AVERY
Mariah was taking me out to a bar to get me out of my slump.
Her initial idea had been to go watch a movie, but I rejected it because it immediately made me think about the day I was attacked.
Next was a restaurant, but if I had to look at couples getting all cozy as they loved up to each other, then I was going to throw up.
Finally, we had settled on the bar. Of course I tried to reason with her that it didn’t make sense that we were spending a day when we weren’t working, going to hang out at a bar when we worked at one everyday, but she insisted, saying that it wasn’t the same place and that this bar was classier than the bar we worked out.
Well, one thing was for sure. She wasn’t going to be winning employee of the month with that attitude.
I dressed at a snails pace. To be honest, I really didn’t want to go out. I just wanted to stay in my room, study if I got the urge and eat sweet chocolates. I didn’t want to be out in the world where I would have to see people and the reality of my situation would settle in.
Over the past five days, I had holed up in my room, refusing to go out. I went to class only twice and I hadn’t gone once again since then. It wasn’t smart of me to be missing classes at a time like this with my finals coming up so I studied hard to make up for it.
That was the only way I coped with sadness and heartbreak-yes, heartbreak. I threw myself completely into my studies with a vegeance that never failed to suprise Mariah and even me sometimes. And since I was dealing with a similar situation at the moment, I was studying hard.
I dragged the fitted, long sleeved polo top down my body and tucked it into my belly jeans. Through the mirror, since I was standing in front of it, I saw Mariah smoothing her gown down her legs.
When she asked me why Cyrus hadn’t called or texted me since that day, or why I hadn’t reached out to him, I told her that we had simply had a conversation and we came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t work out.
She doubted me. She didn’t believe, of course. She had seen how he was with me that night when he had dropped us off so we didnt have to take a cab. She knew how I had prayed for him to come to the bar another time and how excited I had been when he did. She saw how I talked about him.
She also saw how messed up I had been for the past few days that I had been away from me. I checked my phone constantly, hoping that he had texted, that he had reached out to me even though I had specifically asked him not to.
A girl could hope.
It killed me to lie to my best friend, but there was no other option. I was starting to believe and accept the fact that a whole other world existed outside ours that was made up of creatures we wouldnt see in our wildest dreams. I had done a lot of browsing since that day and there were a lot of stories on the internet. Some sites said they were myths while some articles believed that they existed. And I was confused on what to believe.
I ended up reading more on the articles that said they existed and came across more articles on the topic. It was safe to say that I had made a lot of screenshots so that I could read later.
I even found out that witches and creatures known as nymphs exist. It was all so crazy and too much to wrap my head around all at once.
“Get that look off your face.” Mariah’s voice rang loud and clear in the silent room.
“What look?”
“That one.” She pointed at my face.
I rolled my eyes and went back to staring at my reflection on the mirror. I knew what she was talking about though. I couldn’t remember the last time I had smiled. Even when I was watching this romantic comedy last night, all my smiles had been forced. They had been so fake, my lips physically ached from forming them. When the movie ended and the couple kissed, I ended up crying.
“Let’s go.” Mariah said as she walked over to me, linked her hands with mine and pulled me with her towards the door.
“Wait. I forgot something.” I protested, trying for the last time.
She cocked a brow and gave me a ‘really?’ look. I gave her an innocent one right back.
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. I forgot my purse.”
“You don’t need it. This outing is on me.”
Well, that did it then. She pulled me out of our room, out of the dorms and out of the university.
Even if I was grumpy that I had to leave my room, I had to give it up to Mariah. The bar really was great. Good customer service, a nice setting, etc. Everything that made a bar great, this one had it.
There were even little booth like thingys that people could sit at if they didn’t want to sit at the bar. Mariah and I saw about three empty and we decided that we would sit at one of them after we got our drinks from the bar.
We placed our orders and as the bartender set to work on fixing them, I saw a shadow move in beside me. I looked up and saw that a guy had moved into the spot beside me and was leaning on the bar as he tried to talk to the bartender.
My drink was placed on the bar top and he must have thought it was his because he picked it up and was about to put it to his mouth when I stopped him.
“Hey, that’s mine.”
He froze, the drink halfway to his mouth, and turned to me slowly. His eyes went back to the drink in his hand, lifted it to the light so that he could see properly, then said, “Oh.”
“It’s mine.” I repeated. I would have grabbed it out of his hand but for some reason, I sat there watching him. I wanted to see what he would do.
“I see that now.” He said. His voice was deep and delectable, I noticed.
He dropped the drink in front of me and turned to me fully. He was good-looking, clean shaven, and his blonde hair stood in all directions on his head. He was tall, not as tall as Cyrus but-
Stop comparing every guy you meet to Cyrus!
I slammed the brakes on the train of thought immediately. I was supposed to be having fun, not thinking about him as thoughts of him only brought tears into my eyes and nothing about the process was fun.
“I’m Caleb.” He said as way of introduction.
I tilted my head to the side in thought. Was it a smart idea to encourage him? I was still hung up on Cyrus to the point that I couldn’t even eat without thinking about him. So was it a smart idea to lead this man on into thinking that there could possibly be something between us?
That was when Mariah, who I hadnt known had been watching the whole thing, leaned into me and whispered into my ears to go for it.
Should I? Should I not?
Hell, why not.
“I’m Avery.”
He smiled, a pretty smile, but sadly, it didn’t make butterflies flutter around in my stomach.
“Mind if I pay for your drink?” He asked, angling his head to said drink, “It’s the least I could do for the inconvenience.”
“There was no inconvenience at all.” I shrugged, “But, sure, if you want to.”
“Is she your friend?” He asked, looking pointedly at Mariah behind me.
“Yes.”
“Figured as much. She’s been giving me evil eyes ever since I mistakenly took your drink.”
“She is right here.” Mariah sing-songed.
He grinned again and I instantly liked the vibe I got from him. He was an easygoing guy.
He waved at her over my shoulder, with a smile on his face. “Hi, I’m Caleb.”
“Hi, Caleb. I’m Mariah and you’re forgiven.”
And that was how the night progressed. Caleb asked if he could sit with me and Mariah and my first instinct was to say no, but then I looked at him closely and saw that he was just trying to get to know a girl. I mean, this was a bar. It was a pretty normal thing at a place like this. He didn’t mean any harm.
So I shrugged and said he could.
He ended up going with us to sit at one of the booths, him on one side and me and Mariah on the other.
“Oh shoot. I just remembered that I didn’t come to the bar alone.”
Mariah and I glanced at each other. I tried to place what I was feeling. It wasn’t exactly disappointment, it was more a feeling of all guys are the same.
He caught on to the looks on our faces and his expression became alarmed, “No! It’s not what you’re thinking. My friend is a guy.”
“Oh.”
He texted his friend and explained to him where he was and in less than five minutes, the guy came over.
As his friend sat on the chair beside him, his eyes immediately locked on Mariah and I didn’t know what passed between them, but even though it wasn’t love at first sight, it was close.
Well, this night just got more interesting.