Due to the expectation to find her still sleeping in the back, I was stunned when I saw her spot empty and my jacket left behind. I didn't even know her status after taking drugs last night—maybe she was feeling bad but couldn't wake me up. Rubbing my face, I grabbed my jacket from the back seat and pushed the door open.

I found her on the phone after a stroll. Her back was facing me, and soon, she ended the call. Her silence scared me so much that I almost tiptoed my way toward her, though I knew it may freak her out. I wasn't even sure whether she remembered any moments of last night, and if she did, whether she was mad at me or not.

Surprisingly, I wasn't as invisible as I thought. She slowly turned at me and threw me a timid glance before she averted her gaze. I couldn't understand, for the sake of my sanity, if she decided to avoid me or if she just wanted to stare at the scenery before her instead of me. The silence between us made me lean toward the former but I was keen on not being too hopeless.

When she finally directed her gaze back at me, there was no trace of the spark in them that I'd seen and fallen in love with last night. I was the one who put that out, but I had no other choice. I shouldn't have kissed her back but I was defeated against my attraction.

"I was waiting for you to wake up."

"To talk?" I asked, unable to hide the hopeful tone in my voice. I was dying to find out what she remembered and how she felt. The last thing I would want was to risk the friendship between us if it was all I had with her. I didn't want things to be awkward between us. I could tell her that it was a mistake and I was as high as her, not thinking to the best of my mind. I could deny everything if it could magically resolve the problems—make her look at me in the way she always did.

"No," she replied. I knitted my eyebrows in question. "We are going to the airport."

"You-you're leaving?" The question clogged up my throat. I hadn't assumed what happened between us could cause such damage that made her leave the next minute. She didn't even want to talk to me about it. If she just listened... "Look, Abby, I didn't—"

Her laugh cut me off. "I'm not leaving." I took an internal sigh of relief. "Roy is joining us for the rest of the trip, George."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's flying to Oklahoma. We will get him from the airport."

"Did you invite him?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she replied.

"In what title?"

"He's your best friend." She folded her arms defensively. "I don't understand your fuss. You act like he's an enemy. Thought you'd be happy to have him over."

"If I wanted him here, I would invite him myself." Instead of answering my question, she passed by me, walking back in the direction of where our car was parked. "Why did you invite him over, Abby?" I yelled behind her, quickening my steps to catch up with her.

Everything had changed overnight, and Abby didn't even give me an explanation. It would be much better if she yelled at me for kissing her or whatever that was she was pissed off but this silent treatment hurt me deeper than anything else. I'd planned this trip for us all along—this was my chance to finally open up to her about my feelings and I thought I actually had time. Now that Roy was in the equation, it was impossible.

Suddenly, she paused, spinning around to look at me. "He asked me out. I accepted it."

"When?" She frowned as if she didn't catch the question. "When did you accept?"

"Last night." Her answer weighed between us. She must have texted him after I left but then, that would mean she remembered. If she remembered, why would she do that? Because she doesn't feel anything toward you, dumbass. "He was waiting for an answer and I texted him last night."

Before I could make a comment, she turned around again and started walking to the car at full speed. She'd claimed the driver's seat and started the engine once I clambered into the passenger seat and slammed the door. There was a giant question mark sitting between us, and I knew, before I'd gotten my answer, we could never be normal.

I cleared my throat to start off, but her hand reached the stereo simultaneously. I caught her hand before she could turn it on, but she jolted with our sudden contact. I dared spare her a sideways glance to see that her jaw was shaking. She quickly retreated her hand, grabbing the wheel tightly.

"We need to talk," I said softly.

"There's nothing to talk about, George." How could she be so calm about this? "I get it. We can forget about it, okay?" She briefly turned to offer me a soft grin. Then, she turned the stereo on.

How could I forget about it? Our kisses, her scent, her hands—they were carved in my mind, playing over and over again. She wasn't even fazed by the situation, casually inviting her boyfriend to join us. When I left them alone at the party, I'd shot myself in the leg. If there was someone to blame, it was me.

Pulling me from my thoughts, she asked, "Are you hungry? We've got time for a quick breakfast in the city before heading to the airport."

"That'd be great." Anything that made us spend time alone until that asshole landed.

If Roy thought he was going to spend a great time with Abby here, he was so wrong. I knew him like the back of my hand. He was looking for a new adventure, and Abby offered much more than that. Once we were back in town, if not sooner, he would dump her and hop onto his next adventure. And Abby knew how Roy worked. She warned me about him before. How could she fall into his trap?

An hour later, she stopped at a cul-de-sac. We were in front of a small cozy place and there were only two occupied tables inside. We picked a table by the window and we both went for pancakes—for she said, it was what this place was famous for—and they didn't disappoint.

"Roy told me you pranked him last morning."

Asshole. "Yeah," I replied casually, leaning back. "You were sleeping."

"You didn't tell me," she said, holding my gaze. "And you deleted the messages."

