Begin Again

Chapter 16

Song: Cardigan - Taylor Swift
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"Thankyou for coming with me today" I said to Leigh as we entered the shopping mall.

The place was buzzing with people of every kind and age. The air filled with laughter and aromas of different food. I remembered this shopping mall from years ago, me and Ally used to come here all the time.

It had changed of course, modernized and advanced but its feel was still the same. It brought a gush of nostalgia I wasn't ready for.

"You don't have to thank me" Leigh replied casually, looking around the place, taking everything in.

Leigh was a great observer, that's what made her smarter than most people.

"Oh look ice cream, we can take some for the kids" she said pointing at an ice cream parlour on the right side.

I stared at the parlour and the people eating ice cream there. My mind floated to Carter, the person I had associated ice cream with. I remembered the first time we ate ice cream. Inside his car, in the parking lot of the bowling building.

How do you tear apart a feeling from a person? An object from a memory?

I felt Leigh nudge me and my mind came back on planet earth. I looked over at her and saw her pointing with her eyes towards my left.

Turning my gaze to where she was pointing, I found Ally and Kaisey standing in the distance. Ally was wearing a dark green shirt with jeans while Kaisey was wearing a yellow dress.

They hadn't spotted us yet, talking about something intimately until Ally laughed. Soon her wandering eyes found me.

I put on a smile on my face and waved over at her. She waved back, her smile stretching upon seeing me.

"You ready?" Taunted Leigh with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at her and walked towards them. Leigh following behind me.

"Hey" said Ally hugging me.

"Hi" I replied, hugging her back. "Hope you didn't wait for long"

"Oh no, we just got here too" she said stepping away.

Her eyes shifted to Leigh and she nodded with a small smile. Leigh nodded back.

Uptil now I had been blatantly trying to ignore Kaisey, I knew the moment I looked at her I would be reminded of Carter's last call. I would be reminded of the last time I saw her and Carter together.

I did not want to remember him.

"Hey Eva, glad we could meet outside office." Said Kaisey.

I finally looked up at her and smiled. She didn't step forward to hug me and I was thankful. It would have been weird.

"Hi and yeah, its nice getting outside office once in a while" I replied.

She nodded at my words and then looked over at Leigh.

"Oh, this is Leigh. My friend from Canada, she is visiting" I introduced.

"Hello!! nice to meet you" Said Kaisey stepping forward and extending her hand. Her stunning smile vibrant on her face.

"You too" replied Leigh shortly, shaking her hand.

There was a moment of silence after that. No one knew what to say. I knew this meetup would be awkward like this.

"So which place should we go to first?" Asked Kaisey casually, not affected one bit by the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Maybe we can go to that clothes shop first" said Ally and pointed towards a shop in distance. "I have been meaning to buy some clothes"