That Girl in the Diner

10 - A Little Talk

10- A Little Talk

Julian really couldn't wait. He knew that he should probably let her cool off a little before he tried contacting her again, but he felt horrible. Worse than horrible. He had screwed up big time and he wouldn't blame her if she broke up with him for it. this was major. He was usually not very observant about these kinds of things- his old girlfriends had practically had to hit him over the head and sob their eyes out before he would even start to sort of get the hint. So, when even he realized without much prodding that he had cut her deeply, it had to be pretty bad. He had tried to call her at least six times, but she hadn't picked up even once. He'd texted her about a thousand times more. Nothing. Four hours later, since he had let it slip that he didn't love her as much as he had let on, he really couldn't take the silence anymore. He grabbed his jacket and started down the sidewalk to her place. Perhaps he should wait, but he really had to explain. He didn't want her to be in emotional agony all night, all alone without him. He just didn't have the patience to wait that out. At least they lived close enough together that he could get there in five or six minutes...

By the time that he rang the doorbell, he had gotten himself fairly worked up about all of this (even more so than he had been before). He had just been trying to picture her face, whether she would dump him or if she would even open the door for him. It was hard to picture. He just didn't know how she would react, and he was a little scared for it. But he had to see her, he just had to try and make her understand, but at this point, he didn't even know how badly it had hit her and it was already looking almost impossible to fix. Curse Casey and her stupid advice! It wasn't really his sister's fault hut he needed someone else to blame right now and she was the only one available.

He rang the doorbell a second time, but nobody answered. He knew she was there though. Her car was parked outside, and he knew she wasn't out for a walk with Fluffy because he could hear the dog scratching and growling at the door. She was there. She just didn't seem to be in the mood for many visitors. No surprise there.

"Madeline! Maddy, it's me, please open up. I know you're in there. I just want to explain. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry..." No response, except that Fluffy was no barking. Was that a soft voice from inside trying to shush him? He could only hope. "Madeline, just let me know that you're okay... Please. I'm worried about you."

He could hear a latch clicking in the door and it swung open softly, at long last.

Madeline was a total mess, though she was trying not to show it. Her hair was mussed up and her eyes were red, like she'd been crying. She couldn't seem to make eye contact with him and instead seemed to focus on the floor. He wasn't surprised, but it still hurt a little bit to know that this was all his own fault. She still wasn't sure what she was feeling right now though, other than the obvios. She wasn't sure whether she was entitled to feel angry at him yet or not, so she just had to content herself with feeling totally and utterly let down and heartbroken. It wasn't a good feeling.

"Maddy, I-"

"Come in, first. I don't want to do this in the middle of the hallway." Her voice was soft and it cracked a little. He slipped past her as she stepped aside.

At least Fluffy was happy to see him. The dog licked and wagged his tail, obviously not understanding Julian's grave misdeed. Julian scratched Fluffy between the ears and slowly followed her to her living room, where she sank down onto the couch, pulling her legs up to her chest, still not looking at him. Julian remained standing, waiting to make his case. There was nothing more awkward than this.

"You didn't return any of my calls. I just had to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine." She replied, unconvincingly. "I would have texted you back eventually."