Until

Chapter 3

ASHER: 1 YEAR, 5 MONTHS AFTER

I walk down the street, about a block from where I live. I've just left the studio for the day, and the weather is nice out. I pull my bag further onto my shoulder and pull out my phone, checking for texts from Brittney. I find one asking when I'd be home, so I tell her I'll be there in fifteen. I slip my phone back into my pocket and spot ashy blonde hair rounding the corner in front of me.

Surely not.

I follow the corner, and the girl drops her keys onto the ground. I rush in front of her and pick them up, just in case it is who I think it could be. And it is.

Blake's face goes pale and she grabs her keys from my hands quickly, turning and walking away quickly.

"Blake, wait!" I call after her.

She ignores me and continues to walk, picking up her pace a little and heading for a bus station. I run behind her and grab her hand, pulling her into a small alley between a bakery and a coffee shop. She leans against the wall of the bakery, looking down at her old scuffed red converse. I remember these shoes.

"You kept them?" I ask, pointing down to her feet where she stares.

She stays silent.

"Please, Blake, talk to me. I just need to know you're okay."

"I can't talk to you, Asher. I just can't. I'm sorry," she mutters, and attempts to walk out and away from me, but I stand in her way.

"What do you mean you can't?" I ask her, looking down into her beautiful eyes. Fuck, she's perfect. Her dark roots have grown in a bit, and she isn't wearing any makeup, not that she ever needed to. She's wearing jean shorts and an old band tee with a flannel over it.

"I mean I can't. I won't. Please, just let me go," she says quietly, eyes quickly darting from our eye contact to somewhere, anywhere, else.

"I just need to know that you're okay," I tell her, "Just tell me that you're okay and I'll go."

I need to know that I haven't ruined her, at least not for good.

"I'm okay," she whispers, nodding and looking up at me as if to affirm her words to the both of us.

I nod, and we continue to stare into each other's eyes, no doubt reliving the past. She gazes at me, and slowly pulls herself up to her tiptoes. She places a small hand on my shoulder as she hauntingly slowly moves her face closer to mine. Millimeters before her lips reach mine, she presses her lips to the side of my mouth, somewhere between my lips and my cheek. She then turns around quickly and leaves me standing there, gutted and confused.

Brittney.

I hurry back to the apartment and rush inside, closing the door behind me and putting my bag down.

"Dinner smells great, babe," I call into the kitchen, and then walk in to kiss my beautiful girlfriend.

"Thanks," she mutters and pecks my lips with her own.

"How was your day?" I ask her.

I walk over to the sink to wash some dishes from the night before so there won't be as many to do after dinner.

"It was alright, pretty productive. How about yours? Did you sign any new artists?"

"Yeah, actually, I signed the one you liked that we talked about last night," I tell her and she smiles, happy for me to have taken her input.

"That's great, babe. Where were you? I thought you'd be home sooner because of your text."

"Yeah, no, I, uhm, ran into Jack and we were talking about plans for next week's exhibit," I tell her, while I untie my shoes.