"Yes." I hovered over the table, putting my knees on. "So, what?"

Abby retreated back this time, letting out a breathy laugh. "He doesn't think that our friendship is innocent. I'd fought with him over it before but maybe he's right."

"What are you getting at?" My heart was pounding in my chest but I was trying to remain calm toward her. Since when did he have a right to stick out his filthy tongue at our friendship? I huffed a laugh in disbelief, throwing myself back against the seat again. "So, we are over, huh?"

"You saw what happened last night—what kind of friends make out in the back seat?"

"You were just suggesting me to forget about it but you can't get your mind out of it."

"George," she sighed. "I'm just saying. We need time. And some space."

"If you're telling me to continue the trip on my own, that's not happening. You are in this, and you stay in this until one of us back off—excluding what the fuck Roy thinks about our friendship, okay? Oh, and technically, he wasn't your boyfriend when we made out so that's none of his fucking business." I grabbed my jacket and stormed out of the diner.

Outside I wore my jacket first and tried to take proper breaths. I had valid reasons not to punch Roy in the first place I'd seen him. Ever since the beginning of this trip, our friendship was at stake and I knew it was because of me. At first, he didn't sense it because he didn't know what I was on—but now he did. He had to be stupid not to figure out what I was insinuating, which he wasn't.

When Abby unlocked the doors, I hopped into the passenger seat again and remained silent on our way to the airport. My right leg bounced up and down due to my stress, but a hurricane was rising up within me.

The silence creeping between us was scarier than the words that could have been uttered. I wasn't used to not speaking things with Abby; apart from my own feelings. When things were awkward between us, I felt awkward. We were always good at communicating.

"Do you like him?"

It later dawned on me that the question was out of my mouth—not given a thought, unfiltered. I had been thinking over it during the ride but I didn't mean to ask it out loud. She seemed as fazed as me to hear the question when her grip tightened around the wheel.

"Yes," she muttered afterward, causing my heart to sink. Abby was my anchor and she was suddenly gone. Without her, I'd sink. "I like that he's honest. Well, he can be disturbingly bold sometimes, but at least he doesn't fret to stay what's on his mind. He's not confusing, you know. He doesn't exhaust me—and honestly, when I think about him, I think there is a possibility that he can be it. Even if not, he'll stay as a good memory."

I hadn't replied to that. I was afraid of the sorrow clogged up in my throat to suddenly crawl its way out. She probably took it the wrong way, but it was much better than me faltering my words. I sort of deserved this for not behaving sooner—but that exhaustion she talked about. I was living it, breathing it. Being with her was like playing chess; always on the alert.

However, a single glance was all it took to checkmate.

At the airport, Abby was a few steps ahead of me, walking toward the arrival. I was silently praying that his flight was delayed or canceled. However, my prayers were in vain when he emerged from the gate, in fact, not alone. Rachel was coming with him.

Since Abby hadn't mentioned that tiny detail, I directed my gaze to her to see her shoulders stiffen. Roy didn't tell her, either. Ass. His plan was to keep me away from Abby as much as possible.

I watched him walk toward us with a bright smile and he first approached Abby to hug her tightly. Rachel's gaze converged on me, a soft grin forming on her lips, and I reciprocated it for the sake of being polite.

"Hey George," she said as we stood face to face and I was taken aback when she wrapped her arms around me.

At that moment, my eyes found Abby's, and I couldn't see anything in them.

"Hi, dude!" Roy greeted me, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "You look good."

"The trip treats me well," I replied smilingly. I tried to swallow my anger and be normal. He was my best friend. Now, he was also Abby's boyfriend and I had to get used to it. I had to find a way to bury my feelings down and move on. "Welcome."

"Thanks for inviting me," Rachel said, looking at me. I looked at Roy incredulously, and once he winked, I knew. He'd told her that I invited her—damn.

As I opened my mouth to reply, Abby acted faster: "We didn't know you're tagging along, Rachel. You should thank Roy for that." Wait, what was that? I looked at Abby to find the answer but she hadn't met my eyes, which made it impossible for me to figure out if she was jealous. Why would she be jealous? Stop wishful thinking, George.

Rachel only flashed her a soft smile and started walking outside. When Roy held Abby's hand, I temporarily held my breath and finally walked ahead of them to catch up with Rach. It was already set who I was hanging out with for the rest of the trip.

***

Happy November!

Today embarks the beginning of a new month and NaNoWriMo! I wanted to welcome this lovely day with a new chapter from my nano project. 😉 I'll update my daily word count on my Twitter. You can find me via .

I want to thank you all for your interest in this story. I've gained many valuable readers throughout time and seems like our family grows faster recently. 🤗❤️

Your comments mean so much to me as well as your votes. Votes show that you like my writing, and my characters when comments allow me to get a taste of your thoughts in depth. None of you go unnoticed (if you are voting or commenting). I appreciate all of you. Without you, this wouldn't happen at all.

❤️

See you next Friday!

Sev xx