Why now?

Chapter 2

Amadeus Elestial

I was sitting in my apartment, checking the mails of my employees who had mailed me reports and presentations when Will had called. It had been three hours since I parted with that woman and while it wasn’t as if I couldn’t get her out my mind, she started haunting my thoughts the moment I got too indulged in anything.

I didn’t try to recall her, she just appeared in my thoughts. I scrolled through my i********: and saw a picture of one of my old classmates vacationing at the beach. The girl, who was once my project partner for an entire year, was wearing a bikini and unconsciously, I started recalling the body of the woman I had caressed and kissed a few hours ago. 

Will’s call suddenly jolted me back to the real world where I lived alone in an apartment. I all but forgot that my interest in the woman remained the reason why I clicked her picture and sent it to Will. Wilhelm ‘Will’ Norman was someone who just so happened to have more than enough intelligence to observe what people didn’t. Now, eight years after high school, he was a well-reputed detective with the police.

Will called and said he was on his way. After a minute, the doorbell rang and Will was there. He entered and closed the door before following me to the living room. We sat on the couch and made ourselves comfortable. Well, I laid own the couch while Will gave a disapproving look.

“Is this how you treat your guests?” He jokingly asked.

“Since you are the guest, yes.” I replied.

“That woman was one of our juniors in high school.” Will finally spoke and I immediately darted up to look at him with a shocked face. Will looked even more unimpressed now.

“Her name?”

“Grace. Myra doesn’t remember her surname.” Myra was an extraordinarily extroverted person who was the first junior to have an interaction with someone from my batch and that was how our batches ended becoming close.

“How does Myra know her?” I was eager to know her.

“They were classmates. Friends, but not best friends.” That was strange. I knew all of Myra’s friends. She had made it a point to introduce everyone to everyone and even tried to unsuccessfully set me up with a few of her friends.

“Okay! What about our get-together tonight at the Hollow?”

“I’ll come”

He nodded at my answer before an irritating silence ensued. Thankfully, Will decided to resume the conversation.

“When did you meet her?” Not the question I wanted to be asked, but I probably should have expected it.

“Last night.”

“Where? I knew that his curiosity had grown. 

“At a bar.” 

“You talked?” He prodded further.

“Sex.” I casually replied. 

He didn’t say anything but kept looking at me glassily, waiting for an explanation. I know this is completely weird, wrong even.

“I want you to find whatever you can on this woman.” I returned his glassy gaze.

“Grace.” Will corrected.

“This woman.” Some part of me furiously decided that I would not acknowledge her until she gives it to me herself.

“Why?” Will inquired, with a desperation for a satisfactory answer which I have yet to give.

“We had breakfast, but she didn’t tell me her name. Her appearance is all I know.” Will grinned like the Cheshire cat. That is definitely not a good sign.

“Tell me if you recognize her from these photos.” Will took out his phone and started tapping on it. Why is everyone using their phone so much? A few seconds later, he gives it to me and I became completely immersed in taking in the remarkable pictures of her appearance.

“How do you have this?” I asked.

“Myra’s account. They were classmates, so they follow each other. She occasionally brags about her follower with the great blue tick.” Will held out his hand for his phone to be returned, but I promptly ignored him.

“Deus, give me my damn phone. You can look at her photos from your own account.” I paid no attention to him but I did pull out my own phone at his suggestion. I opened i********: and typed her username. When I found it, I tapped the follow button before scrolling down her profile. A look of satisfaction has definitely painted my face. I returned the phone to him and it rang as soon as he got it back. Probably work. He stood up and walked a few feet away from me to answer the call while I occupied myself by looking at the pictures of the woman.

She had a blue tick of verification from i********: and had more than five hundred thousand followers. An author of books of a supernatural series. Most of her one hundred fifty-two posts were about her books, but there were a few which were her pictures either with friends or in which she didn’t properly look at the camera.

“Deus, I have work. The Hollow at seven thirty.” Will went to the door and showed himself out. I continued to sit there, still looking at the one picture I had finally found in which I could admire her looks and not her books.

By seven, I had showered and dressed up in a pair of jeans and an olive-green shirt. I folded my sleeves till it reached my elbows. I allowed my brown hair to remain a bit messy and after a few sprays of some cologne gifted by my mother, I exited the apartment and walked towards the elevator. 

I walked towards my car in the parking lot and smoothly steered the sleek black Mercedes out of the parking lot. After twenty minutes, I finally reached the Hollow. I parked my car and walked towards the entrance. The guards at the entrance recognized me and allow me through without checking for any ID.

“Deus! Hey!” A feminine voice yelled. I looked towards the source of the voice and walked towards it. I reached our table and hugged Verona, the one who had yelled my nickname.

“I hear your looking for Grace.” Myra stated as I proceeded to hug her.

“I guess.” Myra gave me a very incredulous look, and Verona gave me the same expression when she heard her cousin.

“Grace? Which Grace?” She demanded. “Our Deus has a crush?”

