"I have to wear the same shirt twice a week."
C H A P T E R T W E L V E
CONNOR
Guilt. After seeing her vulnerable, I could not help but feel my heart ache for her. I have been rude to her the past couple of days and never thought once that she might have problems of her own. The way she cried out in pain made me feel even worse. I should not have treated her the way I did and I didn't know what to do.
I parked my car outside Aaron's house.
"The guys are coming over, you can come after you drop them off." I nod and Aaron gets out of the car but Kylie stops him.
"Aaron by any chance do you have a hose?" Kylie asked. Aaron looked curiously and nodded his head unsurely.
"Can I borrow it?" She asked and got out of the car.
"I do-"
"Thank you!" She interrupted him. Before he could say anything, she went to the other side of the car. She grabbed Audrey and pulled her up, but she fell to the ground. I jumped out of the car to see if Audrey was hurt or not.
"Kylie, are you mad?" I questioned and she rolled her eyes.
"Here, you hold her." She practically threw Audrey at me and I quickly grabbed her as her head laid against my chest.
"Pick her up and take her to Aaron's lawn," Kylie instructed me. Why is she telling me what to do?
"Why should I listen to you? Here, you take her." I pushed her towards Kylie and she grabbed Audrey almost making her fall.
"What are you doing, Connor? I'm not that strong, which is why I told you to pick her up, hence which is why you will pick her up." She pushed Audrey back to me and I quickly secured my arms around her waist holding her up.
"Fine," I said gruffly and picked her up. She curled up closer to me as she slept peacefully. A small smile played along my lips. I have to admit she looked quite adorable. I walked towards the lawn and looked around where did she go?
"Kylie, I-" Kylie sprayed water on us making Audrey jolt up in surprise. I pulled Audrey close to me so that she would not fall. She held onto me tightly and opened her eyes as the water splashed onto us.
"Really? Why did you spray me?" I asked angrily as she continued to spray water on me.
"How else could I spray Audrey, you dimwit," Kylie said while laughing. Why didn't she as- Aaron was standing next to Kylie taking a fucking video that's why she did not ask him.
"What? Is someone scared of getting a little wet?" Kylie asked. Just then Audrey shook around in my arms and her eyes widened. I held her as we both got sprayed, but she jolted out of my arms scaring me. I guess she is sober now.
"Kylie, if I were you I would run," Audrey said with anger. I was taken aback by her tone, but Kylie was not.
"Aw, what are you gonna do? Break my pencil? Girl, try me, I am not scared." Kylie said while laughing. She took one step forward and Kylie's smile disappeared.
"Audrey, why don't we talk about this?" She asked but Audrey did not waste any time and launched towards Kylie. I chuckled as she playfully fought with Kylie. Audrey must have said or done something but Kylie dropped the hose.
"Hey, you tricked me." Kylie frowned, making Audrey laugh. This is the first time I heard her laugh. It was sweet and angelic. I got out of their way and walked towards Aaron.
"Hey Aaron, can I borrow a towel?" I asked and he nodded.
"Before I give you one, I'm going to turn off the water before they spray the whole entire neighborhood." Aaron said. He turned off the water and went inside to get the towel. Audrey was currently sitting on Kylie I guess tackling her in a way. I took my shirt off and attempted to dry myself but failed to do so. I look back to see them hugging. What? Weren't they just-- I'm not even going to ask. Girls. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't think she is faking. I only agreed with you back there because I knew that if I continued Ryder would have gotten upset. I know the difference between right and wrong. What you are all doing to her is wrong. I will continue with my own judgment but the question is will you?" Aaron asked. Even if I were to make a judgment of my own but what about the video Sarah showed me? Should I not consider that?
I wanted to ask him about it but Audrey and Kylie made their way towards us smiling, but when Audrey looked at me her smile went away. She stood up straight, slightly uncomfortable, what just happened?
"Thanks for the hose, man." Kylie laughed and Aaron and said"anytime".
"Just wait until we get home." Audrey glared at Kylie playfully. Audrey's phone rang and she looked a bit uneasy as she looked at her phone.
"Sorry, excuse me." With that, she left.
"Hey, don't mention the incident that happened at the diner. She is already stressed out and reminding her will only make it worse," Kylie said and we both nodded.
"Anyway, what are you going to do for her birthday then?" Aaron asked. Kylie seemed uneasy by this question but answered it.
"She doesn't like celebrating her birthday," Kylie said.
"How come?" Aaron asked.
"She won't tell me the real reason, but she tells everyone that it is a waste of time." Kylie sighed.
She doesn't celebrate? When was the last time she celebrated and why would she hate birthdays? Did something happen? The more I found out about Audrey I couldn't help but wonder. She is like a mystery unsolved and I wanted to solve it even though I shouldn't. The way Sarah has described her and the way she acts they are different.
"We need to go," Audrey said in a serious tone. She looked at me, but then quickly looked away. Is she avoiding me? If so, isn't that a good thing? But why do I feel so uneasy about her ignoring me? It bothered me as she looked away from me.
She held onto her arms tightly as she clenched her teeth.
"Here, you can use my towel." She looked down at my hand and then at me. I practically shoved the towel in her hands making the decision for her and she said a quick thank you. Her cheeks reddened. Why is she blushing? Is something wrong with me? I looked down at myself realizing that I wasn't wearing a shirt. I smiled internally at her cute reaction.
"Hey, can I borrow a shirt?" Aaron's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"Um, all my clothes are getting washed at the moment." I knew the moment he said that he was lying because he never does his laundry.
