Breathless

This is like my least favourite chapter. I shouldn’t say that but it is. So I’m going to upload chapter 16 directly after this hahahah.

Thanks for your patience, you’re all saints.

Chapter 15

 Wil had gone to see her at the earliest time possible on the Sunday, hoping he wasn’t going to seem too eager. Although Alyn had said Monday, she was a bit uncertain.

Maybe today would be better anyway, if she has work tomorrow, he reasoned.

He’d cleaned himself up at Jake’s place and had donned a nice new t-shirt, one he’d meant to wear for ages. It was creased from being folded into backpack for so long, but he hoped she wouldn’t notice.

When she opened the door, she’d greeted him with an unusually big hug.

At least she wasn’t freaked out.

She was dressed nicely too – white vest and long dark trousers – like she was expecting him.

Or someone else, the paranoid side of him thought. The excited side pushed that thought away.

She’d not invited him in, but simply grabbed a pink and black chequered jacket and stepped out of the door. Alyn insisted on Starbucks to wake her up, although it was reaching midday.

“I hate Starbucks,” he said. “No non-caffeinated mochalicious frappachino for me.”

She laughed and told him she preferred the caffeinated double latté with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

“It’s good,” she reassured his confused face. “Promise.”

 They decided to head over to Myrtle Edwards Park and wander through the dry leaves and winter winds; most of the breeze coming from waterfront. They stayed more inland, the blustery weather worse the closer to the water you were.

He smoked a cigarette as she drank her coffee. Pick your poison and all that. They strolled through, idly chatting about the weather. Alyn brought up how her home town had rain a hundred times worse than Seattle’s, and they shouldn’t complain.

“What’s your home town like?” He asked as he signalled to a bench. They sat down together.

“Okay, I guess. A bit humdrum. My parents loved it,” She laughed a little, but it was humourless. All of a sudden, resentment seemed to be coming off her in waves.

“D’ya get on with your ma and pa?”

She considered it for a moment, chewing on her lip. She lent forward, hands clasped together.

On the defensive, he thought.

“No.” She answered simply, staring at nothing.

“Why’s that?”

“My mom and I used to argue a lot. Dad was a drunk, you know how it is.”

More than you’d ever know.

“What you argue about?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, and he wondered if he had asked too much.

“Shit, anything. Typical teenage stuff.”

“Ah,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Boys?”

She laughed, “Are you kidding me? I was a bigger geek then than I am now.”

“You’re not a geek.”

Another glance over her shoulder, “thanks.”

She took a sip of her coffee. He could see she wanted to say something else, so he gave her some time. Eventually she leant back on the bench, like him, but she still didn’t look at him much.

“I guess they were just stereotypical overprotective yet uncaring parents, and I’m your stereotypical daughter-no one-would-want-fuck-up.”

“You’re not a fuck up.”

She shook her head, “Wil … I – I am.”

“You’re the most beautiful fuck up I’ve ever seen then.”

She smiled, “you’re just full of compliments today, aren’t you? Here.” She signalled for his hand, and he gave her a puzzled look before lifting it up. She took the cigarette from him, and took a long draw before inhaling deeply.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” he said, finding himself also having a draw quickly after, tasting her sweet coffee.

“I haven’t for a long time … emotional things tend to make me go back, though.”

“No kidding.”

She said, “Shall we keep walking, anyway?”