Page 53 of Bad Wolf

Coralie: The girl needs some movie quotes boys. Let’s go…

Nerd: How about- just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever

Me: Aww that’s nice. Who was that?

Nerd: Professor X

Casey: How about… We can’t retract the decisions we’ve made. We can only affect the decisions we’re going to make from here.

Troy: Nice. Law Abiding Citizen?

Casey: Yep

Scott: Rocky

Casey: That isn’t a quote

Scott: Every part of a Rocky movie is inspirational

Me: I don’t know if this is working.

Coralie: No come on, you got this. I bet Knox will be there any minute now

Me: He’s been here a half hour already

Coralie: Did you speak to him?

Me: He can’t even look at me.

It’s been a month.

Nearly five weeks of meaccidentally on purposebumping into Knox.

Games, nights out, you name it, I’ve tried it. And I still haven’t spoken to Troy. Even though I’m despairing at the thought of another night going by where I don’t get to look him in the eye and tell him what happened, I get it. If the tables were turned, would I be so willing to listen?

I hope to God I would.

I place my warm beer down on the tabletop, reach for my bag, and then scramble around for the only thing that’s going to slow my racing mind. The only thing that’s going to get me to calm down.

I rush outside with my stress reliever in hand and take in a deep breath. I unscrew the top off the little plastic bottle, hold the wand up to my pursed lips, and blow.

The bubbles form in a flurry and then float further apart. They rise and stay intact, nothing in their way to pop them. Their iridescent, perfectly formed spheres sparkle as they disappear into the night sky until I can no longer track them, and I go in for a second blow.

I do it a few more times in quick succession, spinning until I’m surrounded by pretty bubbles. The laugh of the friendly bouncer seems far away now, and the bar ceases to exist.

Why can’t he just yell and scream, instead of taking it out on everyone else other than me?

Anything would be better, including staying away.

At least then I could play this scenario out in my mind however I want. This though? I have nothing to work with.

Nothing to push against.

As if we didn’t matter to each other at all. As if we didn’t spend three years of our lives together. I can’t take the indifference.

I’m brought out of my escape with the screech and bang of an old door. My eyes snap to the entrance of Full Moon.

He stands in front of me but he’s not alone. A tall, blonde slinks further into him when he freezes on the spot. It might be my imagination, seeing things I want to see, but I swear some of his stony veneer cracks.

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