Five Words

Chapter 7

~Cher

"Different how?" I ask him.

He notices how close we are, and backs away but not so far away.

"Just different." He answers without any clarification. Whether to ask him what different means or not is battling in my mind.

He speaks before I decide what I shall do, "Do you wanna go back?"

"I could drive you back home if you want to."

"And leave you out here drunk by yourself?" He frowns for an unknown reason, and I would do anything to wipe it off his face. "I don't think so.."

"I am not that drunk, I had three drinks, Ace. Plus, I drove us here." I remind him.

"Still..not happening."

"Okay, let's go home..." I rub my hands together, getting rid of any grass bits on my palms.

"You want to?"

No. But I don't want to keep you here with me against your will.

I want to say; however, I lie.

"Yeah."

"Okay." I feel the touch of relief in his voice, confirming that he wants to get away from me.

I push the feeling of hurt away. Why do I feel hurt?

Why am I feeling bad because some guy doesn't want to spend time with me? I don't even know him? And since when did I chase someone to be my friend? Why is it important to me that he likes me? Why do I care what he thinks? Or why he doesn't want to be my friend? What have I done to him to make him dislike me?

God, all these questions and I am not holding any of the answers. Probably never will, since he refuses to speak about himself, or seizes to provide any explanations for anything he says or does. It is very frustrating when his words contradict his actions, and will I ever know what he is thinking of when he does or says anything? No.

Why? Because he is an ass, a mysterious jerk.

I blame the alcohol tonight. Maybe if I haven't drunk a sip of the wine, I wouldn't have been thinking of this right now. I will go home, read a book, get lost in it, and will not think about anything that concerns Ace anymore.

"Why did you nod your head?" Ace momentarily lifts his eyes to look at me.

I keep my eyes on the road, "I am drunk, Ace. I can do whatever I want now, and blame it on the alcohol."

"But you are not that drunk, remember?" He repeats my words from earlier.

"Yeah, well now I decided that I am drunk. And I want us to stop talking about this." I shoot him a harsh expression before watching the road again.

"Woah, why are you getting all worked up?" He locks his phone and places it on the seat between us.

"Why are you asking? It is not like you care."

There are a few moments of silence before he answers.

"You are right. I don't care, Cher." He says and rests his head against the window.

"Of course you don't," I mutter under my breath.

I am so mad at him, furious. He is mean, I haven't met anyone this mean, spitting words like they don't affect the people around him. And why would he even think about how I feel? Or anyone for that matter.

A few minutes later, I am parking the car in front of the house. I can't be around him any longer, or I will choke him or something. I pull the key out, stopping the car, and I rush out of the car. When I inhale the fresh air, I can breathe again. I don't wait for him. I don't see what he will do next. I enter the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, then walk to my bedroom to read and distract myself till the alcohol is out of my system.