Bind Me To You

Chapter Nineteen

That day, four years ago, it had been raining heavily.

Avery stood under cover at the front of the school, scanning the empty road and parking lot for a rusted blue ute. She should have known better than to trust her dad to pick her up.

Watching as her friends were picked up by their parents, and the school car park slowly emptying made her heart sink into her stomach.

Avery hadn't brought a jacket to school that morning and water spat at her bare arms, raising goosebumps on her skin and sending shivers through her body. She wrapped her arms around herself and brushed her hands up and down her arm in an attempt to brush away the sting of water.

"You're still here?" The voice of a boy called. Avery turned on her heal quickly, almost slipping on the wet concrete as her eyes landed on the green-eyed boy that she recognised from lunch.

Avery nodded, her eyes lowering, "I'm waiting to get picked up...". Her voice must have sounded sad because he frowned and trudged to her side, swinging his bag from his shoulder and dropping it onto the wet ground. Unzipping the bag, he searched through the books, pulling out a blue hoodie with a white Adidas logo on the front, holding it out to Avery.

"My mum will be here any minute now, so take this while you wait" he insisted with a kind smile. Avery hesitated to take the jacket but when he looked up at her with those deep emerald eyes, she felt her heart melt under their gaze.

"But..." Avery managed in protest before her attention shot to the headlights of a car pulling into the parking lot.

Avery's hopes rose as she strained her eyes to catch the colour of the approaching car through the rain. Her hope was quickly shattered when the car got close and turned to park beside the pair, a brand new looking silver Landcruiser.

"That's my mum now," The boy said as he quickly zipped his bag and threw it on his back. He took a step towards the car but hesitated, turning back to the blonde with wrinkles between his eyebrows.

"Hey, you're Sarah's friend, aren't you?" He asked, searching the blonde's eyes.

"Y-yeah..." Avery managed to stutter.

The boy smiled and Avery felt her cheeks begin to heat despite the icy breath of wind against them.

"I thought so" He responded before giving a little wave and running out into the ran to get into the passenger seat of the car.

Avery watched as the car pulled away, waiting until the car had disappeared behind the wall of rain to pull the jacket over her head. She will never forget the gentle sweet smell of pine that wafted from the material.

_____

For the rest of the art lesson, Avery and Ethan made small talk. Avery listened attentively as Ethan spoke about his family with such a warm tone.

They were sitting so close to one another that occasionally Avery could feel Ethan's arm brush against hers and each time she felt electricity buzzing on the surface of her skin where they touched.

When she turned to gaze at his eyes, he would turn to her with a smile and she was happy to know that his smile was meant for her. She was no longer watching from a distance, she was now sitting beside him.

"Anyway, Sadie hasn't stopped talking about you since she met you at lunch the other day" Ethan beams as he caught the blonde's eyes, "She thinks that you're really cool".

At this Avery blushed. Does Sadie think that about me? Surely there's a mistake.

"I don't know about 'cool'" Avery mumbled, averting her eyes.

"Well, what would you say then?" Ethan challenged.

What kind of person would I say I am? This question held a lot more depth than the simplicity Ethan had spoken it, and Avery glanced down at the desk trying to come up with a suitable answer.

"I don't know" She answered hesitantly.

Ethan's lips tugged into a frown at her reply and Avery quickly reworded her answer.

"I just mean..." She began hastily, looking back over to Ethan, "I'm still finding... 'me'. I feel like I have a lot of growing to do as a person".

"Well then, what kind of person do you want to become?"

Avery hummed as she gazed into his eyes, the gorgeous shade gleaming with intrigue and encouragement as Ethan awaited her answer.

"Someone who can stand up for themselves, someone who has close friends they can depend on... Someone who's happy."

This answer brought a smile to Ethan's face as his gaze shifted between Avery's eyes, "I'm sure that you'll become that person" He encouraged, and before Avery could answer he added;

"I hope I can be one of those close friends too"

Avery's heart jumped in her chest. His words brought her so much happiness and surprise that she had to turn away from Ethan as she felt tears beginning to well in her eyes. Oh no, not now. Don't cry!

Avery brought her hands to her face as she attempted to swallow the sniffles and sobs that were threatening to escape.

"Is everything okay?" Ethan questioned, concern heavy in his tone. He reached his hand towards Avery's shoulder but hesitated, curling his fingers into a fist.

"Yeah, sorry something got into- into my eye" She managed to murmur, letting a single sob slip halfway through her sentence.

Ethan's concerned expression softened as he watched the blonde with caring eyes.

He knew that she didn't have anything in her eye.

He also knew that she hadn't had anything in her eye when Sadie had offered to be her friend the previous day.

The thought that something as simple as an offer of friendship could bring someone to tears made Ethan feel as though his stomach had emptied. How lonely would someone have to be that they would be overwhelmed with such a simple gesture?

He brought his hand back to his cheek as he watched her subtly shaking body while she failed to completely conceal her sobs. It was clear to him that she didn't want him to notice her tears, and he wasn't going to embarrass her by pointing them out. He would instead pretend he didn't notice, just like he had at lunch.

It was as Ethan watched Avery with adoration while she subtly brushed the tears from her cheeks that he promised to honour those words;

'I hope I can be one of those close friends too'

_____

Avery's heart was still fluttering as she entered the science classroom, wishing that she had more than just a short hour with Ethan. Her heart was still pounding from his caring words, and she was glad that he hadn't seemed to notice her near-breakdown. It was just lucky for her that the bell rang moments after and he didn't get to see her face when he had rushed off for his next class.

The thought that he would be at each art class with her from now on made a goofy smile appear on her cheeks. She had only wished that she came to school on Monday so that she could have seen him that afternoon. Art was only twice a week, and that wasn't nearly enough.

It wasn't until half way through the lesson that Avery realised that she didn't smell a vague scent of cigarette smoke wafting through the room. With a subtle turn of her head, she glanced around the classroom for the greasy-haired boy who seemed so desperate to talk to her the previous day. He wasn't in class.

Avery began to wonder where he was. Whether he was just skipping class like he often did or whether he was absent because of her; because of what happened. No, who cared about Aiden Phillips anyway?

Avery turned back to the notes she was writing, trying to rid herself of the thoughts. It was hard for her to ignore the sinking feeling that she should have heard him out. Each time she dwelled on the events leading to his outburst, she felt as though something seemed out of place, but she couldn't figure out what. All she could do was shove the thoughts aside and hope that she had made the right decision.