One More Thing

Chapter Twenty Six: The Park

Today is the day.

I only managed to get a few hours of sleep last night, so I have been awake since six AM. It is now one o'clock in the afternoon, and I am due to meet Jude in half an hour.

I need to hurry up.

The mirror is not my friend today. I look so tired. There are bags under my eyes that I can't seem to hide, no matter how much concealer I slap on my face. I can't even place a bobby pin in my hair without it falling out, because my hands won't stop shaking.

I sigh, putting down my mascara wand. There's no point dolling myself up to impress Jude. If he doesn't want to speak to me again, no amount of makeup is going to change that. And anyway, there is a very high probability that he is going to tell me something I don't want to hear, and I don't want mascara running down my face in the middle of the park.

When I come out of the bathroom, Dad is waiting outside with his hands on his hips.

"Going somewhere?" he asks.

"Uh, yes," I say quickly. "The park. Why?"

"You need to tidy your room," he says. "I've just been in there to put some laundry away and the place is like a bloody bombsite."

"I know. Sorry, Dad. I'll do it later this afternoon."

Dad raises an eyebrow.

"I promise!" I say. "But I need to go now, or I'm going to be late."

"Meeting someone, are we?"

"Yep, Mae," I say, because that is the only answer he will believe. Besides, I can't exactly tell him I'm meeting Sydney's ex-boyfriend, can I? That would sound terrible.

"Hmm," he says, but before he can say anything else I am already at the bottom of the stairs, slipping my shoes on.

"Bye!" I shout, throwing my trench coat over my shoulders.

"See you later," sighs Dad, evidently not impressed to see me postpone my chores yet again.

I close the front door behind me and tighten the belt of my trench coat. It's cold today, the sky a harsh antifreeze blue. The wind is cold on my cheeks, and I have to shove my hands in my pockets to stop them from going numb.

The walk up to the park is painful. I know I'm going to get there early so I try to slow my pace, but I can't slow down the frantic beating of my heart. I need to see Jude, need to speak to him to end this horrible feeling of uncertainty.

"Oh my god!" I gasp, as something jumps out of a hedge in front of me.

A big ginger tomcat is sitting in the middle of the road, staring at me with huge green eyes. He swishes his paintbrush tail and licks his lips as if I am his next meal.

"Bruce," I groan. "Get out of the road, you silly thing."

Bruce is my neighbour's cat. I only know his name from reading the engraving on his collar, but the two of us are pretty familiar. His favourite places to lounge around are on our drive and, rather worryingly, in the middle of the road.

I try to beckon him back onto the pavement by making silly kiss-y sounds and holding out my hand.

It doesn't work, though. Bruce just blinks at me and stares dejectedly, as if I have embarrassed myself beyond forgiveness.

I walk towards him and he jolts upright. After a few seconds, he sniffs my hand and lets me pat his head.

Then he follows me back onto the pavement, before flopping down onto his side.

"There we go," I say, stroking his back. His fur is course and soft at the same time, and lots of little ginger hairs come away on my coat sleeve. "Saved your life, once again."

I leave Bruce to do his own thing and make my way to the park.

By the time I reach the gates - those same gates we had an argument in front of, almost a week ago - it is 1:24 PM. 

Six minutes to go.

My stomach churns with nausea and I have to breathe steadily. I enter the gates and carry on walking, trying to distract myself by looking at the trees and the pretty red leaves on the ground.

We agreed to meet outside the cafe, so I end up waiting on a park bench just around the corner.

At precisely 1:31, I hear his voice.

I look up to see him walking, about ten feet away from where I am sitting. He hasn't seen me.

He's laughing, looking happier than I've ever seen him before and he's...

Oh no.

He's walking with someone. A girl. A very pretty girl, with dark blonde hair and dewy skin.

After a few moments, they stop and he looks at her admiringly. She throws her arms around him and they stay like that for a few seconds, wrapped in an embrace.

I try to stay seated, try to calm the sickness in my stomach but I can't.

I can't do it.

I get up and, before they can see me, I walk hurriedly out of the park, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.