Memories of Love

Chapter Three - A Helping Hand

Chapter Three

A Helping Hand

Christopher helps her down the ledge and they walk to the exit of the roof, silently she just follows him to his apartment, he figures she doesn't want to be in her apartment right now, he opens the door and invites her in, as she enters she notices that it's the exact same model as hers, but completely different, it's very organized and clean, but it doesn't have a trace of women anywhere, there is a musky scent in the air, she figures it must be his cologne, it is a nice apartment, but feels lonely just like hers right now, although she feels better than in hers, it's a different scenario, something new, it distracts her.

He enters after her, takes off his suit and hangs it by the door.

- Sit down, make yourself at home. Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? - he asks while going to the kitchen to put a pot of water to boil.

- Thank you, tea would be good. - she answers softly as she takes a sit by the kitchen counter and starts to observe him while he takes a couple of mugs and puts one in front of her.

She starts vaguely looking at her mug and he notices when she crosses her arms in front of her, like in a protective embrace, and delicately lifts the left arm, passing through her chest, and slowly sliding her hand to the back of her neck, as in a delicate massage, slightly tilting her head to the side, with her eyes fixated on the mug, but her mind in a whole other world.

-The mug is not going to start talking, don't worry about it. - he says trying to break the ice, she looks at him trying to understand what he was trying to say. - You know... Beauty and the Beast... chip? - he tries to explain.

- Oh... got it! - she answered with a slight chuckle. - I love Beauty and the Beast... Sorry, I was being weird, right?! - she asked kind of shyly.

- No, don't worry, I was the one with the weird reference, maybe wrong timing. - He answered with a timid smile while pouring the water over the chamomile flowers. - Do you take it with sugar?

- No, thanks, I like it natural, sugar covers the taste.

- I think that too. - He answers filling her mug, and then his.

He sits across the counter in front of her, she turns the handle of the mug towards him, and holds it with both hands, one on each side, taking it next to her lips, breaths deeply, and starts blowing on it, like a ritual. He notices she has a slight ring under her eye, probably from lack of sleep.

She takes a sip of the tea, he realizes he was so distracted looking at her up close he completely forgot about his tea, as she lifts her mug, he notices a mark on her ring finger, but no ring.

- So... - she starts kind of shy, looking down to her lap. - I...

- It's okay if you don't want to talk about it today. - He interrupts sensing her anxious attempt to come up with an explanation. - Take your time.

Teary eyed, she looks up and directly into his eyes.

- Thank you, you were always nice. - She says.

- Always? - He asks wondering if she noticed him before.

- Sure, you always hold the elevator door, and ask if I need help carrying stuff. - She answers kindly. - I just didn't know you live directly above me.

He feels a somewhat warm feeling, she remembered him, usually the neighbors don't even look at other people's faces, let along remember them.

- Well, you were always nice too.

They sit quietly, she takes her time with the tea, she doesn't feel like going back to her apartment. When she finishes it's already 11:45 pm, she gasps at the time.

- I should go, look at the time. I'm sorry I took so much of your time. - She says apologetic.

- Don't worry, I never sleep early. But you probably wanna rest, right? I shouldn't be keeping you. - He replies kindly. - Tomorrow I have the day off, do you wanna go for lunch? I can explain my proposal to you then.

- Sure, thank you. - she makes her way to the door, as he follows her.

- So can I pick you up around noon?

- Noon sounds good.

- Julie... - he says hesitantly. - Just promise me you won't go back up there, please. - he says trying to hide his concern. - Try to get some rest. - he complements.

She looks down with a very faint smile.

- Don't worry... I won't. - she says in a weary voice.

She delicately leans up and gives him a kiss on the cheek, whispering a kind 'Thank you' before leaving.

'She does smell like strawberries.' He thought. 'What happened?...' He wonders... what could break someone's heart so badly. He observes as she enters the elevator with her head down, when the elevator door closes, he closes his door, but still stand there for a couple of minutes, taking the day in.

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She gets to the apartment, turns on the lights. She didn't think she would come back to it, ever again... She wonders why does she always give in to hope.

She walks to the bedroom, turns on the light, goes to the window, and takes another look at the stars, no moon tonight. She closes her eyes, and remembers when she used to look out the window, to see the night, and he would come and hug her from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder, and holding her tight, staying there for some minutes, enjoying the view, and the sensation of their bodies so close together. When she closes her eyes she can almost feel his strong arms around her, the sound of his voice in her ear, feel the way her body has always reacted to him. But then she remembers she can't have that anymore, her heart sinks so deep into her chest it hurts. She opens her eyes to try and shake the memories from her mind. 

Forgetting that the blinds are still open, she turns around and starts to get off the dress, leaving it on the floor, grabs a towel and goes for a bath. Soaking in the tub, she joins her hands and prays, she prays he is okay, she prays for her pain to be taken away, thick salty tears fall in the bath water like drops of rain over a calm lake, merging the peaceful warmth with the cold sorrow.