Tangled Affairs

Chapter Five

It was lunch break, and I decided to step out for some air as my back is appearing to be stiffened.

I sat on part of a long cushion chair in the hallways, slowly sipping my coffee and resting my back.

I didn't take my phone with me, as I needed a little break from technology, sitting in front of a computer alone was enough.

I was meditating quietly when I saw David run through the hallways towards the elevator, he had his phone on his ear like he was receiving an urgent call.

It seemed like the situation was an emergency.

I wanted to message him and ask if everything was okay, but I remembered I wasn't with my phone and he might not even see it or have the time to answer.

Soon, the break was over, and I went back into my office.

Exhausted, I lay on my bed and grabbed my phone to text David. He's always been the one to text first most times, but I just assumed he was busy tonight, and then I proceeded to send him a message.

'What's up sunshine, you good?'

Twenty minutes have passed and still no reply from him. I kept checking my phone, but he hasn't read it either. I texted again.

'Are you busy?'

Still no reply.

I brushed off the weird thought I was having and just concluded that he's probably doing his personal things too.

I turned on the TV and lay back in my bed, trying to distract myself, but I couldn't help but worry.

I sat up, and I decided to put a call through to him. His phone rang four times and then went to voicemail. 'You've reached the voicemail of David Miller, leave a message.' It beeped.

I was getting really worried at this point because I've barely been directed to David's voicemail. I left him a message telling him to call me as soon as he gets the message, then I finally hung up.

I jerked awake at three am in the morning. I remembered I had fallen asleep waiting for David to return my call or even text back.

I scribbled around in search of my phone and turned it on. I heaved out a huge sigh of relief seeing David's text.

'Hi love, sorry I couldn't get back to you on time. I'm fine, I've just been really busy. Let's have dinner together tomorrow. Love you.'

Hearing back from David was such a huge relief as I drifted back to sleep peacefully.

David had texted me earlier about the place he has reserved for us and had asked me to go there first because he had to wrap up some work. It was a beautiful restaurant.

I gave the waitress the name our seat was reserved under, and she led me to a seat at the far end of the restaurant.

I sat there waiting for David, and after about ten minutes he showed up. He rushed to where I was after I waved to him so he would notice me.

"Sorry I'm late love, I just had something to do," he apologized.

"It's okay, you're here now, and that's all that matters," I answered.

"So...have you ordered anything?"

"No, I was waiting for you to get here."

"You should have. What if I had taken more time?"

"It's no biggie, I still would have waited."

He smiled. "Alright, let's get something."

We had dinner in silence, and I could tell something was different about this David sitting in front of me, he seemed... distant.

It looked as if there was something on his mind. He looked heavy. I wanted to ask him, but I just decided to bring last night up instead.

"What were you doing last night?" I asked.

"Last night? Uh, I was just busy, I took home some work, so I was trying to finish it all before the day breaks," he replied, looking around, barely looking at me, as if he were hiding something. He immediately went back to eating his food.

"Is everything okay with you?" I finally asked

"Why do you ask? I'm fine, very fine. I guess I'm just stressed out, you know, barely had any sleep yesterday night."

"David," I called out to him, making sure he looked me in the eyes, "If something is bothering you, please don't hesitate to tell me. I will help you in any way I can. I'll always be here anytime you want to talk. Alright?"

"What?" He chuckled, "I told you I'm fine, but okay, okay. I won't hide anything from you. Is that why you look so serious? Come on, I'm really fine," he stretched his hand over the table, and he placed it on my cheek. I let my face rest on his hand as I looked at him worried.

"Ok, should we do something fun after dinner? We could go to an arcade or go for a walk."

"There's work tomorrow, an arcade seems tiring," I retorted, "but taking a walk would be nice," I smiled.

After eating, we walked hand in hand amidst the city. We talked, laughed, and did our thing, bickering. I loved the moment so much that I want to live in it.

We walked by a river bank, and after a while, we sat on a bench by the bank. I rested my head on his shoulder as we both stared. David's hand was making little circles on mine as we sat in silence and looked into the distance.

"Aubrey?" He called out to me.

"Yeah?"

"No matter what happens between us, just know that I love you very much."

I sat up and faced him, "What is going to happen? Did something happen at work? Are you sick? Are you traveling? I asked, scared and curious.

He smiled, as if making fun of my expression and questions. "Nothing's going to happen, I just want you to know that I always love you," he said, patting my hair down to my neck. His hands rested there.

"David, is something going on?"

"There's nothing going on, and I'm fine. Can't I affirm the love I have for you all over again?"

I sighed heavily. "David, I get that you might not want to share your problems with me and you just want to solve them all on your own. I'm not going to ask you anymore, but if they're too heavy for you to bear, you can always lean on me."

"Okay," he replied weakly and nodded.

"I can't lose you David," I said, a tear dropping from my eye.

"You won't lose me, I'm always here," he said, wiping my face with his thumb.

His eyes, filled with deep affection, locked unto mine as he pulled me in by the neck. His thumb, still wet from my tear, brushed again my jawline and earlobe.

David's face drew closer, his lips a few inches away from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my skin. Like in a slow motion, his lips met mine, our mouths moving in perfect sync, sending shivers down my entire spine.

It started off as a gentle kiss, but it grew to be more intense and passionate as his hand slipped down from cupping my face down to my waist, pulling me closer as I felt the warmth of his body and the racing beat of his heart.

In that moment, nothing else mattered to me. No fear, no doubts, only the love we shared.

It's been two weeks and I noticed David had drastically withdrawn from me, and we hardly spoke again, but I held on to my promise not to bother him and his love for me.

It was the weekend, and I decided to surprise David at home, after all, I couldn't abandon him totally. I bought some groceries along and planned to cook at his place.

I walked into his apartment and met him sitting on the dining table in front of his laptop. He looked back at me and didn't look too thrilled to see me.

"Hi," he said after facing his laptop.

I dropped the bag of his ingredients on the table. "Hey," I wrapped my arms around his neck. "How're you doing?"

"I'm great, thanks."

"I haven't heard from you in the past few weeks, so I decided to visit. You good?''

"Yeah, just putting stuff together," he answered, his fingers hitting the keyboard, the noise filling the air.

I stood upright, but my hands were still resting on his shoulders. I hated being snubbed or ignored, but I just had to keep pushing.

"I bought some groceries, I plan to make your favorite, you in?"

"I'm not hungry, but you can make it and keep it in the fridge."

"You can't say that. Don't worry, I'll make you eat it. Hmm?"

"Aubrey, I'm busy."

"You'll just take a little break when I'm done."

"Aubrey."

"Or you can just tell me what you want and I'll make it."

"Aubrey!" He snapped, making me jump. "I said I'm busy, what part of that can't you understand?" He looked up at me and then back at his laptop.

I just stood there shocked, staring at David's back, and he didn't even seem to care. "David....." His name silently rolled out of my mouth in disbelief. In our years together, he had never raised his voice at me, so this act of his came to me as a total shock.

Now, I'm sure something is wrong with him.

But... what could be wrong with David?