Secrets of the woods

The rest of the day

Katerina POV

[phone ringing]

"and she finally answered!", my best friend Ryan said when i picked up his call. "I have been calling you for the past 30 minutes darling! where are you? did you forget about today?"

"Rye, of course, i remember, but you on the other hand forgot that today is the day my parents are moving out of this country," i giggled.

"oh god forgive me, I'm the worst best friend ever! you should really consider un-best-friending me now dear" i laughed as I can sense him pouting from the other line.

"it's okay babe, I know you barely had any sleep since you had the shift last night, are you sure about lunch though? We can just meet up later so you can sleep more". Ryan and I work in the same hospital, and our night shift ends at 6 am which means he only probably had slept for a couple of hours.

"no, we're good to go darling, my coffee made sure of that." ugh, again with the coffee, I wish it had the same effect on me as it did with most of the people I know. I really wanted to understand the satisfaction they get right after their first sip.

"well okay then, i'm driving home from the airport now, I'll just go get changed and then I'll meet you out for lunch, okay?"

"alrighty, see ya later!", Ryan ended the call.

It's been a week since the last time Ryan and I saw each other, he and i belong to different departments and our shifts just didn't allow us to see each other at work. From how he insisted to have lunch instead of taking my offer for him to get more sleep, I knew he had a lot of hot new gossips to share.

Ryan was this fabulous charismatic person, people just automatically want to be friends with him and this is why he is always updated with any and all the drama that goes on in the workplace. Everyone seems to want to stay relevant in his life, so to keep their "friendship" with him going, they tell him news that they think would spike his interest, a.k.a., gossips.

I myself am not one for gossips and as much as possible, I try to stay away from all the drama that goes on in the workplace. I really didn't want to get caught up with other people's issues. But having Ryan as a best friend, i had to listen to everything he finds hilarious every time we see each other. Don't get him wrong, Ryan is a good person, he only repeats those "new-found knowledge and information" to me and all our discussions stay between the both of us.

He and I have been friends for the longest time and it just became a habit to always tell each other whatever it is that's going on with our lives. Meeting up with Rye made me perk up from my otherwise withered state. Knowing Ryan was there gave me a sense of relief and comfort from the loneliness that was slowly trying to creep in.

After a few more minutes of navigating my way through the busy streets of the City, I finally made it back home. I decided to freshen up and change my clothes. Today's weather was perfect so i decided to wear this dress my mom bought for me last month. It was a long, muted mint-green dress that slightly hugged my figure. Its length ran down to my ankles with a slit on the left side that stops just below the knee. I then proceeded to put my hair in a low ponytail, letting a few strands loose in front of my ears. Looking in the mirror, i noticed how the color of my dress complimented my skin which was a shade between medium fair and olive. "hmm, i should get more clothes in this color", i thought to myself. I applied a little moisturizer and spf cream to my face before finishing my look with a nude lipstick. Ryan texted me the place where he had reservations made and off i went.

_______________

When I arrived, Ryan, being on his chivalrous element, was already waiting for me at the entrance.

"Hey babe, you look gorgeous!", he then leaned down and pressed his right cheek into mine. "hey yourself darling, you look extra posh today!" I playfully hit his arm then scanned the inside of the restaurant because I'm starting to think we came to this specific restaurant for a reason. Although it was normal for me to see Ryan looking all clean and dressed up, there was something extra about him today that made me suspect there was someone special inside that he wants to impress.

He led me inside the restaurant and after we were shown to our table, i asked him teasingly, "Sooo, who's the guyyyy?", Ryan then smiled boyishly, looking like he was almost shy.

"What gave me away? I seriously didn't give you any dits about him yet." Ryan couldn't seem to keep his excitement now as he was now smiling from ear to ear.

"You gave it away babe. I know you too much now that I basically memorize how you dress-up on any occasion. For a simple lunch with your best friend, you Sir, looks, using your own terms, "suspish", while raising both my hands to gesture an air quote.

We both laughed and Ryan told me all about this guy he's seeing. Turns out he owned the restaurant where we were having lunch.

We were just finishing up on our meal when Ryan excused himself. He was probably called to come over to the kitchen so they could talk and I didn't mind. After a few moments, I felt strange, something was bugging me and when i tried to look around, a guy with his glasses on seem to be staring at me. I didn't know him for sure so i shook the feeling off and continued to wait on Ryan. I couldn't see his eyes through his pitch-black shades so there's no way for sure to say that he was staring indeed. I dismissed the idea and just thought that this was just me feeling too self-conscious now that I'm left alone.

A few more minutes and Ryan came back with who I'm assuming is the guy he's currently seeing. "Hi, I'm Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet you, I hope the food was to your liking?" He extended his hands and I took it smiling, "Hi, very nice to meet you too. I'm Katerina and yes, the food was great, and so is your restaurant, it looks really amazing."

The three of us made small talk before Ryan and I decided it was time to leave. Daniel was very grounded despite being young and successful, I can tell he and Ryan would get along very well.

Ryan and I went for a little bit of shopping, then decided to chill in one of the cafes inside the mall. He then went on to spill the hottest teas, and as much as i don't really like talking about other people, Ryan's added humor made it all sound like celebrity news.

It was around 7 pm when we decided to finally go home. The house felt unfamiliar when I stepped inside, it was too quiet now that my parents are no longer around. I did my best to take in this new feeling of living alone so that tomorrow, I'd feel less lonely. Feeling nostalgic from all the silence after coming into my bedroom, I had some Carpenters music on and drifted away to sleep.