The Graduate (GirlxGirl) (Student/Teacher)

(5) Broken Memories

Aubree

It took Aubree a long while to calm down after her encounter with Jessica. It took even longer still to get home to her house and mark her papers.

But when she was finally home, in that lonely house, she just couldn't find the will to begin working. She ended up in the wine cooler, pulling out a bottle of rose wine and a single glass, and sitting in the living room with the electric fire being the only spark of light in the room.

It was calming, Aubree thought, though her muscles just wouldn't relax, and her hand seemed to be permanently affixed to her hair. Of course Peyton and Jessica became friends again. Of course they had. Jessica was manipulative, and Peyton was vulnerable, and the two together equalled instant success for Jessica.

Jessica got into a good university, had Peyton and her friends, and didn't ever have to worry about who she loved. Meanwhile, Aubree lived with her parents, could barely talk to the love of her life, and the only friend she had was Grace. And Grace was awfully busy with her new fella.

Oh sure - Grace was still there for Aubree as she always had been, with jokes and laughs and alcohol and Aubree loved her entirely too much. She was so happy that Grace found someone despite it making her feel like a bitter fool. Grace's new man, Tom, was hard working and not a pervert. So, really, he was quite the catch for Grace. That isn't to say that Grace has low standards or that Aubree thinks low of her, but rather that Grace always attracted the wrong sort of men. And that was not her fault.

Still, she wished that for once she could just let herself run loose. Working at a university was entirely different to a high school - the work load was, for the moment, a little better, but she knew that it would end up being a different type of hell than she had ever experienced. What's more, trying to achieve a PhD on top of this wasn't the easiest thing to do. She was incredibly thankful for her father getting her this job but the dissertation on top of all her university lectures and marking left little time to sit on ceremony.

It would get easier. Eventually.

Actually, it would only get easier a little more than two years from now when her time as a doctoral student ended, and Aubree was allowed more freedom than she had been used to the past year.

And Peyton would still have another year of university.

Shit, Aubree thought, taking a large, long sip of wine. She threw her pen onto the stack of papers in front of her and, instead, let her mind turn to her heartbreak.

Seeing Peyton again, after all this time...

It felt like a dream. Like some hideous dream, equally terrifying as it is encapsulating. Aubree wanted to sleep forever, to see how it plays out, to let her body be led by the deepest subconscious thoughts of her mind -

But in reality, it was Aubree that must deal with seeing Peyton, not some alternate version of her where she can take Peyton into her arms and hold her tight. Aubree wondered - would she feel the same, in her arms? As strong and soft, as warm and sweet smelling as cookies out of the oven?

She'd probably smell of smoke.

She'd picked up that dastardly habit from Jess, no doubt. The thought of Peyton smoking and enjoying it made Aubree want to smoke herself. Instead, she settles for taking another large gulp of her wine before picking up the phone and dialling the only person she really could anymore, excluding her parents.

They answered on the fourth ring.

"If you'd have rang five minutes earlier you'd have caught me mid-sex, so congrats for avoiding that!"