Ruby's

Chapter 16

Seeing Noel seemingly fine without me had made me realize that I needed to let go and move on. He clearly had. A few days later, I met someone that would help me do just that. I was sitting in the bookstore reading a book when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and a man was standing next to me.

"I'm sorry, I just think you are so beautiful and I had to come over here to ask you out."

I could not believe this was happening. I just stared at him.

"I'm Scott." he smiled.

"Claire." I smiled back.

He sat in the chair next to mine.

"I dont usually pick up women in bookstores."

I laughed. He was cute. He had beautiful brown eyes and black hair and beautiful tan skin. We talked for 10 minutes or so then I gave him my number and he left. I smiled to myself and tried to continue reading, but couldn't concentrate anymore. I left the bookstore and went home. Scott called me that night and we made plans to go out the following Saturday. We went out to dinner and it was really fun. He was really nice and easy to talk to. We started dating and spending a lot of time together. My parents thought he was great and when I was with him, I felt normal again. He took my mind off of Noel. As soon as I was alone though, Noel crept back into my mind. I wondered what he was doing. If he was ok. If he had met anyone else. If he thought about me. I told myself that I would stop thinking about him in time and tried to focus on work and Scott. 

A few weeks later, Scott asked me to move in with him. It was a little fast, but I did enjoy his company and I told myself it would help me forget Noel, so I said yes. That weekend he came over to my parent's house to help me pack up some things. He went to get something from his car and I picked up some magazines and saw the stack of The Smiths records Noel had given me. I set the magazines down and picked up one of the records. I looked at the autographs on it. My heart ached as I remembered the day he had given them to me. I heard Scott come into the room. I looked over at him.

"Do you have a record player?"

"Yeah, why."

"Then I'll bring my records."

I set them in a box and moved on to packing something else. 

We got all of my stuff moved into his apartment and that night he cooked us dinner. We sat at the kitchen table and ate then he turned on some music and asked me to dance. We swayed slowly to the music in the living room. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I smiled as he squeezed me tight in a hug. He made me feel so safe. The song ended and we went to bed. We had sex then I laid in his arms. I felt genuinely happy for the first time in awhile. 

A couple weeks later, I put on one of the records Noel had given me while I did the dishes. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. Scott occasionally worked Saturday mornings and would be home soon. I finished the dishes and sat on the couch. I stared out the window at the rain coming down, listening to the music.

"See, the luck I've had

Can make a good man

Turn bad."

That line had always reminded me of Noel since I met him and learned about his abusive father. I started thinking about him. The song ended and I put on "I Know It's Over" I sat back on the couch thinking about the night me and Noel had danced in the back room at Ruby's. It felt so long ago, but really wasn't. I heard the door open and looked over. Scott walked inside and smiled at me.

"Hi." I smiled back.

He set his keys down then frowned.

"What is this depressing shit?"

"You don't like The Smiths?"

"Not if this is them."

"It's pretty much all I listened to back when I was in college."

Scott walked over to the record player and turned it off then sat on the couch next to me. He gave me a quick kiss then turned on the tv. We watched tv and chatted.

"I can't believe tomorrow is June 1st." Scott said.

I immediately thought of Noel. Was he still coming back?

"Claire?"

I looked at Scott and he laughed.

"Am I boring you?"

"No, no, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing." I smiled.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know. How about we stay in and order pizza?"

"Ok." He smiled at me. 

A few days later, I was laying in bed and my mind wandered to Noel. I decided to drive by his house the next day just to see if he was back. The next morning, I drove over to his house. I was just going to drive by, but found myself parking in front of it. I sat in my car and looked at the house. I didn't see any signs that he had come back. I got out of my car and walked up to the front door. Without even thinking, I rang the doorbell. I was relieved yet slightly disappointed when no one answered. I looked into the window in the front of the house and didn't see anything that said he was back. It looked dark and untouched. I wanted to go inside. I still had a key, but I had to go to work. I didn't want to be late. I walked back to my car and got in. I decided to stop by again after work and drove off. 

*Song Inspirations