragged on, feeling rather uneventful, though Cora didn't mind. She just buried herself in her work, growing closer to Dr. Emilia Reid, and spending more and more time at the hospital.

Her job was the perfect distraction; it kept her from the clubhouse and kept her from wondering about Kozik. She still hadn't heard from him since the night of Bobby's party, though she managed to push her jealousy aside, and convinced herself that the truth of the situation didn't matter. Kozik was just her friend, so why did it matter if he had hooked up with someone else?

On one typical morning—no different from any other morning—she found herself at work, going through paperwork, when she was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She reached across her desk and snatched her phone, checking the caller ID. It was Cath.

She quickly answered, holding the phone up to her ear. "Cath?"

"Hey, you got a minute?" her sister asked.

"I'm at work, but I guess so," Cora replied, sliding her papers to the side. "What is it?" She felt slight worry sweep through her; her sister didn't call her very often.

"I'm at the clubhouse with Abel," she explained. "I brought him in to see Gemma; thought she might need some cheering up. The car accident's still got her a little on edge." There was a pause on the other end before Cath added, "And I ran into someone when I got over here. He wants to talk to you."

Cora furrowed her brow, confusion flooding her mind. "Who?"

Before Cath could give a response, Cora heard the voice of a man; it was familiar and made her heart skip a beat. "Hey, Cora."
"Kozik?" she choked out, shocked. She hadn't heard his voice is what felt like forever.

"Yeah," he mumbled sheepishly. She heard him take a deep breath from the other end before continuing, "Look, I just wanted to apologize about disappearing at Bobby's party. I bumped into Tig, and he tried to start a fight. By the time I got away, I couldn't find you anywhere. I would've called, except I didn't have your number."

Cora felt relief wash over her, content to know that he hadn't hooked up with someone after all. "Where have you been?" she inquired. Despite her relief, she was still a little surprised and upset to know that it had taken him so long to reach out and explain himself.

"Had to head up to SAMLIN the day after the party," he answered. "Just got back this morning. I came by, hoping you'd be here, but I just found Cath."

"How long are you in Charming?" Cora asked. She held her breath as she anxiously awaited an answer. As much as she hated to admit it, she found herself hoping that he'd be around for a while.