Page 3 of Forever After Never

“Hmmm, well, don’t make a habit of it!” she says, flashing me her winning smile.

Alice is funny by nature. She has long, light brown hair and green eyes. She has curves in all the right places, and takes no shit from anyone. She is someone that you either love or hate. There is no in-between with this girl. We are kindred spirits.

“Any more dates lined up this week?” Given that it is Tuesday, and she’s already had one this week, I expect there to be at least two or three more.

“Believe it or not, no. There aren’t any more dates this week, shockingly. Give it time, though.” She gives me a wink across the table.

We spend the next couple of hours catching up on work, what she plans to do next, and how long she plans to take off.

The evening light is starting to fade before I realise that it is almost six p.m. Given that I start work again in twelve hours, I need to get home, make dinner, walk Jed, and hopefully do some reading before trying to get a full night’s sleep.

“I’ll walk with you. I could do with an early night myself.” Alice interrupts my thoughts as I look out into the square at the setting sun.

The sweaty denim has dried out by the time I hoist my jacket back on. It is spring, so the mornings and evenings are chilly. As we leaveGround and Down, the cool breeze once again pricks at my skin, and I’m thankful that I didn’t leave my jacket at work.

Chapter 3

Autumn

Making our way home, Alice and I walk down the street in silence. Not awkward silence. There is never an awkward silence with Alice. A pure and comfortable silence. The smell of the town square is a mix of food and tree bark. The streets are completely lined with trees, and you can hear the breeze rushing through the new leaves on the trees. My feet crunch through some old ones on the floor.

I love to people-watch and listen to the sounds around me, whether that be car tyres on the road, birds chirping, music playing, or cars whirring past. I like background noise. It keeps me out of my own head, and sometimes, it is nice for me to be distracted.

“I’ll catch up with you soon,” Alice calls over her shoulder as she spots something shiny in a shop window.

I continue walking along the street, listening to my heels click along the sidewalk, simply happy to be here, taking in the sunset. The sky is a lovely shade of orange, shining a gorgeous warm hueon every surface it touches. I do not miss the English weather at all, and I can almost guarantee that it would be raining there, miserably windy, and perpetually cold.

Crossing the street while admiring the golden sky, I hear Alice screaming at me.

“Autumn! Fuckkkkk!”

I turn round and see a car coming towards me. I freeze. I physically cannot move. The car swerves and misses me by sheer millimetres, and I crumple into a heap on the ground in the middle of the street. The cold, hard ground meets my hands and knees with force. I feel the sting immediately from the instant wounds on my hands and from the tears behind my eyes. The discomfort radiates from my palms and knees up to the top of my head and back again, reminding me that my pain response is working to full capacity.

“You dumb fuck!” Alice shouts while pointing her finger in the face of the man who almost hit me. Her face full of rage. She knows that any type of car accident is very raw for me. They’d be pretty terrible for anyone, let alone someone whose parents died in one. I feel an overwhelming sense of joy that she has jumped to my defence so quickly.

The guy climbs out of his car and is completely taken aback by Alice shouting at him. He looks shocked. He is clearly not the kind of guy who would be used to having five-foot-eleven women shouting in his face, and truth be told, this is definitely not his fault.

I need to blame someone, and my pride won’t let that be me. Especially as I am the one in a heap on the floor, on my hands and knees sobbing into the ground with a squashed cheesecake next to me.

“Wait, how is this my fault? Your stupid fucking friend walked out in front of me. I didn’t try to hit her!” The man gesturestowards me and glowers at Alice. What a prick.How dare he call me stupid?

Alice and my would-be-killer start bickering back and forth in true Ali fashion I think she probably intended to back off. Then he called mefucking stupid.

My cheeks are burning with embarrassment. The audacity of this mother fucker. A crowd gathers around us, wondering what the commotion is about.

“Enough! Please, both of you, stop!” I finally groan between my sobs, and it snaps me back to reality.

Chapter 4

Sawyer

Wondering what happened to me a few seconds ago, I look over to the crumpled woman on the floor.

Okay, I shouldn’t have called her fucking stupid. A small sense of guilt rises in my chest. I don’t have as much guilt as I thought I had, given that I’m eyeballing her cleavage. This was a complete accident. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but man, am I pissed and a little shaken up that I almost hit someone, even if she wasn’t watching where she was going, and stepped out in front of me.

I completely ignore the friend shouting at me. I want to make sure that this woman is okay, even though I am the one being screamed at.

I can’t believe that I am looking at her cleavage while she is slumped over on the floor in visible pain. Sort your shit out, Sawyer.

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