High Tide

Chapter 28 [The Tanner Girls]

Chapter 28

The Tanner Girls

The holidays were quiet, spent with Lydia's family.

In between Christmas and New Year's Avery went ice skating at the rec center downtown with Lily, Kelsey, Asher and a few other people. A little earlier in the month she was talking to Hannah on Skype and making plans to visit the other girl and her family, but the Langs were up north this year at a ski resort so that fell flat. So the little skating escapade was about all she saw of her friends over the break, preferring to stay in with her family instead.

Asher wasn't too happy about that, arguing that she barely spent time with him at all these days, but to be honest she didn't really care. This was her first holiday with an actual family, and she wanted to enjoy it without all of the boyfriend drama.

She figured she wouldn't always feel this way – maybe next year her parents would drive her up the walls or she'd be moody and ungrateful like normal teenagers, or maybe she'd have a fight with her sister and they wouldn't be on speaking terms for a little bit. Things were great right now, she was feeling the love, and she was going to take it all in.

Then January came along, the start of a brand new year. Avery and Marissa went back to school; Lydia and Charlie went back to work... it was business as usual for a while.

It was a few weeks into the new semester when Asher approached her in the hallway, asking her if they could talk.

"Yeah, sure," Avery shrugged. In the back of her mind, she knew what was happening. She followed him into an empty classroom and perched herself on a desk, watching him. "What's up?" she asked when he didn't speak.

"I've been doing some thinking," Asher began finally. "I like you, I really do... I mean, you're seriously amazing... but I feel like we haven't been seeing a lot of each other lately, and like maybe you're not into this," he explained.

"I've been–" Avery began, jumping on the defense. Asher interrupted her mid-sentence.

"You don't have to apologize... I get it; you've got your family stuff going on... I totally get it, and it's fine, I'm really happy for you... but this isn't what I want and I don't think it's fair to keep this up if we're just going to be at a standstill... I don't know, I miss you, and then when you are here... like at the skating rink... it's never just you and me. I feel like maybe I like you more than you like me," he shrugged.

"Asher..." Avery sighed, feeling guilty now. "I like you, I do, you're a great guy," she told him honestly.

"But...?" Asher said with an awkward chuckle.

"You're right, this isn't working," Avery smiled sadly. "I'm fifteen years old, you're almost sixteen... I mean... maybe you're ready for a relationship... or whatever... I just don't think I am. I don't know who I am yet or what I want..." she told him.

"I know and it's okay," Asher told her, reaching for her. "We tried the dating thing, it didn't work out, moving on," he added.

Avery wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder. She was sad, but this didn't feel like the end of the world. She didn't feel the need to eat her weight in ice cream or watch a bunch of sad movies.

"Hey, if it's worth anything, as far as first kisses and first boyfriends go, I'm glad it was with you," she giggled, moving away from him so that she could meet his gaze.

"Yeah," he chuckled.

They left it at that and Avery pushed her feelings further down inside her, where they wouldn't bother her for the rest of the day. She had math next period and then science, so she focused on that.