Chapter two.
1121 Words
Lily
Bernard would be in my apartment in less than five minutes. It was already grueling enough that I had to break the news of my eviction to him. Now, I had to explain who the stranger in my living room was. I couldn’t possibly tell him Blake also had a marriage contract for me.
“Can you leave?” I finally blurted at Blake, who wasn’t as fazed by my behavior as I thought he would be.
He looked more confused now, still not moving an inch. “I’m sorry?”
“Look, I don’t know you and I shouldn’t have let you in. My boyfriend’s on his way. You need to leave before he gets here. I don’t have time to explain, and I’m sure you understand why you shouldn’t be here in the first place.” I headed for the door and opened it, impatiently tapping my foot.
My phone pinged once again and I rushed to grab it just as Blake was standing up.
Benny: I’m downstairs. You home? I’m coming up.
“No, no, no…” I let out a string of curses as I grabbed Blake by the wrist and pulled him towards my bedroom.
“What exactly is it that you’re doing?” he asked, a childlike curiosity plastered on his face.
“I need you to stay in here for a bit. Can you do that?”
“I just can’t—”
“Perfect.” I interrupted him with a tight smile, shoving him inside and locking the door.
Just five seconds later, I heard a knock on my already open door. I turned to find Bernard with narrowed eyes, looking around. “Is something wrong, baby?”
“No. I saw your text about you coming up and I opened the door.” I hated how smoothly the lie slipped out of my mouth.
“I thought I heard you talking to someone for a second there.” He sighed as he closed the door and set the box of donuts on the floor since I didn’t have a coffee table. He preferred to sit on the floor whenever he came around. Even the furniture in his house was barely used. He just loved to sit on the floor in general.
His eyes caught the contract lying face down on the couch, but I reached for it and grabbed it before he could touch it. He gave me a surprised look.
“It’s confidential. It’s a script for a movie I’m auditioning for and it’s quite huge so… top secret” I shrugged.
He nodded in understanding. “I get it. You’re gonna be big someday, Lily.”
“Thanks.” I smiled as he opened the box of glazed donuts, making my mouth water. I hadn’t eaten since noon.
Sliding the contract behind me, I took a donut as he stood up and walked to the kitchen and returned with two cans of Coke.
“Anything new at work lately?” he sparked a conversation.
“Not really.” My stomach sank. I would have to break the news to him one way or another.
As if on cue, his eyes fell on the eviction notice right beside him on the floor. The moment his eyes landed on the paper, his brows furrowed. His jaw clenched as he put the paper down and looked at me with a sad frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just got it.” My appetite was immediately drained. I dropped the half-eaten donut and crossed my legs. He closed the box and set it aside, pulling me close to him.
“God, I’m so sorry I can’t afford to keep you here, Lily.” He planted a kiss on my forehead.
“I understand, Benny. You have so much to take care of and we both don’t earn enough. It’s all just—”
“Move in with me,” he suddenly said.
“You know I can’t.” I shook my head. That was not the first time we were having that conversation and I would always have the same answer.
“Where else are you gonna go, Lily?” he questioned.
“I’ll figure something out. I can’t afford to be a burden to you, Benny.”
“You’re not a burden, Lily. I’m looking to find a better job soon and once I do, things are only going to get better. We could get married and it’ll all be perfect.”
The mention of marriage had my heart stopping for a moment.
“I understand you, but I can’t do that right now. I’ll stay at a motel or something.” I shrugged.
“That’s going to be added to a list of unnecessary expenses—”
“I’m not going to live with you, Benny!” I snapped, interrupting him. “I’ll make sure to succeed out there. I’ll do better in my auditions, take my influence even more seriously, you’ll see. I’ll be fine.”
Even with the worry on his face, he sighed and nodded. “Fine. But you have to keep me in the loop. I should know where you are. If something’s not right, call me,” he instructed.
“Always.” I gave him my word, just as his lips clashed with mine in a warm kiss.
I felt him smile against my lips, eliciting a smile of my own. I wrapped my arms around his neck, time freezing and leaving just us. I forgot about the eviction, about the man I had locked in my room, about how badly things were going for me.
Benny just had that effect. He was perfect for me. We were perfect for each other.
A loud crash from my room broke us apart. My heart rate sped up so much more than it could take, my chest started to hurt.
“Stay here. I’ll go check out what it is,” Bernard told me, standing up and taking cautious steps towards the bedroom.
I grabbed him by the wrist and smiled innocently. “It’s probably a bird that crashed into the window. It happens all the time around here.”
“What if it’s a burglar? We should still check it out.” I pulled him back as he walked to the room, but it was futile.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, Benny.”
His hands carefully grabbed the key which was still jammed into the keyhole and he turned it. Carefully, he turned the knob and opened the door as my heart exploded.
The scene we walked into shocked me more than it shocked Bernard.
“What the f**k?” I mouthed.
- Writer
