Page 30 of Another Love, Another Time
“Same to you.”
She waves and starts to walk in his direction. Both games are over, and everyone is just standing around hanging out. I look around to see if I can spot Logan or Auggie.
I notice Logan talking to a couple of girls. He has them laughing at his shenanigans. I shake my head and chuckle. Then, I look around, hoping to spot Auggie. Amber is sitting on his lap in the far corner. It looks like they’re making out. The last thing I want is to see them kissing up close, but I’m ready to go home. I head in their direction, and by the time I reach them, I can almost feel the bile coming up.
I clear my throat to get Auggie’s attention. His eyes widen when he sees me. Amber shoots me a look of annoyance. I know I’m not going to like what comes out of her mouth. She hisses, “What do you want? Can’t you see we’re busy?” I look at Auggie to see if he’s going to let her talk to me like that.
He. Says. Nothing.
Okay. She doesn’t know who the hell she’s dealing with. In my head, I’m in the process of taking my earrings out and pulling up my hair, but my hair is already pulled up, and I’m not wearing any earrings.
I square my shoulders, readying for battle. No one talks to me like that. I don’t care how Auggie feels about her. She doesn’t get to talk to me like that.
“Excuse me, Amber?” I spit. “Oh, I guess you do know how to talk. That’s a shame. Yeah, it was nice to meet you, too. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt, but everyone is leaving, and I wanted to check in with my friend to see when he would be ready to leave. Is that okay with you?” I finish in a sickly-sweet voice. I do come from the state where “bless your heart” is another way to say “fuck off.”
Amber’s jaw drops. “Are you going to let your friend talk to me like that, babe?” She pouts.
He turns to me and glares. “River, can you give us a few minutes?”
Oh, okay. So he’s mad at me. I’m done with tonight. I turn back to him with a big smile. “You know what, Aug? Take all the time you need. I’ll be in the concessions area.” I spin on my heel and storm off.
Once I’m around the corner, I peek and see they’re making out again. No way am I sticking around. I’d rather have an Uber to take me home.
I pull up the app and put Aunt Connie’s address in. It says they are five minutes away. Without being seen, I head outside to wait for them to show up. I sent my mom a quick text, letting her know I am taking an Uber and that she better not tell Auggie. If she does, I won’t talk to her for a week.
When the Uber pulls up, I take pictures of the car and ask the driver if I can take his picture to send to my mom.
Mom: No you ain’t we’re coming to get you all right now.
River: Nope I don’t want to be here for a second longer. I’m sending you a picture of the license plate, the car, and a picture of the driver right now. He thinks I’m a little weird, but he agreed.
I slide into the back seat and start to close the door. I freeze when the door on the other side pulls open. I’m relieved to recognize Logan as he slides in.
River: Don’t worry Mom. Logan’s with me now. Heading to Aunt Connie’s now. Auggie will still need to be picked up.
Mom: (thumbs up emoji) We are heading to pick up Auggie. Uncle Eddie is home
I turn to Logan and ask, “What are you doing?”
“My mom was over at Auggie’s house. She sent a text saying you were getting in an Uber alone and that I better find you before you leave, or she was going to bust my ass.”
“Aunt Jess doesn’t mess around.” I laugh and then start crying. I can’t hold it in anymore. I’m so mad and hurt right now.
Logan pulls me into a hug as I sob. He doesn’t say anything, even when I have snot running out of my nose. He knows I’m not a crier. By the time I get ahold of myself, his shirt is soaked in my tears.
“Thanks, Logan. I guess I needed to let that out.” I wipe my nose on my sleeve. I know I have mascara running down my cheeks, but I don’t care. I see it all over Logan’s shirt, too.
“Do you feel better?” he questions. When it comes to Auggie and me, he usually tries to stay out of it.
“Yeah. Sorry about your shirt.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He’s silent for a second. “Can I just say one thing?” I nod my head. “Both of you are my friends. I hate to see you fight. I know he loves you, River, but I also think he takes you for granted. I don’t think he does it on purpose. It’s just that you’ve always been here, and he thinks you will always will. I know things might be different if your family lived here, but you don’t. I like that you are talking to other guys. You need to be treated better. One day, he will get his head out of his ass and see it.”
“I love him, Logan. It about killed me to see him with another girl. You should have heard the way he let her talk to me. I would never do that to him or let someone talk to him like that.He knows how I feel about him. Why would he do that, Logan? Why?” I start to tear up again.
“Shh, shh. I didn’t mean to make you cry again.”
“You didn’t. It’s just the situation. And I think I’m getting ready to start my period.”
