Left and Right in the Dark - A Julian Casablancas fanfic

Chapter 29: Forgive Them Even if They are Not Sorry

Sophie's POV:

Julian, Albert, and I head to the parking garage and go in Julian's car, as per Julian's request. I later find out that the reason was so that I would have one last chance to be in his car. It wasn't something incredibly special, but I still liked how he thought about that.

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I give a gleeful smile as we walk into the restaurant and I see Nikolai, Fab, and Nick all sitting down at one table.

"Hey, Sophie," they all greet me before saying "Hi" to Jules and Albert.

"Hi guys," I smile back at them. Albert and Jules sit inside the booth and scooch over so that I can sit.

"So, Sophie, Albert texted us. He told us that this is your last day in New York," Nick asks me.

"Yeah, my dad's making us leave by today. I need to leave by 12:30."

"Shit, that sucks. I feel bad for you," Fab frowns before chugging some beer.

"No, it's alright," I shrug it off. "At least I'm spending some of my last few moments here with you guys."

All of us pass the time by having a nice conversation with each other as we enjoy our meals. We talk about the short but fun time I had here and how sad it was for Jules and me to break up. It was Nikolai who asked about the breakup, which I didn't mind- I was expecting the question to come into the conversation at some point anyway.

"First relationships are very tricky. It will affect you quite a bit; but trust me, you will be able to get through it with time," Nikolai advises, wiping his mouth on his napkin after he finishes the sentence. I'm pleasantly surprised by the advice that Nikolai is giving me, let alone hearing him speaking this much. I always thought he was quite shy and quiet.

"Niko's right," Julian nods. "Use this as an experience. Keep moving forward; don't hang onto this forever, otherwise, it's gonna make you super sad and it'll affect you big time in the future."

I smile and nod as I hear both of them speak.

I take a quick glance at my watch.

12:25 PM.

"Shit, I'm gonna be late! I need to leave now," I say, getting my things together.

"Mm," I hear a vibration from Jules' voice as he finishes a swig of his beer. "I'll drop you off."

I notice a waiter walking by, so I stop him and quickly ask if he can take a picture of the six of us, to which he gladly agrees. I hand him my phone, and we all lean close together for the picture before he hands the phone back to me.

"Thank you," I smile.

"It was really cool to hang out with you, Soph," Nick comments.

"You too, guys. I can't wait for your next album!"

I scooch over and hop out of the booth seat as Julian follows me.

"Bye, guys!"

"Bye, Soph," they all smile and say to me at different times before Julian and I leave together. He swings his arm around my back as we walk back to his car together.

Both of us leave together in Julian's car, casually listening to some Velvet Underground, keeping the volume relatively low while we both just have a nice, general chat.

After a few songs and some talking and laughing back and forth, the song "Pale Blue Eyes" starts playing through the stereo. The two of us become quiet and still, like insects in the nighttime.