Reunited (appledash)

c4. Right, where shall we start...

"Right, where shall we start. . ." AJ says, looking directly at me as I lean against the wall beside the door.

"What?" She caught me off guard a little. I knew we had a lot to talk about, but I guess I never thought we would, not like this anyway. I honestly half thought she'd forgotten about me. I guess not. . .

"Well we're trapped in here, might as well make use of the time don't ya think?" She leaned back on the sink, crossing her arms, us both knowing that what she said was true—we'd be here for a while. A small silence ensued.

"Ok. . .well, I'm really sorry about what happened at the party and everything. I'd like to think you'd know that by now." I stammered out an answer to her clear indication that she wanted to talk about what I did to her barn and truck at the party a few years ago. I'm not surprised she wanted to bring that back up; I mean, we never really spoke about it properly. In my defence, I did try to talk to her; I offered to pay for repairs, and I tried to reach out to her for months after it happened, but I think she just wanted nothing to do with me anymore from then on. . .until now, I guess.

"I do know that, Rainbow. I ain't' talking 'bout the party."

"Ah. . .I see. . ."

This surprised me. The AJ I know isn't one for deep conversation, preferring to just forgive and forget, for convenience's sake. Whenever we used to get into any deeper conversations, she would always try to divert the topic. I mean, when we used to hook up (which we did now and again. . .maybe a bit more than that actually. . .) pillow talk was completely out of the question, and in all my years of knowing her, she has never shed a single tear. I admired her in that way; she was cool, calm, and collected, much like I tried to be, but it just came naturally to her. So this was certainly different for her, but I took the opportunity she was suggesting.

"Actually, I do have a question. Why did you never want to get together? Like, properly?"

AJ's eyes widened. I don't think she was expecting me to jump so soon to what we both knew was a contentious topic. Maybe what I was thinking wasn't what she was suggesting.

"Rainbow, you know why. I had responsibilities at home, with Granny Smith and all. I wanted to prioritise my family; it had nothing to do with how I felt about you." She answered me anyway, even if I was wrong.

I went quiet for a second, taking in what she'd said.

"How is Granny?"

"She's getting better; she's an Apple, we've got strong genes." AJ smiled, appreciating my concern. I smiled back.

"I'm glad she's okay."

"Can I ask you something now?"

I nodded in response, somewhat anxiously.

WARNING: MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE (KINDA)

"Do you still. . .drink?" AJ said, her eyes forcing a lower gaze.

'Here we go again. . .' I thought to myself. AJ was the only one who really tried to help me regarding my drinking, and, as if nothing had changed at all, she was still concerned for me. This made me adopt a slight smile from the corner of my mouth.

"You're looking out for me. You do still care." I let my thoughts slip out. AJ blushed slightly; she thought I didn't notice.

"I. . .t-that's not an answer, Dash," says a clearly flustered AJ, which only made me smile more. "Stop that." She says, smiling slightly now too, taking my smile away from me as I realised that I'd now have to answer her question of concern.

"I'm getting better. Slowly. . .slowly I'm getting better. . ." AJ raised an eyebrow. I felt myself crumble, revealing the truth. "Who am I kidding, I'm fucked." I said in all honesty as I felt my guard crash down completely, sinking my shoulders further into the wall as my head fell back against it, my mouth now frowning. "I've been drinking more than I have in a while recently. Maybe I'm just stressed? I don't know. . ." Even though my eyes were looking up at the ceiling, I felt AJ's staring right at me. "You're ashamed of me, aren't you? You think I'm pathetic. That's why you got mad at me at the party when I broke my sobriety; that's why you tried to get me help."