Return to Europe

Chapter 8

Don't make me close one more door; I don't want to hurt anymore.

Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there?

Don't walk away from me. I have nothing if I don't have you.

Audrey sang along with the radio as she brushed her hair. Something inside of her felt livelier, younger. She had just had sex with Oliver and while she should have felt like some mid-life crisis Lifetime character running back to her high school love, somebody she and her circle of happy hour goers at home would have sympathized with while making fun of, Audrey couldn't help but to smile as she thought back on her time with Oliver the night before and earlier this morning. They had made love four times and with each time he entered her, it felt more right. She was more confused than ever, though. All her old feelings for Oliver came out of hiding. Did she still love him as much as she used to, or did she just feel the need for companionship and sex? Did Oliver still love her or was last night a chance to move on past his ex-fiancé? Would he be the one to walk away this time? Should she give him the chance to? Did she want to drag her daughters through the turmoil she could face if she got involved with him?

Oliver rolled over, smiling as he remembered why he was sleeping downstairs. He had been with Audrey last night. It had been the most amazing experience in the past ten years. It gave him a feeling that nothing else, not even Quiditch, could give him. He knew that he still felt something for her, but the feelings that filled him every time they had been together last night was stronger than anything a woman had brought about in him before. The question was, did she feel it too? Or had she just needed someone for that one night? Would she be the same old Audrey while she was in town for the month and then simply walk away again? Was there something in America that could take her away from him again? Did he want to risk the hurt and the pain he had struggle with ten years ago again? Was it worth it?

Laurel groaned as she rolled over to hit the snooze button. A smirk came across her face as she thought about her conversation with Oliver the night before. Something had obviously been bothering him when she paged him last night. Her pregnancy announcement hadn't made things better she was certain. She knew the child wasn't his. Still, she wanted to see him get uncomfortable. He owed it to her to worry. Throughout her life, she always got what she wanted. There had not been a single guy who could resist her. She was the love em' and leave em' girl that guys still thought about months later. Not Oliver, though. He didn't care how gorgeous or how good in bed she was. She still wasn't good enough for him. If she wasn't no woman could be, of this she was sure. Not that she really cared if they got married or not. She wasn't really the settle-down type of girl. But the fact that he didn't care was what bothered her. She did everything she could to get him to miss her. She knew he enjoyed the sex, who wouldn't? But it wasn't enough. He had even called that off, saying it wasn't right. What wasn't right was him not begging her to come back and claiming he missed her. And the way he had greeted her last night! What in the hell was wrong with this guy?

Lisa watched as her daughter walked out into the garden with her coffee. There was something different about her this morning. She seemed happier, more content. Maybe being back in Britain had brought back the spunk her daughter once radiated. She sighed, thinking about what her daughter had been through the last couple of years. All the reporters and stories of her failed marriage. It was slowly destroying her daughter's strength and excitement for life. Lisa hadn't liked Chris from the beginning. She was sure at some point he had really loved Audrey. Eventually, though, she was sure they had stayed together and he had proposed for status, simply to keep up the "America's Sweethearts" idea. Lisa remembered the way Oliver and Audrey used to look at each other. You could feel the love and magnetism with those two. That had not been there with Audrey and Chris. Hell, you could still feel it between Oliver and Audrey. Audrey was a better person with Oliver. Even being home made her seem more like her old self. Lisa knew that she would once again go back to the creature that Chris had formed the moment she left them, though. Could she convince her daughter to stay? Stay in Britian? Stay the girl they all loved?

While Lisa was watching Audrey, Bill was watching Lisa. He knew it killed her to watch everything that her daughter had gone through. She tried to convince Audrey to use her gift, to see the real Chris. Audrey refused. Bill knew that she didn't want to see what Chris was doing, didn't want to destroy everything they had built together. In a way, he understood. He had finally convinced Lisa to give up on the idea of Audrey tapping into his true life. Audrey was old enough to take care of herself and make her own decisions. Still, it hurt him to see what his daughter was going through. When he was first getting to know her, she was happy and carefree. In the past six or seven years, he had seen her become more uptight and practiced. She wasn't the sporadic girl she had once been. Something had died inside of her when she married Chris. Bill, while happy that his daughter was getting married to a man she thought she loved, had himself not been thrilled when he walked her down the aisle. He knew all along his baby deserved better. Someone like Oliver Wood. Now there was a boy who had loved her and would do anything he could to make her happy. You could tell by watching him that he would still devote himself to Audrey if given the chance. Problem is, would Audrey be willing to give him that chance?

Fred looked up onto Oliver's balcony as he walked towards his house. Something was definitely on his mind. Without a doubt, it had to be Audrey. Nothing else gave Oliver that dreamy, yet deep in thought look. It still amazed him and his brothers how those two had never worked out. Long before they had ever become a couple, it was obvious those two had the perfect chemistry. Then Audrey just left and before any of them knew it, she was married to the Ken-doll baseball player who couldn't keep his fly zipped. Fred could never imagine doing anything like that to Alicia. Sure, they had had their share of problems and splits, but nothing would ever lead him to be untrue to her. Oliver would never have done anything to Audrey like that. He loved him more than anything, even the blessed sport of Quidditch. And from Fred's observations since Audrey had gotten back, there was not much change in those feelings. Would a month be long enough for Audrey to realize that she was still in love with Oliver as much as he still loved her?

Alicia looked beside her, noticing Fred watching Oliver. She remembered what it had been like for him when Audrey had left. Not only had he lost his niece, but he had managed to lose two best friends in that instance. It hurt him when Audrey left, they had been so close. After that, Oliver seemed to have gone in a way as well. He wasn't the same after that. Audrey had taken a piece of everybody with her. It had taken years for things to get back to the way they had been before she left. Alicia was certain that was why it had taken the older Weasley boys longer to get married. Ron and Ginny, while they missed her, were not as affected. Alicia remembered how she would sit with Katie and Angelina, reading her letters, imagining how great her life must have been if she had chosen it over them. Of course, she now realized that it wasn't so much choosing anything over them. It was just something she felt she had to do. Still, it had taken her ten years to come back. That ass she married probably didn't help the fact they never saw and rarely heard from her. She remembered how they had planned their lives as couples. When Audrey left, she walked away from a lot more than just her friends and family. She left a future that they were all supposed to share together. She was back now, but for how long?