"Since when did start doing your laundry?" I asked.
"Since Nev-November. I mean it has been a couple of months now. Yep, that's it." He diverted his attention elsewhere. I have got to admit, although he almost exposed himself it was smooth.
"Oh I see, so you mix your dark and light clothes together?" I questioned catching him off guard.
"Hold up, you wash all your clothes at the same time?" Audrey asked, amused.
"Yeah because-" Kylie cut Aaron off and stood beside him.
"Why are you questioning him? I do the same thing," Kylie said, defending Aaron. He smiled at Kylie and she nodded shyly. Wow there, what am I missing? An idea popped up in my head, well, this is going to be fun.
"Mixing both loads together? It doesn't even make any sense, Kylie," Audrey said, trying to reason with them.
"By the way Aaron; I was at your house yesterday and your mom said that she was doing your laundry." Caught you. I completely forgot about his mother coming into his room.
"But- fine, I don't want you to borrow any of my things because you never return them." Aaron sighed.
"What are you talking about? I do return your stuff," I said unsure as to what he was talking about.
"Majority of my closet that used to be full is missing. I literally have to wear the same shirt twice a week. I don't want to buy more because I'm scared that it will end up in your closet," Aaron said and Kylie slapped his arm lightly.
"Same here. Audrey borrows a lot of things from me as well. Like, the outfit she is currently wearing is mine," Kylie said.
"I'm borrowing them," Audrey said. Kylie chuckled and gave her a look.
"It's been five months."
"You two are the same. You both borrow things and never give them back. Thieves I say," Kylie said and Aaron agreed.
"It's not as bad as the way you eat. Do not even get me started about how you are a messy eater." Audrey shuddered as if she recalled a horrible memory.
"Same with Aaron, he eats as if he is a bear that has been hibernating for years. He eats whatever he wants and doesn't care where the food goes," Audrey and I both laughed. Aaron and Kylie were in shock as they looked at us. Audrey and I high-fived and once we had settled down they both smirked at us. Audrey and I looked at each other, confused as to why they were smirking. She took a step forward towards Kylie but tripped on air and pushed me towards her.
Audrey's eyes widened, she took a step back, and almost fell so I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me. Her breathing now heavy, making me smile.
"You're so clumsy," I whispered so that she could only hear. Her eyes were mesmerizing and I couldn't help but stare at them.
"My poor eyes. I can't take this anymore," Aaron said dramatically and covered his eyes.
"I know right, just because you guys are getting married. It does not mean you can do PDA in front of children. We both are scared now," Kylie said dramatically, both covering their eyes.
"What are you talking about?" They both peeked through their hands, looked at each other, and then pointed at our bodies. My right-hand held her arm and my left hand wrapped around her waist. We both were standing awfully close to one another. She took a couple of steps back acting as if nothing happened.
"Well, if you look at the time. My sister is calling and the last time we talked to one another was a couple of months ago. Bye." He waved us off and went inside his house.
"What sister?" I asked. He doesn't have a sister. If he didn't want me to borrow a shirt he should have told me right from the start.
"Okay, let's go," I said and Kylie grabbed Audrey's arm stopping her from going.
"Can you get my purse?" Kylie asked. Within seconds Kylie ran towards the van.
"Wait, what purse?" Audrey asked and turned around to see her sitting in the back. She locked the doors. I opened the truck and grabbed my hoodie.
"Oh just wait Kylie j-" she stopped once she got to the car.
"As if you'd do anything you can't even hurt a fly," Kylie said. Audrey shook her head now looking uncomfortable. Her mood changed? Two minutes ago she was fine and now she wasn't. Is it because of me? I sat down inside and motioned her to take the hoodie. Again, she just stared at me. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I was about to throw it in the back seat, but she grabbed it and thanked me.
I smiled unintentionally, making her blush. I felt giddy for no reason at all; I shook my head getting rid of her from my mind.
I couldn't help but wonder about what Aaron said. If it's all a misunderstanding then what should I do? How do I tell Sarah? Once we reached Audrey's house everyone was there. Did she know about this? I looked at Audrey and she looked surprised as well. We made our way inside my family along with Sarah's were at Audrey's. And might I add she did not look happy at all.
"Why are you two wet?" A teasing smile played along my mother's lips. Audrey's face reddened and she looked away.
"It's been two days and you two are already attached to one another?" Everyone laughed but we didn't. I felt uncomfortable and took a step away from her.
"Okay, both of you have to get ready because we are leaving in an hour," my mom said.
"Where are we going?" Audrey asked.
"We are going to celebrate your birthday and announce your engagement! I invited people late minute so they should also be on their way" Lauren says excitedly. I wanted to say something about that how we should postpone the engagement to a later time but I knew better. Audrey's eyebrows furrowed and clenched her hands.
"N-No we can't announce it just yet," Audrey stutters out.
"How come?" Lauren asked confused.
"It seems a bit too early don't you think?" Audrey stares into Lauren's eyes pleading with her to agree and my mother nods.
"I don't think that's-" Lauren cut her mother off and told her that it was okay.
"She is the birthday girl! What she says goes, but as of right now both of you get ready so that we can go," Lauren said.
"Grandpa, can we talk?" Audrey asked and he nodded. As she walked past me at me she whispered, "I'm going to talk to him, don't worry." She gave a small smile and went into a room with her grandpa. I looked at Sarah to find her glaring at her. I wanted to comfort her, but knowing my family, they won't want me to spend any time with Sarah.
Sarah and I need to talk.
Q/A: Who likes Connor's POV?