Coffees with Luke & Audrey

XXV

“I’ve recently moved here myself, actually,” he said.

“That’s – that’s not the point!” she spluttered, inept to express herself, and she felt what was once hollow fill with anger. “I’m not doing anything for you.”

She had wondered what she would do if she ever ran into him again and had pictured it to be a lot smoother than this. However, the abrupt flow from nothingness to overwhelming emotion was not something she was prepared for, or knew how to handle, for that matter, and with no other idea what to do, the only thing that came to mind and would be best for both parties was if she left.

That was what she started to do at any rate, until he called her back. She stopped, biting her lip, did not look back at him because her eyes were becoming misty and she did not want him to know he could rattle her so.

“A troubled patient of mine had your book,” he said, near desperately. She inclined her head to the side to listen. “I’d never seen him smile until after he’d read it. He came in, all high spirits, saying he understood something he hadn’t before. He said, tragic things happen to everyone at some point, that we’re all a little sad and we’re all just trying to live a life worth being proud of – all looking for the same things in the end. Acceptance. Love. And while we can’t stop the bad stuff from happening, we can keep moving forward. We can pick ourselves up. I’ve never seen anything affect a person like your book did.”

He had moved closer as he spoke, and she could feel him directly behind her now. When she turned around, she was already smiling before she could remind herself she was mad. “Really?”

“Yes.”

She looked at him some more, drinking in his appearance. The person she had once known what felt like a lifetime away so grown up.

“I’ll think about it,” she said at last.

She tried to leave. He called her back again. She half turned.

“I still remember the way you like your coffee,” he told her gently.

She didn’t drink her coffees the way she had them with Luke anymore. It felt wrong having one without him there. His confession made her swallow; made her heart ache with nostalgia. “I still remember yours,” she admitted, more to herself. 

“And I remember your favourite colour’s blue and that your dad loves sport and your brother’s name is Will.” His words tumbled out like he’d been meaning to say them for a very long time. “And I remember you can’t stay silent when you’re supposed to without laughing and I know you like Batman and you’re better at crosswords than me and you were named after Audrey Hepburn and you miss being a kid and the book you were reading when we first met was Wuthering Heights and I love you and I’m sorry for waiting so long to tell you that.”

She thought he looked nervous, or even afraid, which was not characteristic for Luke at all. He was meant to be the cocky little twit she’d met all that time ago, not the cautious person in the suit before her.

She felt her chest swelling with unbearable emotion, so strong it pushed forth tears. Ferociously, she swiped at them, but they kept coming and coming and it was a losing battle but she kept trying because she had no freaking idea what else to do or say because the infamous words were something she had never said before to anyone and the only boy to ever say ‘I love you’ to her was some kid who had been trying to mooch a couple bucks off her for chocolate milk.

With all the pride she could muster, she sucked in a long breath to get hold of herself and said shakily, “I was never mad because you left. I was mad because you wouldn’t let me help you. That’s what friends are supposed to do.”

“I thought we were more than friends.”

“If we were, we’re not anymore. We’re different people now.”

He went back to his table and pulled out a chair. “Then lets start over,” was his solution. She made eye contact with him. Could feel the seconds drift by. Then she made a decision. He smiled when she sat down; rewarding her with two dimples, and held out a hand after he had settled himself across from her.

“I’m Luke.”

She shook his hand, her many bracelets jingling as if in agreement. “I’m Audrey.”

“Let me guess, you were named after Audrey Hepburn?” She smiled while he waved over a waitress. “What would you like? Same old same old?”

“Well,” she interjected just as his mouth opened to order, “I think I’ll have tea. Peppermint .”

“Tea,” he said slowly, mulling this over with a slight nod of his head. He glanced back at the waitress. “I’ll have tea too, thanks.”

And by the end of the evening she could still recite the way the boy in the coffee shop liked his tea. Dark. Half a cup of milk. One and a half sugars. And the next day when they met at the same table and she asked what he would like, he ordered tea again but with a kiss on the side. And she began to believe that maybe her father was right; that though some people were meant to leave your life, maybe – just maybe – there were also ones meant to stay too.

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The end. Or beginning. Depends how you look at it haha. A tremendous thank you to everyone who read, commented and voted! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it :)