Page 43 of Waiting Game

Then she handed it back and laid down next to me.

I put my arm under her head, pulling her close.

We laid like that in silence, staring at the stars and sharing a few cigarettes.

She fell asleep eventually, but I forced myself to stay awake.

I didn’t know if this would be the last time that I got to hold her, and I didn’t want to miss a single second.

13

Chapter 13

Valerie

Iwas thankful for the early morning rain.

It woke me before anyone else, the droplets hitting my face as I laid in the back of Lorenzo’s truck. I slid down the back of the ute, and went back to my tent to put on a jacket. Then I went back out into the light mist to watch it dampen and kill the fire.

I sat by myself for a little while, before the mist turned into a pour that woke everyone else. Antoni stuck his head out of his tent, and smiled at me as he pulled his hoodie over his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Ren started to stir, his snoring coming to a halt as he got drenched with water.

“We should pack up,” Antoni said, walking over to the ute and tugging on Ren’s leg.

Ren squinted as he woke, looking around and adjusting to the surroundings. He looked at me briefly, and then up towards the sky.

I was more confused now than I had been the entire time that I had been in Melbourne.

We quickly packed up the tents and the eskies, throwing everything into the back of Ren’s ute. Rome got into the driver’s seat of Antoni’s car, and he turned to me.

“Is it okay if Ren drops you home? Rome and I have to go to the club,” he asked.

I shrugged, “that’s fine.”

He smiled down at me, and pulled me in for a tight hug.

“Thanks for coming, Val,” he said against the hood of my jacket.

“I’m still leaving, Antoni,” I sighed.

“I know,” he smirked, “can’t blame me for trying to keep you here longer.”

Ren was still sitting on the log, rubbing his eyes.

He looked tired, his under eyes were dark and puffy, his hair was messy and wild. I hesitated before I went to him. It had been another night that I had given in to my lingering feelings for him, another night of betraying myself.

“Do you want me to drive?” I asked him, kicking at his boot.

He laughed once, throwing me the keys, “please.”

I jumped up into the high driver’s seat, and he got in beside me. I pulled out onto the road behind Rome and Antoni, following them back to the city. It was early, and the roads were still pretty empty except for a few other cars. My phone started buzzing over and over again as we got back into reception, and I ignored it. I knew that it would be another dozen missed calls from Pete.

Ren and I hadn’t said a word to each other for the entire drive, it was an uncomfortable silence where neither of us wanted to say what we were thinking. There was a heavy feeling of guilt in my stomach. I knew that all the time I had spent with Ren was messing with my head, but I knew that it must have been doing the same to him. I knew that he was still holding onto some sort of hope that I would stay.

How could I leave him all over again, without causing even more pain?

Ren’s phone rang and he answered it straight away.

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