Chapter 4
1787 Words
The house was quiet, too quiet.
And to be honest, Jesse preferred it that way. Unlike the usual days where she’d be home and her best friend would be having a party.
Walking upstairs towards her room, she drops her bag on the bean bag lying next to the sofa in her room. She drops her car keys on the nightstand and flicks on the light switch beside it.
After such a long day, she heads to the bathroom to take a shower.
Turning on the shower tap,setting it on a temperature best for her, she finally relaxes thinking of the event of the day. Her big win, the media and surprisingly the mysterious guy she met at the lounge party.
No one has been able to get that much words out of her in such a short while and he managed to. He was about 6’4 with brown eyes on the left and blue on the right . He had that Drew Starkey buzz cut. Same color and all and he felt dangerous but safe.
Safe...... safe
“Why do I keep thinking about this guy” Jessie thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a sudden door slammed informing her that her friend was home.
The sound of the front door echoed through the house, followed by hurried footsteps and the unmistakable clatter of shoes being kicked off near the entryway. Jesse froze for a moment under the warm stream of water, the noise snapping her back to reality. She shut off the shower, grabbed a robe , and wrapped it tightly around herself, listening closely.
“Jess?” her friend’s voice called out, slightly slurred but familiar. “You home?”
Jesse sighed in relief. “Yeah,” she called back, pushing the bathroom door open just enough to peek into the hallway. “I’m upstairs.”
A moment later, Olivia appeared at the top of the stairs, hair a mess, glitter still clinging stubbornly to her cheeks, and a crooked grin spread across her face.
“Wow,” Olivia said, leaning against the doorframe. “You’re home early. That’s new.”
Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Says the girl who usually comes home at sunrise.”
Olivia laughed, waving a hand dismissively. “Please, tonight was tame. Well—tame-ish.” She squinted at Jesse. “You okay? You look.... distracted.”
Jesse hesitated. “Just tired.”
That wasn’t entirely a lie. But it wasn’t the truth either.
Olivia nodded slowly, clearly not convinced, but she didn’t push. “I’m gonna grab some water. You wanna talk later?”
“Yeah,” Jesse said. “Give me ten.”
Olivia disappeared down the stairs, and Jesse closed the door, leaning against it. Her heart was beating faster than it should have been. She didn’t know why the thought of explaining her day felt harder than actually living it.
She got dressed quickly— a cropped top, sweatpants, hair still damp—and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked sharper somehow, more alert. Like something had shifted, even if she couldn’t explain what.
Downstairs, the kitchen light glowed softly. Olivia sat at the counter, scrolling through her phone, a half-empty glass of water beside her.
“So,” Olivia said without looking up, “how was your day?”
Jesse grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the fridge and grabbed a class cup from the cabinet. “Event went well. Better than expected.”
“That’s my girl,” Olivia said, finally looking up. “Knew you’d kill it.”
Jesse shrugged, but a small smile slipped through. “Yeah. Guess all the work paid off.”
There was a pause.
“And?” Olivia prompted.
“And.. what?”
Olivia smirked. “You don’t come home early, take a quiet shower, and look like you’ve seen a ghost without something else happening.”
Jesse rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“Accurate,” Olivia replied. “But also intuitive.”
Jesse took a breath. “I met someone.”
Olivia’s eyes widened immediately. “Oh?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jesse said quickly. “Just.. a conversation.”
Olivia leaned forward. “Those are the dangerous ones.”
Jesse laughed despite herself. “He was.. different.”
“Different how?”
Jesse struggled for the right words. “He listened. Like, really listened. And he didn’t try to impress me or ask about my wins or any of that.”
Olivia nodded slowly. “Okay. What’s the catch?”
“There isn’t one,” Jesse said, then hesitated. “I don’t think.”
Olivia studied her face. “You don’t know his name, do you?”
Jesse blinked. “How did you—”
“Because you’re like someone who didn’t get the full story,” Olivia said. “Am I right?”
Jesse sighed. “I didn’t ask. And he didn’t offer.”
Olivia groaned dramatically. “Classic.”
“It was loud,” Jesse defended. “And crowded.”
“And mysterious,” Olivia added, clearly amused. “Tell me about him.”
Jesse hesitated again, then spoke. “He had… different eyes. Like, actually different. One brown, one blue.”
Olivia’s grin widened. “That’s rare.”
“Yeah,” Jesse said softly. “And he just..felt like someone you shouldn’t underestimate.”
