Page 62 of The Story Of Us

Maybe she just agreed because she felt bad for me after I had a complete breakdown in front of her.

Maybe this is our last chance, and I’ll mess it all up again.

I push the thoughts away, though, and remind myself of who Violet is. She wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to, and she certainly wouldn’t give me another chance if she thought there was nothing between us anymore. I cling to that last bit of hope and take it to sleep with me in the hopes that she’ll appear in my dreams again.

I wake up before my alarm goes off, my brain still going a thousand miles a minute as I think of all the ways this date could go wrong while I get ready. I wear an outfit that I know Violet will like, the main thing being a dark hoodie that she would borrow a lot. I haven’t worn it since we broke up because it still had her perfume on it from when she gave it back to me.

She would always cycle through my hoodies, giving them back when she wanted a new one to sleep or relax in, but this one was always her favourite. When she returned it to me, I didn’t give her a new one, and I’ve spent the past few months regretting it.

By the time it hits 10:30, I’m already standing by my car. I wanted to make sure it was tidy, and I’ve probably checked it about twenty times while I wait for her. I dip my head down to check how I look in the side mirror, noting that my hair is starting to look overgrown. I’m fiddling around with it so that it doesn’t catch on my glasses when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I want the ground to swallow me up. I slowly stand up and turn to face her, hoping that my face hasn’t turned bright red.

“Hi.”

She looks beautiful.

She’s wearing a white dress with little blue flowers dotted all around it that reaches just above her knees and a light blue oversized cardigan. Her eyelashes look even longer than usual, her eyes brighter, and her lips have a pink tint that makes me imagine doing something completely stupid. But the thing that catches my attention the most is the butterflies in her hair.

“Hey.”

It’s a struggle to get the singular word out, and I know I must look so weird just staring at her, but I can’t take my eyes off of her. I know hair clips shouldn’t have me feeling this way. They shouldn’t be making me feel like my legs are about to give out and like I need to lean against the car to steady myself, but they do.

“Is your mirror okay?”

“What?”

Her question throws me off, and I try to remember what was happening before I saw her.

“You were looking very closely at it.”

Oh, right. I wanted the ground to open up and take me.

“Yeah, I was just making sure it worked.”

The sound of her soft laugh helps me to relieve the feeling I have of wanting to throw myself into an abyss.

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard that’s a very important thing to check before any drive.”

I shake my head, bringing my hand up to cover my face as I hold back my own laughter. She walks around to the passenger side, and I hurry after her to open the door. She slides into the car, and I shut it behind her before going back to the driver's side and getting in. Violet puts on her seatbelt as I start the car, and I have to force away the image I had in my mind of leaning over to do it for her.

I turn the heat on high, switching on the seat warmers, too, so she doesn’t get too cold. I put my seatbelt on, and it’s only then that it finally hits me that she’s in the car with me right now. We talked about this a lot last year, fantasies of driving around together and going wherever we wanted to - now it’s finally happening. We don’t say anything as I pull out of the car park, and I think she’s in as much disbelief as I am. After everything that’s happened, just having her in the car with me feels like a dream come true.

After a few moments, when school is far behind us, Violet breaks the silence.

“So, are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope, but it’s not too far. We’ll be there in like half an hour.”

“Come on, give me a tiny hint.”

She pushes at my arm gently, and the contact makes me feel electrified. I sneak a glance at her, and she’s making that adorable pouty face. It makes me want to tell her every single thing about the date - every single thing I feel for her.

“No hints, you’ll find out soon.”

I glance at my phone in the centre console and take my hand off the wheel for a second to pass it to her.

“Put on whatever you want.”

She taps the screen, lighting it up, and sliding up to unlock it so the keypad appears. I tell her before she even asks.

---