1 L0V3 H1M

Chapter 16

I sit in a stiff and wooden chair as I wait for my coffee to be made. I scroll through billions of posts on social media. Half of the pictures were from the Last Day Disaster and had at least one couple making out in each photo.

I'm interrupted when a body occupies the seat across the table from me. I look up and I meet his dreamy blue eyes. "Why are you here?" I ask.

"I thought you could use someone to talk to," Cole responds.

"I can talk to myself, but... That makes me sound a little crazy," I regret my choice of words.

Cole laughs and nods, "A little?"

"Oh come on, you know what I meant!"

"Audrey?" A barista calls my name.

I get up and go to retrieve my coffee, "Thank you!" I say to the cute barista. He gives me a nod and goes back to work. I walk back to where Cole was sitting, "So what, you just followed me here?" I ask, sitting down.

"No, I actually came here to get a coffee and coincidentally you were also here," He responds, matter-of-factly.

"So you don't want to talk to me..." I sigh.

"No. When I saw you here, I actually forgot all about my coffee and wanted to come talk to you." He reaches across the table and takes my hand.

"So what? What did you want to say?"

"What's on your mind?" He asks, seriously.

"Too much to put into words."

"Just—what are you feeling right now?"

"What I'm feeling?" I let out a large breath, "I'm feeling... betrayed." I look at Cole who awaits for me to say more, so I do. "And... stuck." Stuck? Where the hell did that come from?

"What do you mean?"

"I just... I've been with them for basically my whole life. Now this happens and I just feel like... This had to have happened for some reason. Right? I mean, it's just making me rethink everything and causing me to question so many things... I..."

"Audrey, take it one thing at a time." Cole rubs his thumb over my knuckles.

"I'm not ready to forgive them. But I mean, I will eventually! It's just gonna take a little while before I'll be able to look at them and say, 'I forgive you.'" The hum of the crowd in the coffee shop, seems to be getting louder and louder.

"We should go someplace more private." Cole says, standing up. I nod and follow him outside. "You want to meet back at my house?" He asks.

"Sure," I go to my car, coffee in hand, and unlock it. I jump in, place my coffee in my cup holder, start the car and head over to Cole's.

I sit on his bed, in his room, holding one of his pillows to my chest. Cole returns to his room with two snack sized bags of chips. He hands me one and sits down next to me. I put his pillow back down on his bed and open the bag of chips, popping one in my mouth.

"So about your dilemma." He says.

"Oh yeah," I finish chewing and get back to what I was saying before at the coffee shop, "It's just that I love them all to death, but I feel like I just need some time."

"Some time for what?"

"To do other things and to just leave."

"For college?"

"I guess... I mean, I don't know where else I'd be going." I put the bag of chips down on his bed side table. Cole does the same, reaching across me and placing his bag down next to mine.