There she is. Across the room, the woman I spilt coffee on. For some reason my legs pull me closer like some sort of gravitational pull towards her. As she looks at me she looks like a deer stuck in the headlights, that means she recognises me, right? This is a small town and I have no idea who she is other than the fact I spilt coffee down her-- and that she's absolutely stunning. Before I get to her my mom grabs my arm painfully yanking me away.
"Ava what do you think you're doing? You need to greet old family friends." She looks at me harshly before staring back in the direction I was going. However when I follow her gaze there's no one there. Weird, where could she go? I surveillance the crowd trying to see where the hell she could've disappeared to but can't see her. The rooms is absolutely packed with people and its so disconcerting seeing people from my past. My mom is clutched tightly to my arm making sure I don't move away. Her nails are almost digging into me as we get closer to my moms friends.
"Hi, good to see you Vanessa. As you know this is my daughter Ava. It's been awhile but I've told her all about you and that man you live with in New York." Shit, what does she mean by that? It wouldn't surprise me if she told her I was in a relationship. For some reason my mom can't comprehend that two opposite sex adults can live together without it being sexual or romantic. She's even said to me before why don't I just marry a man and have affairs with woman. I swear to god she thinks being a lesbian is just inherently sexual and that there is no way you can love a woman other than in a friendship sense. Trying to say as little as possible I nod politely and in my peripherals try to find that woman. I've looked over the room so many times by the end of the conversation trying to comb through peoples faces. Part of me thinks she must be a figment of my imagination.
Breaking away from the conversation I go over to the drinks table. Picking up a glass of Champagne I try skimming the room again. However this room is packed, this Christmas party is something most people in the town attend and as I'm looking through I keep noticing people that attended my old high school. That's when I spot her, she's standing in a corner far away talking to two men. They're dressed in suits and from the look of how she's talking she's comfortable and knows them well. Without thinking about what I'm doing I start heading towards her. She doesn't notice me coming closer until I'm right in front of her.
The woman looks taken aback when she sees me, like she doesn't really know what to do. And as I'm now here I'm wondering what I was doing as well. My brain tries to compute some sort of English but it's not working well. Especially as the woman in front of me is drop dead gorgeous. I try to convince my brain for not being gay for a second so I can say a sentence. The men have turned towards me their arms crossed looking... protective? Over the woman, I vaguely recognise their features but no names come to mind. It has been so long since I've been in this town properly, I feel like my brain is doing mental gymnastics.
"Hi umm sorry to come up to you randomly but do you happen to be the woman I spilt coffee on in the airport?" The sentence is long and not very well put but its all I can muster.
Her face contorts, pressing her lips together, "Yes. You were the person who spilt coffee on my favourite sweater."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I have no idea what to say or do, in the outskirts of my vision I notice the men nodding to her then leaving. She crosses her arms staring me down pure annoyance on her face, "Are you going to say anything or just gape at me?"
"Sorry, fuck. It was an accident, do you know where you got it from? I can get you a new one or clean it or something."
This makes her squint her eyes at me, "Do you really think I've spent days here and not washed it? Just do nothing, stay away and we'll pretend we never even met."
"That's pretty hard in a small town," I state staring at her like a deer caught in the headlights. Okay I know I ruined her favourite sweater but why is she being so rude. The way she pursues her lips though is so enticing maybe I should always spill coffee on hot women.
"How long are you here?"
I hate her audacity this is my town I've never even seen her here, "Until early January. I've never even seen you in this town what are you even doing here?"
She looks taken aback for a second before slightly slimily, "Same as you. I grew up here hence why my brothers were talking to me. So I'd rather you just keep not remembering me and avoid me until New Years."
Wait she grew up here? I'm so confused how don't I remember her, I feel like she should. Objectively she's stunning and looks around the same age as me. My mind reels back to seeing her brothers as I try to remember who she is. Then it hits me, she's the person my mom was speaking about at dinner. She must notice as I realise as she awkwardly wraps her arms away from her body before nodding and leaving without saying another word.
Watching her walk away I notice about how the light from the fairy lights sprinkle across her dress. For some reason she has me so intrigued, not just because she's stunning but because I feel a longing to know more about her. All I know so far is that she was kind of mean and doesn't like me. Maybe it's the fact that I hate when people don't like me, yeah I ruined her sweater but maybe she could give me another chance. We're both going to be in this small hell hole-- I mean town for about three weeks. We'll see each other around so the least she could do is be civil but from her reaction I don't think thats going to happen... at all. Noticing her I see her with her parents she also happens to turn around and see me gapping at her. I'm trying not to be hurt by her curtness but I can't help it that the hell was that?! Like I get she's be annoyed but she didn't have to get me to not like her from the get go. All I know is that this trip home will defiantly be awkward. What if I have to start physically hiding from her, for instance I see her down the street then what jump to the nearest tree to hide behind. It would be eventful I guess.
The evening progressed slowly as the hiding already began. Every time I saw Lisa all she did was give me the evils and it was actually kind of terrifying, I'm now nervous that she'll sneak into my house and cut up all my sweaters. The thought of that makes a shiver run down my spine. Apart from nervously avoiding her I have been progressively getting more and more intoxicated throughout the evening. I need something to make this night bearable. My mom takes me round the room parading me to all these people saying how great both her daughters are then proceeding to solely talk about my sister. She goes into her whole tangent about how one of her daughters is settled with a husband and expecting a baby etc. I've heard her talk about my sister so many times this night I'm tempted to just throw myself out the window or escape out the women's toilets.
Eventually after what seems like forever I get home and stumble up the stairs and head to my room. Throwing off my clothes I still on my bed grasping my bearings. My head is spinning but I fish for my purse trying to find my phone. After one failed attempt I pick the bag up grabbing my phone then chucking the purse back onto the floor, it's tomorrows problem now. Unlocking my phone I haphazardly pull up instagram, now I know Lisa's family I need to see if I can find her account. Scowling down a little I finally manage to find her, clicking onto her page I scroll through her feed. Luckily for me she's not on private but most of her account is just buildings and photography. Except as I look closer at her most recent picture I see the image of a plane window, in the reflection she's there. My heart speeds up at finding one image that is just not her small profile pic of her. The caption reads, 'I already hate planes and now my hoodie is ruined'. Guilt turns in my stomach as I try to estimate how much she dislikes planes. I spent a bit longer pondering what she's like before I realise I'm borderline stalking her.
At some point I fall asleep sprawled on my bed waiting for the hangover that is sure to come.
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Tysm for reading this chapter, new update next sunday!
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Home for the holidays
RomanceAva is just an average girl going back home to see her family at Christmas. They live in a small secluded town where everyone seems to know everyone. Except when her parents force her to go to a Christmas party the town throws every year where she m...