The silence between us was as thick as paint. Though she was just inches from touching me, I don’t think I’d ever felt more distant from her. She had a dejected look about those doe eyes, her arms rigid at her side as she sat idly in the passenger seat. I don’t think I’d ever been so uncomfortable in her presence.

            Initially I thought I’d need Avery to buffer the awkwardness between Ashley and me, but I soon realized that it was the other way around. Avery responded to the proposition for tonight’s plans just as I thought she would; well, in one sense at least. She obliged without so much as a word against me. ‘uh, yeah that’s fine’ are the direct words as I recalled them. I expected hesitance in her voice, which was inevitably present, but I didn’t expect this standoffishness. I picked her up from her house 15 minutes ago, and we’d barely spoken since she climbed into the car.  Her body had maintained a severe and unyielding stature – far more upright than what was usual. Her eyebrows were ever so slightly furrowed above her discontented eyes – the wrinkles in her forehead becoming increasingly prominent. The only thing that looked even slightly relaxed was her hair, the auburn locks falling in gentle waves over her shoulders. The lights of the car faintly illuminated her tense visage, and I felt a tiny pang of guilt every time we passed a streetlight that would further allow me to see the discomfort on her face. Was I being a bad girlfriend to be forcing my ex on her? That question was quickly answered internally with a no: partially because if Ashley was to be my friend, they would need to get along – but also because I just needed Ashley far too much to consider any alternative.

            “Are you sure this is okay?” I asked her quietly, more to get my guilt to shut up than anything. It felt as if she waited a long time to respond, but I knew it was just my internal clock ticking with a frequency that was 5 times slower than what was normal.

            “Yeah, it’s fine” She said dismissively. I knew that it really wasn’t but the plans were made now, and I wasn’t in any mood to change them last minute, much less be alone with an aloof Avery.