The entire day was spent showing Rachel around the city. Aaron had to take a day off because Rachel had forced him to show her around the city. She not only caused trouble, but she also put Aaron in many embarrassing situations. From the bad language in public places to eating without manners. She even shattered a store's glass window. After all of this, she was unapologetic, which irritated Aaron.
They spent the evening at the beach. Rachel was yelling to see the sunset. Aaron sat far away from her because he was tired and needed some alone time. Rachel made him take pictures of her everywhere they went. Aaron was looking at the sunset, remembering the first time he was there with Ava.
The sun was setting in the western sky, turning the surroundings a beautiful deep orange. Aaron captured some images of the sunset.
"Can you take a picture of me with the sunset?" Rachel asked, standing in front of him.
"However, I have taken many of your photographs."
"Not with the sunset!" She exclaimed.
Aaron sighed deeply and took a photograph of Rachel.
"Let's head home. "I'm exhausted," Aaron admitted.
"So early? But we've only just begun to visit the places..." nagged Rachel.
"Enough of this, Rachel!" Aaron shouted at her.. Rachel was taken aback by his outburst but remained calm. "That's it, you're coming with me now!" He dragged her away, leaving the beach.
…..
"But where are we going?" Ava asked. Nathan dragged Ava away after their work hour had ended.
"Do you have any patience, no? We're going somewhere special." Nathan tapped her on the shoulder lightly. But Ava was irritated.
"I'm ready to go home," Ava told Nathan firmly, kicking the ground slightly.
"Ava, because you were in a bad mood, I decided to take you to our favorite restaurant for dinner." Nathan sighed, "I only wanted to make you happy."
"Well, I appreciate your assistance..." I'm not in a mood right now," Ava wiped her face in frustration.
Nathan lowered his head in disappointment before turning to face Ava and saying, "It's okay, Ava. allow me to at least accompany you home?" He kindly enquired.
"I'm sorry, Nathan. I didn't want to ruin your day." Ava's eyes were filled with guilt as she looked at Nathan. Nathan smiled and tucked a strand of Ava's hair behind her ear, gently caressing her. "Don't worry, I didn't mind," he assured. Ava responded with a blink. They resumed their walk and soon arrived at Ava's house.
Nathan drew Ava's hand from behind as she opened the gate, turning her around and facing him.
"Ava, I know you'll deny, but will you go on a date with me? Look, all I want to do is spend some time with you on a casual date. Will you accompany me?" Nathan's black orbs were filled with love and care as he looked into hers.
Ava was aware that she was being impolite to him, but she didn't want to break his heart. "I will go with you," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not going to ask where or when. Just give me a call, and I'll be there."
Nathan jumped to the ground and sobbed with joy. Ava was perplexed. She didn't want to be mean to Nathan because she knew they were in a relationship, but she couldn't stop thinking about Aaron and all the wonderful times she'd shared with him. She was in a difficult position, having to choose between two men.
Nathan smiled a toothy smile at Ava and walked away. She turned around to enter the house when she was distracted by giggling and whispers. When she turned around, she noticed Aaron with an unknown girl. The girl looked at Ava and gave her a puzzled expression.
"Do you know the girl?" Rachel inquired as Ava waved her shackled hand at Aaron.
"She's just a neighbor!" exclaimed Aaron. He turned away from Ava and entered the house. Rachel shrugged and trailed behind him.
Ava stumbled back, wiping away her tears. "He said I was just a neighbor," she grumbled. Covering her mouth, she ran inside her house.
Looking back at those moments, Ava realized how much she missed Aaron. For her, he was a best friend... and for him, she was nothing but a neighbor. That shattered her heart into pieces. That was last thing she needed to know from Aaron. Never in her bad dreams did she imagine that Aaron would degraded their friendship by acknowledging her as just a neighbor, that's too in front of a random girl.
"If he thinks that avoiding me will bring him happiness, then I would give him that." Ava wiped her tears before splashing cold water on her face. The dilemma between Nathan and Aaron, and then the confusion with Aaron left her exhausted. Ava laid down on the bed and stared at the blank ceiling for hours.
On the other hand, Rachel was confused about the sudden bad mood Aaron had. She tried to talk to him but Aaron locked himself in the room.
"This is so weird, Aaron. You are acting like a kid now," Rachel shouted outside. Aaron sighed, pulling his legs up and hugging them. He wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone. It was a hard process to forget Ava and move on. Ava happened to be his first love, and to know that she had someone else in her life had ripped Aaron's heart.
"I am, sorry, Ava," Aaron mumbled to her picture that he kept on the nightstand. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't know that you'd be hurt by a mere comment." He sighed, putting the photo aside. He'd seen the hurt in Ava's eyes. But there was nothing he could do about it.