The Middle - Volume Three ✔️

Chapter 57 (Patrick)

"Whatever!" I yell back at her, tugging a hand through my wet hair. This conversation is starting to stress me out. I wanna end it now. "Next time you're with him though, try not to think about me too much!"

"Oh, like you probably think about me when you're with Amanda!" She's furious. I am too. This is getting us no where.

I sigh in frustration and run both my hands through my hair, shaking some of the water out.

"This isn't happening again, okay? I mean it!" I tell her. I'm not being used like this, not by her.

"Fine by me!" She shouts back, throwing her hands up. "But you can't deny that we have chemistry, not any more, not after that!" She points back in the direction of the boat house. "So whenever you do decide to come back to The Middle, don't touch me! Don't even look at me the wrong way! Because it's... It's... It's like -"

I know exactly what she's talking about. So I finish the sentence for her: "It's like it's meant to be?"

Her features immediately soften and she looks sad now, rather than angry. The rain is hammering down around us, and we're just staring at each other. I wait to see if she'll say anything else.

"I'm gonna give you what you want now, okay?" She says, her voice much softer now.

"And what is it that you think I want from you?" I want everything from her. She knows that. But I know that's not what she's thinking.

"Space, time, distance." She shakes her head then pulls her wet hair back from her face. "Bye, P."

She turns around and continues walking quickly along the path. That's the first time she's called me 'P' in a while. I'm thrown. I just stand here staring after her for a while. Wondering how the hell things got so fucked up between me and one of my best friends.

***

"Patrick! Get in!"

The rain is still beating down as I speedwalk along the street, heading for my apartment. A car has pulled up alongside the curb next to me and rolled down the window. I recognise the driver of the car as Lindsay Irvine. She's the same age as me, from North Bridge. We went all through grade school together. She's nice, and she's offering me a ride. I don't exactly have far to go, though. And I am in no mood to make pleasant small talk with an old school friend.

"I'm fine, thanks!" I yell through her window.

She leans over and opens the passenger door before saying, "Just get in."

Okay, so this rain is getting a little old, and she has leather seats in her car so I won't ruin the interior with my wet clothes. Fuck it, I'll take the ride.

"What on earth are you doing out walking in this rain with just a t-shirt on?" She asks me as I duck into the passenger seat and slam the door closed behind me.

I shake some of the water out of my hair with both hands, "It wasn't raining earlier, or I would have drove."

She laughs and cranks the heat up in her car, before signalling and pulling back out on to the road.

"Thanks, my clothes are fucking soaked. I'll run in and get a towel for your seat when you drop me off." I offer.

"Don't be stupid, it's fine. The leather dries off in seconds." She says, "So, how are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Um, been better." I gesture at myself, and she gives me a sideways look before laughing at me. "How are you? You're at Cornell, right? What are you doing here?"

"I'm good, I am at Cornell, and I'm here because my great aunt is dying." She says with a smile.

"Shit, sorry, that sucks." I say, feeling like an asshole for questioning why she's in town. It's none of my business.