Another You
Eight.
Austin and I spent the weekend together, grading papers and getting drunk. It was nice to have his company, to have him as a distraction from the outside world, even if it was just for a couple days. Sunday evening rolled around faster than I'd expected, and Austin and I were cuddled up on my couch, having just finished a movie.
"I really have to go home," Austin said softly into my hair. I groaned and rolled onto my back, looking over at him.
"Do you have to?" I asked. He nodded. I sat up, running a hand through my hair. I stood so Austin could get up off the couch. He quickly pulled his shoes on and stood up, smiling softly at me.
"Thank you for being my distraction this weekend," I told him. Austin grinned and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his torso, sighing deeply.
"Whenever you need some company, don't be afraid to give me a call," Austin said, pulling away from me so he could look at me.
"I'll definitely call you," I said happily. I walked Austin over to the front door, and I watched him walk down to his car. I shut the door once he'd pulled away from the curb, sighing and rubbing my tired face. I still had about 20 papers left to grade before I could even think about getting some sleep, so I sat down on my couch and got to work.
-
I walked into work the next morning with a cup of coffee in hand. Overall, all three of my classes managed to get about a C average on the assignment, letting me know that they weren't paying enough attention to the book we were reading, and that they weren't getting the help they needed. It was just frustrating considering everything I had been going through.
Throughout the day, I found myself getting distracted by thoughts of Austin when I was supposed to be working. I couldn't get him off of my mind. We even said no strings attached, but did that ever really work? What was I getting myself into?
When lunchtime rolled around, I left my classroom with my lunch and headed to the staff room for a meeting. I greeted my coworkers and sat down to eat while we waited for everyone to show up. It really was just a meeting to discuss academic activities to introduce onto the classroom that would be more fun for students to encourage them to want to work while also improving grades. Grades this year had been the lowest they'd been in 10 years, apparently. I honestly wasn't shocked. Disappointed, but not surprised.
I got home from work that day, stressed out as could be. The house was quiet and still, and it made me uneasy. Still, after months of living alone, the quietness I returned to every day was strange. It made me feel more alone each time.
Austin said I needed to give it time, but how much time was enough?
Notes
WHEW! almost a year later and here we are. It's short but it's something haha. I recently came back to this story and I really do think this is one of my favorite stories I've ever written, and couldn't really figure out why I low-key abandoned it. But, I'm gonna try and keep updating this, even though I am really busy all the time with work. But if you got the notification for this update, I hope you enjoy :)
