Page 6 of Because of Them

I can’t figure out why he is starting now. Orifhe is starting now. That phone call felt like a big moment, but really, we didn’t talk about much. He asked if I could dog sit. I told him I would have a go at project managing a job again.

In the grand scheme of family discussion, it was nothing. But for us, it was something. I think.

MICHAEL

The bell rings above the cafe door. The sound of cars out on the street mingles with the steady chatter and the whirring coffee machine from inside. My coffee begins to churn in my stomach, and I push the half-drunk glass towards the centre of the table. Dark pink rose petals bunch around it, and I gag at how …loveythe whole place looks.

I look up from the table and see Audrey, frozen just inside the door. She casts her eyes over the cafe, her gaze lingering on the floral wall at the back. Even from across the room I notice the way her eyebrows pinch together.

I should not have recommended this cafe.

It was my go-to, once upon a time. With its overly done floral theme and pink everything, it was just what I needed when I was looking for cutesy and romantic brunch dates. The kind I hopedwould become more but never did. Maybe it was fate that I never brought Audrey here. The coffee is overrated anyway, and the dates never panned out.

I try not to let my mind wander to the last date I had here. The girl ceremoniously walked out when I accidentally let slip that I had dinner plans with another woman. And lunch plans. That was probably a mistake too, but the lunch date that followed it? That was when I met Audrey.

I’d slipped onto the bench beside her in the park across town, and every other woman on the planet disappeared. She reached out an arm to shake my hand, and my fingers tingled from her touch. In that moment it felt as though all my fuck ups were worth it to be right there, in the park, meeting her for the first time. I’d cancelled the dinner date within minutes.

I kept fucking up after that though, just like I fucked up choosing this cafe. I thought the romantic vibe was just what we needed to reconnect, but something is off. Audrey isn’t glowing like she used to. Beauty still shines off her, but her face is a little pale, and her eyes seem sunken. Her short blonde hair has grown out of the chin length style she sported when we first met, now dusting across her shoulders in gentle, messy waves. The highlights have grown out too, leaving a mousey section at the top of her head. The unkempt style suits her, but it doesn’t feel likeher.

Audrey holds the back of her hand against her mouth as she searches the room. When she sees me waving, her body shrinks into itself.

I shiver, but not from the way my long hair is still damp from my post gym shower.Fuck,I should have given myself more time to make sure it was dry. Should have packed more appropriate clothes than the grey sweats and tight tee I keep in my gym bag.

Squeezing between the tables, Audrey makes her way towards me, pulling her maroon cardigan around her before bringing one hand back up to her mouth.

She pulls out her own chair and sits down opposite me before I realise I should have got up to greet her.

“Sorry this place is a little …” I wave my arm towards the giant floral backdrop, tilting my head towards the rose petals spread across the table.

“Tacky?”

I shift my gaze between Audrey, the petals on the table, the flowers on the wall, and the hot pink coffee machine.

“I was going to say nauseating,” I say, reaching my hand across the table. I nudge a pile of petals out of my way and rest my fingertips on her elbow. They tingle, just like they did that first day. The sensation crawls up my skin, under my shirt until it settles on my chest. Audrey scoots back in her chair, out of reach.

“Don’t say that.” Her voice is a whisper, barely audible through the fist she still holds over her mouth.

“Are you okay? You look … tired? Sick?”

Audrey pushes out of the chair, standing in a rush. It clambers behind her, knocking into the woman seated at the next table, but Audrey pays her no attention.

“I’ll be back.” She chokes out the words before darting through the tables and rushing to the back of the cafe. She slips into the hallway, following the sign to the restrooms.

My knee bounces under the table while I wait for her to return. I shouldn’t have said she looked tired.Fucking idiot.If she is tired, she probably knows it. And if she wasn’t I just turned around and told her she looks bad. That’s not what Imeant. I only wanted to know if she is okay.Why?Why is it only with Audrey that all my charm melts away and I’m left with nothing but my awkward self?

I stand up, shaking out my arms as though I can brush off the nerves and anxious energy.

The guy behind the coffee machine freezes to check what I’m doing. Giving him what I hope is a reassuring smile, I turn around the room.

“Were you leaving?”

Audrey looks even more pale than she did five minutes ago. Her glassy eyes flick between the table and me, and a loose strand falls from the haphazard bun she tied in her hair. I reach out, desperate to tuck it away from her face, to comfort her, to hold her through whatever it is that’s making her feel this bad.

She flinches away from me, one hand on the back of her chair.

Shit, this is going terribly. I plonk back onto the seat.

“No, Audrey. I was just stretching my back.” My eyes shift side to side at the half truth, even as I try to hold them steady.

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