Once she realized the fun was over, she took her sweet-ass time getting her shit together. She also gave me a lecture on morning etiquette and seemed to think I should’ve made her breakfast, or offered her coffee and called her an Uber.
Normally I might have done any or all of those things, but I felt particularly crappy about flaking out on Avery. Especially since it’s raining and she hates driving in anything but ideal weather conditions.
I don’t know what I was thinking last night, other than shots seemed like a good idea and so did hooking up. Part of it may have been a result of Avery’s date. It’s not that she shouldn’t date, or that I don’t want her to. I do. But seeing her in that dress messed with my head, and I started thinking about her in ways I don’t like. So I figured a distraction was a good idea. And it was, until I completely forgot that we had to leave early in the morning, and screwed Avery over in the process.
Now that the Tylenol has kicked in, I recognize how badly I messed up. I glance out the window, taking in the dreary Sunday morning sky, heavy with dark clouds. Rain patters against the glass and makes me feel even worse.
For the past few weeks, she’s been going on and on about getting new tires because her mechanic mentioned the tread is worn. In my opinion, the guy was trying to cash in on Avery’s anxiety, especially seeing as we’re only a few months out from snow tire season. But Avery wasn’t willing to chance it for the drive to the University of Colorado. She’s chill about most things, but definitely not about anything car-related since she lost her parents in an accident.
I cross the room, drop down on the couch, and take a deep breath. Avery is one of the most amazing people I know, but it’s never good to be on her shit list, and currently I’m sitting right at the top.
I dial her number, expecting to be sent to voicemail, particularly since she’s driving and inclined to give me the cold shoulder.
I’m surprised when she answers on the third ring, so I fumble a bit. “Uh, hey, Ave, you on the road?”
“Yup.” Her tone tells me she’s pretty displeased by my thoughtlessness.
I don’t bother to beat around the bush. It’s not really how Avery and I operate anyway. If there’s an issue, we deal with it and move on, so I’m hoping it won’t take too long for her to forgive me. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking last night when I brought someone home.” It would be a lot easier if we were on a video call, and I could use what she calls my puppy-dog eyes in conjunction with my I’m so sorry voice.
“Well, I hope the two of you had lots of fun.” I can practically feel her eye roll. “And please make sure you Lysol the kitchen counter since I found your friend’s panties on the floor in there, and I’m assuming they didn’t just happen to fall off.”
She is definitely pissed and not reining it in at all.
I cringe as some of the memories come back. Mindy pretty much attacked me as soon as we walked in the door. Somehow we’d ended up in the kitchen—I think maybe I wanted water. I’d had the wherewithal to move it to my bedroom before she got full-on naked, though. “I’m sorry about that too. I feel like shit for letting you down. I can see if there’s a train or something and come up there this afternoon, then we can drive back together tomorrow.”
“There’s only one train on Sunday and it’s left already.”
“Are you sure? I can check.”
“I used to take it all the time when I visited my grandmother. It leaves at nine ten, and the next train out isn’t until six tomorrow morning.”
“Shit, that’s right.” Sometimes we’d come back to Colorado Springs together when we were in college. “I could Uber.”
She sighs. I can’t tell if she’s annoyed or what. “Honestly, it’s fine. I’ll tell the guys you were feeling under the weather or whatever. Geez, I wish this guy would back off.”
“What guy? The one you went out with last night?”
“No, not Brock. He had the personality of a wet blanket. I would rather hug a porcupine than go out with him again. There’s a guy riding my ass in a white pickup. He’s been driving like a douchecanoe for a while now. Traffic is slow and shitty, and he’s clearly impatient and getting on my nerves.”
“Can you see his plate? I can call it in for you.” Avery gets extra nervous when trucks end up behind her, and I can totally understand why when she’s driving her clown car. They could basically use her as a speed bump and keep going.
Avery is confident about most things, but she’ll avoid the freeway any chance she gets. If there are back roads she can take, she’ll most definitely use them, even if it means the trip will take longer.
“Nah, I can’t make it out; it’s raining too hard.” Her voice has a waver to it, alerting me to the fact that she is most definitely on edge.
I want to take her mind off of the guy tailing her and the bad driving conditions. “What time will you be back tomorrow? I can cook.”
She snorts. “Gonna make me one of your famous grilled cheese sandwiches?”
“I’ll do way better than that. I’ll grill steak and get those double-stuffed potatoes you really like from that place down the street. I’ll do asparagus, even though the stinky pee grosses me out.”
That earns me a chuckle, which means she’s defrosting. There are a few dishes I’ve mastered over the years, and I’ve developed a real knack for grilling. “Can you pick up some of those jumbo garlic shrimp too?”
“For sure. I’ll even get the bacon-wrapped tenderloin.”
“Wow. You must feel pretty damn bad if you’re willing to splurge on the expensive stuff.”
I run a hand through my hair. I need to shower away last night’s bad decisions. “I really am sorry, Ave. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I’m hazarding a guess your dick was doing the thinking for you.” And the bite is back.
“Yeah, well, this morning when the head on my shoulders cleared, I realized I’d really screwed up.”
“The beer goggles were that thick?” Now she sounds amused.
“Eh, more like I should’ve prioritized my responsibilities better.”
“At least one of us is getting lucky,” she mutters. “Shit. This guy is such an asshole.”
“The one in the white truck?”
“Yeah. What the hell is he doing? Fuck!”
Horns blare and tires screech, followed by the sound of metal hitting metal. There’s a loud bang, and Avery’s shriek makes my entire body break out in a wave of goose bumps.
I shout her name, but there’s so much noise in the background, none of it good, and it scares the living hell out of me. It’s even worse when the metal scraping metal stops and is followed by a painful, terrifying stillness.
“Avery? Babe? You there?” My voice shakes.
I listen carefully and pick up static, horns still blaring, but they seem distant now. And then the softest whimper.
“Ave? You okay? Can you answer me?” I need to call 911, but realize she’s on a freeway, and that means someone else has probably already done that. Besides, I have no idea where exactly she is, and telling emergency services that she’s somewhere between here and Boulder isn’t at all helpful. “I need to call London!” I practically shout into the phone as I jump up off the couch.