“The one on whom you had crush on.” Myra replied. Wait! What?

“Oh! That Grace.” Verona exclaimed happily.

“She’s thrilled.” Will ‘whispered’ into my ear but obviously, everyone heard him. Verona punched his arm and gave him a dirty look.

“Don’t deny it.” He retorted as he clutched his arm.

“I didn’t. She was so adorable back then. Even with those glasses.” Verona swooned like a fangirl seeing a new photo of their favorite celebrity. “And when I finally thought I was over her, she stopped wearing glasses.” She sighed dramatically.

“What happened after that?” I asked. A very stupid question and I realized that after she answered me.

“I finally realized how sexy she was.” Verona deadpanned. I know. “I mean, I always knew that she had an attractive figure and facial features and all, but with those glasses, I constantly saw an adorable girl whose cheeks I wanted to pinch.” So did I. “They were always so rosy. Without glasses, she just transformed into this insanely hot girl.” I was surprised at how much I was able to related to Verona being attracted to this woman.

“Are we teasing Verona about one of her new crushes?” A voice asked.

We turned and saw Cyril Hernandez approaching the table with his older sister, Nina. Cyril was a junior who played for the soccer team.  Nina was once the vice president of the student council. After another round of hugs and greetings everybody sat.

“Elliot will be here in five, Percy and Gabriel…” 

“...Have already reached!” An enthusiastic voice interrupted Nina. A red-haired woman, Persephone ‘Percy’ Morris, hugged Nina and the man following her sighed.

“Percy, don’t be so loud.” The man behind the redhead, Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Strauss, reprimanded the woman who had a glare for his comment before proceeding to hug the others.

“How’s life?” I asked. Everyone knew that Percy could create chaos everywhere and anywhere she wants and there is no point in trying to prevent it.

“This woman has been making it a living hell.” He motioned towards the redhead. A hand crept around Gab’s shoulder and that is how Elliot Dreyar made his appearance for the day.

“Yoo hoo!” Another man, Henrik Chilly, joined us. 

Everybody invited was present, and we had ordered different varieties of food, mainly Italian. Oregano was passed and jokes were cracked. 

“I heard you wanted to stalk Grace.” Verona looked at me as she spoke. All eyes have been set on me and I know that the evil woman has achieved her goal tonight.

“Who knows what would I do without you to remind me who to stalk.” I deadpanned.

“Which Grace?” Nina asked.

“The one she had a crush on.” Myra snorted.

“What?” I asked as I stabbed my pasta. This was becoming quite troublesome.

“Look here. Most of us knew her and even if our acquaintances were brief, we respect her. We can’t let Grace be one of your casual dalliances. Especially from a person with whom she has so many mutual friends.” Gab spoke earnestly.

“Remember the time the school counselor, Mr. Monsoon got arrested?” It was Nina who spoke. All of us looked at her. A few of us nodded and the rest of us said ‘yes’. The police had stormed into the school and had arrested the school counselor when he was teaching psychology in the seniors’ class. Later it was discovered, that the so-called teacher had r***d three girls who went to him for counselling.

“Grace was the one who found and told the principal.” Nina concluded. “There was a rumor in which she was also sexually assaulted by him, but nobody knows if it’s the truth.”

“Okay, I am out of the loop. Who is Grace?” Henrik asked.

“A classmate in high school. She was with her own group of friends, that’s why you don’t know her.” Myra replied.

“Oh yeah? Do you know her?” Henrik randomly asked the person sitting opposite to him who happened to be Cyril.

“Aye! We had many discussions over anime.” Cyril casually replied.

“That’s why you ditched us to sit next to her.” Myra accused.

“Not my fault you don’t watch it. She was the only one in our class who watched it.” Cyril looked at her incredulously.

“Myra thought you had a crush on her.” Percy motioned towards Myra with her glass of water. Cyril rolled his eyes. 

“Any news of our other friends?” I asked before taking a gulp of water.

“Not someone you seniors might know, but does anybody remember the other girl who had Math? Kara Beauford, she’s a professor at Yale.” Myra replied. Who the hell is this Kara Beauford?

“Whoa!” Cyril exclaims.

“Why are you so surprised? You had math and now you are a lawyer.” Nina chastised. The chatty Cyril was silenced. A priceless moment.

“Has anybody got in touch with Darya?” Henrik asked.

“No. She has a lot of work nowadays.” Gabriel replied. Darya Ivanov was the heiress to the chairmanship of one of Russia’s oldest universities.

“Deus has lots of work too. Is it boring?” Henrik teased.

“Oh, his life has suddenly become fascinating.” Verona laughed.

“Did I miss something?” Henrik asked. I simply nodded. After all, he did miss me being teased because of Will.

“He is finally undergoing that phase.” Myra explicitly quoted the word ‘phase.’

“Which pha… Oh!! I am so sorry. I didn’t think you were like that.” Henrik gave me a wistful look. Now everybody looked at him with surprise. Why was he apologizing?

