As she gets close enough to the all glass front door, Left finds out why she was hiding behind tissues. It was transparently clear that she was upset. When she walks into the station, her attitude doesn't change but her drunken stumbles slowly disappear in order to appear sober.
In a chocked up tone of voice, she says "Hey Left." ,while simultaneously making a B-line to the lack luster wine section to see what the gas station has to offer.
"Hey Right.", Left says. The reply places a smirk on her face, just for a split second, then reverting back to the previous frown.
Without applying much time in picking which kind of wine, she closes her eyes, randomly picks a bottle and starts to make her way to the front counter. As she puts the big bottle of wine on the counter, Left, almost on impulse, asks "Whats Wrong".
She hands him correct change, grabs her bottle and says "....nothing" followed by a slight sniffle.
She immediately walks out of the store without any thought of entertaining the conversation. Left pays it no mind because he is ready to get out of this hell hole and head to the place that Amber had left on this Friday night, the Bars. He quickly closes out the cash register, walks around and turns off all the lights and last but not least, arms the security system before he departs. He locks the door and as he turns to migrate to warmer weather, which would be his car, he notices the black Honda and Amber, still sitting there. Left stops and takes a deep breath as snow begins to collect on his shoulders. He exhales and decides that he should talk to her, at least to see it she needs a ride home.
He knocks on her passenger side window and asks "Are you ok? Can I open your car door?" Amber stares at him for a minute, because she finds him squirming in the cool weather to be comical. He raises his head in order to restate his question but without words. She stretches across the passenger seat and unlocks the door. As Left takes a seat, snow follows him into the car.
Its just as cold in the car as it is outside it. For some reason, she doesn't have the car on, much less, heat. She tips the bottle up and takes a long drag from the red fluid that is within it. The silence is deafening. All you can hear is the sound of wind as it brushs up against the exterior of the car.
"...I saw him with another girl at the bar. He was all over her. Like I didn't even exist."
Left pulls out his flask and takes a sip of his own beverage. He glances outside at the winter wonderland while he gathers his thoughts.
"I confronted them both, and all he did was laugh at me. Right before I walked out the door, I looked back and and they were right back to what they were doing, like I didn't even say a word." Followed by another extended sip of wine.
"So everything he did was wrong, right?" Left asks. The answer, given with a confident nod by her.
"Then whats the big deal? Obviously you were wasting your time with him. Obviously he doesn't love you as much as you love him, so why beat yourself up over something you just cannot control."
She replies "its just....." and Left blurts out, "Dumb". He continues, "Its dumb. Don't let him ruin your night. Its 11 o'clock. What are you doing for the rest of the night, drinking in a cold car at a gas station, alone?"
It takes her a extra second to respond because she didn't think that Left would be so up front with her about his thoughts. Left can tell by her facial expression that she completely agrees with everything he said except for the last sentence that involved this parking lot and drinking alone.
"Let me buy you a drink. I'm driving." Left says, as he gets out of her car. Amber watches him as he walks, bundled up in his jacket, toward his own car. She takes another sip of her wine and puts the cork back into the bottle.
As Left warms up his car, while listening to the radio, the door opens and she hops in the front seat. She puts on her smile and of course her seat belt as she says "Drive safely, please."
Left laughs and says "No problem. Are you driving?"
She gives him the evil eye as he navigates through the snow. After a right turn, Left takes a galnce at her. She is looking out the window again, just like she did when she drove off with her boyfriend a week earlier. Only this time, there is a difference. In the reflection of the window, all Left can see is her smile.....
