Page 16 of The Has-Been

What was I thinking?

The bar is abuzz with noise and chatter, but within a breath, my ears are ringing, and there’s a pain thumping in my head.

My smile fades. I can feel it pulling my lips one second, and the next it’s gone.

I blink, just once, and that’s all it takes for him to leave me. Tears pool in my eyes as I search around, trying to find where he went.

I look out the window, peering outside to see if I can find him.

But he’s nowhere in my sight. The only thing remaining is the scent of him and the phantom whisper of his touch on my shoulder.

Nowadays, that is all Liam Anderson is to me.

A ghost. A phantom touch I can’t un-feel.

I stand there. Staring out the window, like he will suddenly appear from thin air. But if I wait on Liam Anderson to show himself, I’d be waiting here for an eternity.

After a while, I shrug out of my winter jacket, placing it on the back of one of the many scattered barstools throughout Melbourne’s. Instantly, I pull my phone from my back pocket and text June.

Aubrey:

Where are you?

She replies almost instantly.

June:

Back side of the bar.

I shove my phone back into my pocket, grab my coat, and navigate my way around the crowds of people.

I spend several minutes trying to find June, but it’s not long before I see her chestnut hair and bright eyes widening as she waves me in her direction.

June and Reese used to tell people they were twins. It was a believable lie when they were younger, since they were both tall and girlish. Nowadays, though, June and Reese barely look enough alike to pass as cousins, let alone twins. June’s hair darkened past Reese’s honey blonde, her skin the same sun-kissed tone that the Vaughns are known for.

In contrast, Reese’s genetics are all her mother’s: pale skin, wide gray eyes, full lips. The type of looks that steal attention in any room she walks in—not that she ever notices that. She spends too much time wishing she looked like the rest of us.

“No Reese?” June asks as she stands from her stool to pull me into a hug.

“Come on, June,” I say while ordering a beer from the bartender. Anything to try to ease my shaky hands from my encounter with Liam, from the memory I had to revisit. “You know how she is.”

She heaves a heavy sigh. “So much for her ‘this year is going to be different’ speech.”

We look at each other and giggle, knowing that Reese always gives the best advice, but doesn’t always follow it.

I take a long drink of my beer, looking to see where Rory ran off to.

She’s too young to legally get into bars, but Rory has a fake ID and a killer smile that can get her into any bar on or off campus.

Which is exactly how she got in with me tonight, using that charming smile to flirt her way in when the bouncer wasn’t so convinced she was a Cressida Thornberry from New Hampshire. A chuckle escapes me as I look for her, but Rory’s already long out of sight, likely having run off with her best friend, Elsie.

June’s eyes trail over my outfit, and I’m shocked it’s taken her this long to notice.

“Rory already lectured me! I don’t need to hear it from you, too!” I pull at my sweatshirt, suddenly self-conscious.

“Well, for once, Rory and I agree.” June shakes her head, like she’s actually disgusted by my choice of attire.

She goes off on a tangent about needing to look my best if I ever want to find a boyfriend before I graduate. She means well, but I don’t want to date anyone.