Five days felt like five weeks. I grew exhausted from staring at the pages of my essay, continuously rearranging the same words to no end. I spent hours reading it over and over again to be sure that I hadn't made any mistakes, yet I ended up scrunching up and deleting everything on my word documents only to begin the whole process again. Honestly, the only way I managed to get it all done was through seven cups of straight black coffee.
The apartment remained lonesome after Will left. My entire room, apart from the lingering smell of caffeine on my clothes, exuded far too gruesome for a girl who usually made it a habit of keeping everything clean and tidy. So, when Wednesday came around and my job at the library would begin, I cleaned the entire place and showered.
With a towel around my hair, I opened a few windows and glanced at the background picture of my phone, sighing deeply. There were no missed calls, no text messages. Nothing. It muddled me that I hadn't heard or seen Aiden since he drove away either, or that he didn't make an effort to contact me. I fought myself, the urge to ask Myra or Lars about him, to go and see him myself, but I stayed put and locked myself in my room, knowing there were far more important things like my future that I needed to be thinking about, rather than a boy who was just as confused and unsure about his feelings as I was.
I packed my things into the backpack I bought last week, the day after Will stayed over. It was his idea, in fact. He urged me to buy a new one, informing me that he couldn't stand the sight of me struggling with a broken bag strap and my books falling out every time I leaned over.
I locked the door behind me and held onto the railing as I sped down the stairs towards the front doors. The cold air nipped at hands and face, turning them ice-cold by the time I gripped the steering wheel of my car.
When the soft rumbles came from the engine, I headed out to start my day at the college with a jitter in my fingers. I was anxious to start the library job. It made my heart pound and my guts wrench. It both terrified me and excited me to think that I would be making my own money, and that the worry of rent not being paid, would be gone. Both my legs bounced to the idea as I carried through my class schedule of the day.
My last lesson of the day had coincidentally been arranged closer to the parking lot than any of the others, which meant that all I could think of during my writings and cultures class was meeting Elijah.
I checked the clock above the professor every chance I could get and by the end, everyone seemed to be doing the same, including the professor himself.
"Have a good night everyone. Make sure you have completed all the assignments," He said, packing his things into his bag like the rest of us.
I passed through the double doors and into the hall, walking down the footpath that led to the car park. The moment I got there, I took my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. While I waited for the screen to light up again, I lifted my head and took a few seconds to enjoy the afternoon glow on my face, and the little warmth came with it.
I sat down on the bench that overlooked the parking lot and observed as each student stepped into their car and would eventually drive off.
I found it comical how the rare few vehicles had awkward stickers, or words placed on them made from the dirt it collected over time. Some caused me to shake my head and others plainly made me chuckle at how creative people were.
But then my phone vibrated in my hand and my gaze broke from the amusement and connected with Elijah's name.
"Hey! I just wanted to let you know I'm on my way to you now. My classes finished a while ago and I went to get a bite so I'll come and get you, is that alright?"
"Yeah, absolutely! I'll be waiting at the bench right near all the cars."
"Great, I'll see you soon," He said and ended the call.
I kept my phone on my lap and skimmed my eyes over the parking lot further. That was when they landed on Aiden, standing with all his friends who laughed and made jokes around his car. I recognise everyone there, finding myself relieved when I didn't find that blonde girl, Aubrey. Myra was there too, leaning on Lars as he put his arm over her shoulder.
However, when I focused on Aiden, I was surprised that he wasn't looking at his friends nor laughing with them. On the contrary, he couldn't have appeared more bored to be there. He kicked rocks with his shoes, checked his phone multiple times, and threw his keys in the air so they would land on the palm of his hand every time.
It was Myra who spotted me first. She waved at me, informing Lars too, who did the same.
In mid-throw, Aiden followed Myra's line of sight and quickly spotted me. His keys landed flatly on the ground next to the tire of his car.
"Hi." He mouthed with a smile and then leaned over to pick them up.
"Hi." I mouthed back.
Within minutes, he excused himself from his friends and was walking over to me. He was taking large steps, not caring that he got in the way of other people - and while they cursed him for doing so, he ignored them and continued to make a beeline for me.
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Elijah brushed his hand on my back to get my attention, but it got Aiden's instead, causing him to come to a halt. His smile faded, replaced by a scowl while he grew stiff.
"Uh- yeah..." I stammered, looking between the two of them.
"Sorry, I'm a bit late. I hope you weren't waiting too long." He flashed me a smile, one I took very little notice of.
"No... not at all."
"Emma, can I talk to you?" Aiden asked blandly.
I glanced at Elijah. "I-I can't right now."
Aiden narrowed his brows on the two of us, then at the car keys Elijah was holding.
"Where are you two going?"
Elijah stepped forward, their height difference larger now that they were closer – Aiden being the taller one.
"I'm giving her a ride."
He remained composed.
I felt the need to explain.
"Elijah helped me get this job at the public library and he offered to take me there on my first day."
Aiden's expression was unreadable as his gaze slid back and forth, and then it rested on me with a weak frown.
"I can take you if you want,"
Elijah made a scoffing sound beside me.
"Thank you for offering, Aiden, I appreciate it but we already made plans to go together."
"Look at you, Blackwood." Elijah smacked his lips together, beyond amused. "Who knew you'd ever be so desperate for a girl to go as far as offering her a ride! You've really outdone yourself."
Aiden spoke in such a thin, vile tone that I grew cold.
"You have eyes, good for you. What do you want, a fucking sticker?" He scoffed and looked him up and down.
The more I observed, the more I noticed how dead Aiden's eyes had turned. Elijah, in spite of this, purposefully tried to wind him up further, and I winced every time he spoke.
I fully expected Aiden to hit him any moment, or perhaps to become enraged... but he didn't. The opposite happened, actually. He was poised and still.
This made Elijah angry.
"This is why no one fucking likes you, Aiden. You're a piece of shit."
"And you're a waste of space," Aiden added with a forced smile.
Elijah was about to say something else but I quickly interrupted, sick of their twisted back and forth.
"I think we should be going now. I wouldn't like to be late on my first day. Thank you again for the offer, Aiden. Have a good day."
Aiden looked Elijah up and down, repulsed while he nodded. "Fine. If you need anything just call me."
Before we knew it, he had walked back to his group of friends and I was left staring angrily at Elijah.
"That was uncalled for. You didn't need to be so mean."
He cringed at my words and guided us to his car. We both climbed in and clicked ourselves into the seats. In seconds, we were down the road.
"I know, I'm sorry, but it's not like he doesn't deserve it."
"People deserve certain things all the time, but that doesn't mean we lower ourselves to their standards."
"Tell him that," He rolled his eyes and went on, "Did you know he's such a tight-ass that we don't make it a habit to joke around while he's in the room?" Elijah saw the confusion on my face and explained, "Here's an example. One time, the guys and I were throwing around a football while Aiden was reading on the couch. One of us threw it and hit him by accident. You want to know what he did?"
I chewed on the insides of my cheek and nodded.
"Instead of just throwing us back the ball like a normal human being, he got up, walked over to the kitchen, took out a large knife from one of the drawers, and punctured multiple holes in the damn thing. Then he threw it back at me with the smuggest look on his face and told me to shove it up my ass."
I covered my mouth as a few chuckles slipped out, and the harder I tried covering them up, the harder I laughed without meaning to.
"That sounds exactly like something he would do," I said.
"Yeah, we never threw a ball around him again." He smirked. "Good luck to whoever unlucky girl ends up falling in love with that bastard."
My giggles withered into a thick silence.