As The Pages Burn

Chapter 9

Lucas gaped at Angela. "Wait, what do you mean? After..."

"I'm still angry with you, Lucas, but that doesn't mean I don't want you."

Lucas frowned. "But that makes no sense. I don't want you to be angry with me. What can I do to change this?"

Angela laughed. "Aside from going back in time and stopping yourself, there isn't much you can do. Just give me some time to calm down."

"Of course, take all the time you need. I'm in no rush."

"Good," Angela said as she got off of Lucas and started putting on her clothes once more. Lucas followed her lead and put on his own clothes as well.

"I think I need to run to the drugstore real quick. Would you care to join me?"

"Why?" Angela asked, frowning as she brushed her hair with her fingers and tied it into a loose ponytail.

Lucas shrugged. "I need to get you some morning after pills and I need some condoms."

"Oh, quite hopeful, aren't we? Buying condoms already?" Angela asked teasingly as she raised an eyebrow at him.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "You never know when an emergency might rear it's head, so its better to be prepared beforehand."

"Alright, I'll come with you, then. It would probably be a good idea to get out of here, anyway."

"I agree," Lucas said as he got his wallet and keys and took Angela's hand, leading her out the door and down the hallway to the elevator.

After they returned from their outing, Angela took her pills and excused herself to go to her room, where she spent most of the day scrolling through memes on social media and listening to music on her headphones. She desperately needed to clear the garbled static that was the current state of her mind and found that her isolation had done the trick.

Later that afternoon, she heard a light knock on her door, and she invited Lucas in.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Lucas asked tentatively, sitting at the foot of her bed, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"Less hazy, more focused," She said simply, reluctant to tear her eyes away from her laptop screen. She finally did glance at him and caught him staring at her as she met his gaze. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. I thought maybe I'd ask you if you're ready to accept my apology yet. I know it's probably too soon, but a guy can dream."

Angela seemed to think it over for a while, contemplating her answer. "Yeah, I think I am. I think I finally understand what you went through, and I'd hate it if something like that had happened to me. So, I forgive you."

"Thank you," Lucas said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're welcome," She said, smiling kindly. "So, we're good now?"

"Yeah, we're good," Lucas said as he reached out and stroked her cheek softly. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, savoring the feeling. "I have to ask, what made you change your mind?"

"Heavy metal and lots of memes," Angela said, grinning sheepishly. "And I can't stay mad at you for long."

"Well, honey, the feeling is wholly mutual," Lucas said as he moved her laptop to the other side of the bed and pulled her onto his lap, holding her for a while, stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you earlier," Angela said, looking into his eyes.

Lucas smiled. "No, honey, you have nothing to apologize for. I get it, what I did was extremely... shitty. No, fucked up is the word and the thing that kills me most is that I'll never be able to take it back."