“Why are you apologizing?” Gabriel asked.

“She said he was undergoing that phase.” Henrik quoted the word ‘phase’ like Myra did. 

“And what did you think she referred to?” Nina inquired.

“Puberty.” Henrik replied with a laugh. Everybody laughed while I playfully glared at him.

“Then which phase are you talking about?”

“Attraction.” Verona replied.

“Desire.” Myra spoke in unison as her cousin.

“Stupidity.” Will added after the girls. 

“Why is that?” Nina inquired.

“He practically ordered me to stalk a lady.” 

“How did you know she was a lady and not a woman?” Percy asked between her laughs. Percy had a motto. ‘You become a woman with age, but the title of a lady has to be earned.’ and she had a habit of inflicting that thought on everyone she meets.

“Isn’t Grace a lady?” Will arched an eyebrow and smirked as he uttered those words. The laughter immediately died down and a pregnant pause ensued.

“Grace?” Percy stood up and almost punched me. “I will kill you!” She was restrained by Gabriel and Verona immediately. I was shocked by her reaction.

Percy started shouting profanity at a pitch so high that the entire restaurant quieted down and looked at our group of friends. Elliot was the first to notice that and he stood up.

“Percy, sit down.” Gabe grabbed her shoulders gently and started massaging them as he induced her sit down. He made her drink some water and started feeding her the potato wedges.

“Sorry, please resume with your activities.” Elliot politely spoke as he glanced at every other table. The silence in the restaurant was nonetheless there. A few whispering voices could be heard. 

“Percy, don’t do that again. Seriously? Intestines and reproduction? You should talk about food which just so happens to go through the intestines and refer to s*x as reproduction. Such words could actually cause loss of appetites and erotic desires.” Cyril joked. Everybody laughed out loud including myself. His joke had really lightened the mood.

“Now, do you mind telling us your reasons for shouting at Deus?” Will questioned in his detective mode. Percy stopped laughing and so did the others.

“No use hiding it now. I was the reason why Grace found out about the counselor.” 

“What do you…” 

“You don’t have to tell us.” Nina interrupted Verona. The latter was surprised but kept quiet because of the tone the former had used. It was firm, yet sad. 

“I won’t but all I will say is she saved me.” Percy casually continued despite Nina’s words. Everybody became quiet. “So, Henrik, when was the last time you got laid?” Percy casually asked. 

“Three weeks ago.” Henrik knew better than to resume the previous conversation. If Percy wanted to disclose anything, she would have already spoken. If she jumped to a new topic and didn’t receive a reply, she wouldn’t talk to you.

“Elliot?” 

“Three hours ago.” He replied. Elliot had an on and off relationship with a woman whom they didn’t knew. Not that it was relevant.

“Deus? Please don’t tell me it was a century ago when you decided to take a mortal lover to please your immortal self and order him to stalk her.” Percy groaned.

“Yesterday.” I replied. I stabbed my pasta and ate contentedly while the others looked at me with bewilderment. 

“Details!” Verona yelled. Will sighed in defeat. Myra examined at both of us and didn’t understand why Will had sighed. Will leaned and murmured something in Myra’s ear. She gasped and glared at me.

“You!” She pointed at me with her fork. Everybody looked at Myra who had suddenly become furious again. “Grace.” She spoke and looked at me with a hint of sadness and disappointment. I didn’t like that look. Especially from a woman whom I had considered and treated like a sister.

“I thought you just talked to her or bumped into her.” Percy’s voice was perilously harsh.

“It was just a one-night stand.” I met her gaze. 

“Did you force…”

“No.” I interrupted sternly. That is one thing I will never do. Percy should know that. I have never accepted any woman who aimlessly threw themselves at me. Percy sighed. I looked at Myra and she nodded at me to acknowledge my answer.

“As long as she was willing, I don’t have any problem.” Percy poked a fry with her fork and submerged it in mayonnaise before shoving it inside her mouth.

“Deus, you need to get a love life.” Zara commented. “It is almost sad how you don’t have a partner.”

“Or at least something on and off.” Cyril added.

“You don’t need to comment.” Henrik scoffed. 

“And why not? At least I am sexually satisfied.” Cyril retorted.

“Cyril.” Nina’s voice had a warning edge to it. “I am not in the mood to ruin my appetite by hearing my brother spew details of his s*x life.” Cyril was suddenly embarrassed and started poking on his tomato slices. 

“That was traumatizing.” Elliot sighed.

“I know.” Gab almost whispered.

“So, how was it?” Verona inquired.

“What?” William asked tiredly.

“Deus, how was last night?” Verona asked. I stopped myself from drinking water and gave her an impassive look.

“The details.” Verona persisted, unaffected by the look she received.

“If I could remember, I would comment.” I finally replied.

“Were you guys too drunk?” Nina questioned worriedly.

“I guess.” I replied. But I remembered every bit of it. How could I forget? She had imprinted herself into my mind and I couldn’t stop her from forcing herself into my mind.