CHAPTER 3: THE GIRL IN THE RED DRESS
736 Words
Dinner was awkward.
Not normal awkward.
The kind where every sound feels too loud.
The clink of forks. The ticking clock. The silence sitting between two people pretending they weren’t staring at each other every five seconds.
I sat across from Adrian at the ridiculously long dining table while a woman in a black uniform served the food quietly before disappearing again.
Rich people really lived like this?
The pasta alone probably cost more than my monthly groceries.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” Adrian said without looking up from his wine glass.
I blinked. “What?”
“You make facial expressions every time you think.”
“I do not.”
“You do.”
I immediately stopped moving my face.
That made him smirk again.
I stabbed my pasta dramatically.
“You know,” I muttered, “normal people usually try to make conversation during dinner.”
“I am making conversation.”
“No, you’re analyzing me like a science experiment.”
His eyes lifted slowly toward mine.
“Would you prefer small talk?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
He took a sip of wine.
“What’s your favorite color?”
I stared at him.
“Are you serious?”
“You asked for conversation.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
An actual laugh.
And for one second, Adrian looked surprised by the sound.
Like he wasn’t used to hearing laughter in this apartment anymore.
“What’s yours?” I asked.
“Black.”
“That’s emotionally concerning.”
“It’s practical.”
“No,” I said, pointing my fork at him. “It’s suspicious.”
A tiny smirk appeared again.
That tiny smirk was becoming dangerous.
The rest of dinner passed strangely easier after that.
Not comfortable exactly.
But lighter.
Until his phone buzzed.
Everything changed immediately.
His expression hardened. Cold again.
He checked the screen and stood up.
“I need to leave.”
I frowned. “Right now?”
“Yes.”
“It’s almost ten.”
“I’m aware.”
Something in his tone warned me not to ask more questions.
Unfortunately, curiosity was basically my biggest flaw.
“Where are you going?”
He grabbed his coat calmly.
“An event.”
“At ten at night?”
His eyes met mine briefly.
“You ask too many questions, Lena.”
“And you avoid literally all of them.”
For a second, I thought he’d ignore me again.
But then he sighed quietly.
“There are people involved in my life who expect things from me.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
“You have no idea.”
Again.
That sadness hiding behind his voice.
Before I could respond, he headed toward the door.
Then paused.
“Wear something formal tomorrow night.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“You’re meeting the public.”
And then he left.
Just like that.
The apartment felt colder the second the door closed behind him.
I wandered around for almost an hour after that, unable to sleep.
The place was beautiful, but it didn’t feel alive.
No music. No warmth. No memories.
Just silence.
That’s when I noticed the room at the end of the hallway.
Its door was slightly open.
I should’ve ignored it.
Seriously. Every horror movie in existence starts with someone being curious.
But I walked toward it anyway.
The room looked different from the rest of the apartment.
Less perfect.
There was a piano near the corner. Books stacked carelessly on a table. And several framed photographs turned face down.
Immediately suspicious.
I stepped closer carefully and picked one up.
My breath caught.
It was Adrian.
Smiling.
Actually smiling.
His arm wrapped around a beautiful girl wearing a red dress.
Dark hair. Bright eyes. The kind of smile that looked real.
And Adrian looked at her like she was his entire world.
My chest tightened strangely.
Another photo showed her kissing his cheek while he laughed softly.
Laughed.
I stared at the picture like it belonged to a different person.
Because the Adrian I knew barely even smiled.
I slowly turned the frame over.
Written on the back in faded ink were four words.
Forever starts with us.
Something about those words made sadness creep quietly into my chest.
Suddenly everything made sense.
The coldness. The distance. The rule about emotional attachment.
Someone had broken him long before I arrived.
- Writer
