A Quiet Walk

4

Z shot up from the floor, kicking over the now empty bottle in the process as she headed for the radio seated on the mantelpiece.

“I love this song” she smiled as the sound of the strumming of an acoustic guitar filled the room. “Ryan, come dance with me”. She swayed sideways, staring at the dark-haired man with a lazy smile on her face. He paused for a while, a smile of his own as he watched her take a fist full of her gown to allow her better movement. With a wine-clouded mind, Ryan got up and wrapped an arm around her waist while hers snaked around his neck, both drunk-smiling at each other. She let her head lull back with her hair falling behind her.

The song ended a while later, but the two continued swaying in one place with Z’s head resting on Ryan’s shoulders.

“Thanks for saving me” she whispered, as if afraid someone else might hear her. He smiled back even though she couldn’t see.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“He never made fun of me, he made me forget” Ryan quietly spoke, staring straight at the brown-haired lady lying beside him. “With him, I actually felt completely normal, he makes me feel normal and that’s not a feeling I was used to” a wide goofy smile on his face which always found its way to his face whenever he talked about Armand.

“Armand sounds like an amazing person” she smiled back.

“Yeah he really is”

“You’re obviously in love with him.”

“And the award for understatement of the year goes to Z” he replied with a chortle, making her playfully roll her eyes.

“Then why are you here?” she asked, making him blankly stare back at her, not making an attempt to reply “why did you come to your hideaway since you didn’t have a breakdown?” she added.

“I er- I thought I was going to have one”. He knew he was a horrible liar.

“I think what you meant to say was you convinced yourself you were going to have a breakdown so you could leave. Why?” she pressed on.

He remained silent, staring in her general direction, not focused on anything in particular, as his eyes seemed to go inward as if staring into himself. “I found a ring.” he finally replied after what felt like forever “at the bottom of his sock drawer and I got scared, but kind of like scared in a good way because I was also excited, dumb I know” he let out a dry laugh. Z made a ‘mhm’ sound to indicate she was listening. “But when I heard him making a reservation at our favorite restaurant, it was when I panicked, I knew how the evening would have gone.”

“So you ditched the dinner?” she inquired with a slight accusation plying in her voice.

“The dinner is in a month’s time, I just needed to be alone and come to terms with the whole thing. I mean I obviously want to say yes- I just don’t know what-”

“Goodnight Ryan” she abruptly cut him off, turning away to face the other way.

He creased his brows because of how rude she was, he was in the middle of explaining his crisis, and she cut him off to sleep.

He must have fallen asleep at some point during his staring contest with the writing on his walls because a hushed voice invaded his dreamless sleep. “Hey Ryan” it called out. “Ryan” it called out again, louder this time accompanied by a poke to his shoulder “Ryan wake up” the voice now sounded demanding

“What” he mumbled, refusing to commit to waking up.

“I wanna go”

“The bathroom is right there” he pressed his face further into his pillow. He finally gets a well-deserved night's rest, and she interrupts it with this.

“No, I want to go” she insisted.

“What?”

“To the beach, I mean,” she clarified,

“It’s like bloody midnight”

“No kidding Sherlock”, she rolled her eyes. “That’s why I want you to come with me.”

“No way.” he turned to his stomach wishing he could drown his head into the pillow, that way he wouldn’t hear her.

“Ryan, come on” she shoved his shoulder. “please” she reluctantly added.

Both his eyes shot open on hearing the magic word, so she was capable of manners.

“Ryan please, you won’t be long outside, I promise.”

“Fine” he exhaled, wiling himself out.

He trailed beside her till she paused at the shoreline. The cold midnight wind was blowing in both their hair. Good thing he recalled to carry his coat even in his sleepy state.

“You can go back if you want to” she quietly stated without sparing him a look, her gaze fixed on the water.

Sleep induced and probably in a limbo between drunk and being hung-over clouding his judgment, he turned back and stumbled back in the direction of his house.