Olivia leaned back. “Sounds like trouble.”
“Or just someone interesting,” Jesse countered.
Olivia raised her hands. “Hey, I’m not judging. Just saying—interesting people usually come with stories.”
Jesse didn’t respond. Because that was exactly what she was afraid of.
Later that night, Jesse lay in bed staring at the ceiling, the house quiet once again. Olivia had gone to sleep, the television downstairs finally silent. But Jesse’s mind refused to rest.
She kept replaying the conversation from the lounge. The way his voice stayed calm even when the room buzzed with noise. The way he seemed to notice things others didn’t. How he looked at her like she was more than a headline or a highlight reel.
She turned onto her side, pulling the blanket closer.
“Get a grip,” she muttered to herself.
The next few days passed in a blur. Interviews, training sessions, meetings. Life returned to its fast-paced rhythm, and Jesse told herself she’d imagined the intensity of that moment. That people crossed paths all the time, and most of them were never meant to cross again.
Until Friday afternoon.
She was leaving a café near the gym when she nearly collided with someone at the door.
“Sorry,” she said automatically, stepping back.
“No worries.”
Her breath caught.
It was him.
Same buzz cut. Same eyes. Same calm presence that made the world feel like it had slowed down just enough to notice.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
“Didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said finally.
“Yeah,” Jesse replied. “Me neither.”
A small smile appeared on his face. “Guess the city’s smaller than it feels.”
Jesse nodded. “Or just persistent.”
He chuckled. “Mind if I walk with you?”
She hesitated, then shook her head. “Sorry no I’m kind of in a rush “
⸻
She hesitated, then shook her head. “Sorry, no. I’m kind of in a rush.”
He nodded once, easy and unbothered, as if he hadn’t expected anything else.
“Alright,” he said. “Take care.”
There was no awkward pause, no lingering look. He stepped aside, giving her space to pass. Jesse didn’t slow down, didn’t turn back. The moment closed as quickly as it had opened.
By the time she reached her car, the encounter had already been filed away in her mind—noticed, acknowledged, dismissed.
She drove off, the city blurring past her windows, thoughts already shifting back to what actually mattered. The schedule she needed to tighten. The next event. The expectations she had to meet.
Whatever curiosity she’d once felt faded as easily as it had appeared.
That night, the house was louder than usual. Olivia had friends over—nothing wild, just music humming in the background, laughter spilling from the living room. Jesse barely acknowledged it as she passed through, heading straight for the kitchen.
“You disappearing again?” Olivia called.
“Just grabbing water,” Jesse replied.
She leaned against the counter, scrolling through emails on her phone, replying to messages that demanded her attention. Deadlines. Logistics. Plans.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She stared at the screen for a moment before opening it.
Unknown Number: Hey this is Cyprain Washington. From the lounge.
Jesse read it once.
No reaction followed.
She locked her phone and set it face down on the counter.
Olivia watched her from across the room. “Everything good?”
“Yeah,” Jesse said simply.
Later, when she was alone in her room, Jesse tossed her phone onto the bed and changed into pajamas. She didn’t check for new messages. She didn’t replay the café scene. The truth was, she didn’t need to.
Some people were interesting in passing. That didn’t mean they belonged in her life.
The next few days reinforced that belief.
Her schedule tightened. Mornings started earlier, nights ended later. She moved with purpose, focus sharpened by routine. The world felt manageable when it stayed structured.
Once, while waiting at a crosswalk, she thought she saw the intriguing guy from the cafe across the street.
She didn’t look twice.
By Friday, Cyprain had texted again—short, polite messages spaced days apart. Jesse never responded. Not out of spite or confusion, but because there was nothing she wanted to say.
Eventually, the messages stopped.
And she didn’t notice when they did.
One evening, Jesse and Olivia sat on the floor of the living room, surrounded by takeout containers and half-watched television.
“You ever think about slowing down?” Olivia asked suddenly.
Jesse shrugged. “Not really.”
Olivia glanced at her. “You don’t feel like you’re missing anything?”
Jesse considered the question. Thought about the party. The lounge. The guy with mismatched eyes.
“No,” she said honestly. “I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Olivia smiled faintly. “Fair enough.”
Later, lying in bed, Jesse stared at the ceiling—not restless, not conflicted. Calm.
Her life wasn’t missing a mystery. It wasn’t waiting for someone to disrupt it.
Some moments were just moments. And she was okay letting them stay that way.
The house was quiet again.
And Jesse preferred it that way.
- Writer
