Never Summer Again

Chapter Fifty-Five - It Was All Real

Score: A Song For You - Amy Winehouse

Mark

My heart is trashing against my ribcage like a trapped animal. Gloria swings the door open, and all I can do is just stand there, craning my neck, trying to catch a glimpse of my girl.

She's right there, standing in the doorframe, with that dickhead by her side. I would gladly land my fist between his eyes, but I know I'd better behave. Violence isn't exactly the way to make a good impression.

"Hey, babes," Gloria says, stepping aside for Lydia and Ass-hat to walk in. "Lydia, please, don't freak out, but..."

And then, her eyes meet mine. Her gaze glides through the room as if she'd been expecting to see me there, and, once her eyes lock with mine, a frown takes over her features.

"What the fuck is he doing here?!" She bites out, visibly frustrated.

Not exactly the welcome I was expecting, but, not entirely a shocker, either.

"I just came to talk..."

"About what," she says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Us," I say, sincerely. There's no point in holding back now. This time, it's all-or-nothing.

'There is no us,' she says, unfolding her arms and clenching her fists at her hips. She shoves Asswipe with her elbow and starts walking, passing me by, and heading toward the kitchen island.

I turn around, to follow her.

"Lydia, please, babe..."

"Leave me alone, Mark," she says, assisting Assbite with arranging the groceries on top of the counter.

"Fine," I say, leaning on the counter. "Just give me ten minutes. Ten minutes, and I'll leave you alone after that, OK?" I never thought I'd be begging, but, here we are.

"I do not negotiate with terrorists," Lydia says, daggers shooting from her eyes. She says this in a completely serious voice, but the absurdity of her statement gets to me and I crack up, laughing. Amused, I'm relieved to see that she's trying to suppress a smile, herself.

"OK, give me your terms, then."

"Just leave, Mark. Go back to where you've come from, and don't come looking for me again."

A sharp pain stabs at my chest and I feel like the air is knocked out of my lungs. She hates me. She really fucking hates me. Seeing her like this, in her new life, all put together and...and happy feels like a punch to the guts. She looks beautiful, as always, but there is something about her now...like she's more mature...

She's always been emotionally and intellectually ahead of her peers, but now it's like her entire personality has caught up. She looks like a grown-ass woman, even in her cheap dress and schoolgirl braids, a reminder that she's still just eighteen. Her eyes are even more mysterious than before, and I can't help but wonder, have those eyes cried after I left? Has she shed a single tear for me?

"I'm not leaving until we speak." The words escape my lips without me realizing it.

"Maybe you should listen to him, babes. He's come all the way from America," Gloria, whose presence I have completely forgotten about, jumps in.

Lydia moves her gaze over to our best friend and squints her eyes at her.

"You," she begins, her voice dripping with disappointment. "Don't even get me started...How could you?!"

"I just wanted to help, babe," Gloria says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Help? And this is your idea of "help"?"