Chance Encounters

twenty-four

[a/n: once again, i just wanted to thank everyone who stuck with this story. i'm having a lot of doubts about this chapter, because i'm not sure if it's all too soon or what, but i'm going on ahead and trusting my instincts on this one anyway. if anything, i hope you'd enjoy it. (i have a feeling you would ;)

sam xo]

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Chapter 24

For a moment, I couldn't respond.

My eyes stayed glued on Austin and I couldn't say anything, convinced that my brain was just playing tricks on me because there was no way—there was just absolutely no way—that he'd actually show up just when I least expected him to. The only logical explanation, after all, was that I was either dreaming half-asleep or that I was so stressed out from all that had happened tonight that I'd begun to hallucinate.

He stared back at me, both hands shoved deep in his pockets and one foot playing with the toe of his shoe, then, almost as though his being here wasn't anything out of the ordinary, he gave me a slight nod and said, "Hey."

Immediately, I spurned into action. I brought my wrists to my eyes, wiping the tears even though he'd already seen them, straightening in my seat as though that would make a difference.

"What are you doing here?"

For a moment, he didn't say anything; just kept staring at me with the scrutinizing gaze I'd gotten used to seeing over the course of the night. Then, he released a sharp breath and looked away.

"To be honest?" he said, giving me a slightly irritated expression. "Fuck if I know."

I couldn't do anything but look at him, still unable to believe that I was even having this conversation with him when we should have parted ways way, way, way before we'd even come to this point earlier tonight.

Before I could say anything, however, he already began to walk over to the bench, taking the seat on the opposite end, wearing an expression that bordered on both sour and confused.

Which, of course, only irritated me.

"Seriously," I said. "If you're going to make that kind of expression, then you shouldn't have come here in the first place. And why the fuck are you even here, anyway?"

"I already told you," he said, turning to look at me. "I have no fucking idea, okay? But I'm here and—and—I don't know, all right? I just—I couldn't just—ugh."

"If it's about having to pay you for the snacks we had, then—"

"Dammit, Red, you know that's not it."

"Then what is it?" I snapped.

He let out a groan before lifting his glasses so he can rub his eyes. After putting them back on the place, he took in a deep breath and shook his head. "Look, I know I'm not your favorite person, and I don't know shit about you nor do I fucking know why I'm even here in the first place, but..."

I waited, sneaking a wary look at his profile. "But?"

"But I'm already here, okay?" He grimaced, averting his gaze almost immediately. "I'm here," he repeated, his voice growing quiet. "I found you, and it doesn't make sense for me to walk away like everything's all right."

"I'm fine," I said, fighting the urge to sniffle.

"Right."

"I'm fine, and you know what would make me feel even better?" I pressed on. "You leaving me alone."