17
1100 Words
MIKE
I didn’t plan to come back.
That was the truth.
I’d driven halfway home before I realized I was still thinking about the way she looked while she slept, so peaceful,so loving, her lips….
Oh my God, what am I thinking about like this?
I checked the time.
8:02 Am
I turned the car around, Decided to get some things for her
The hotel lobby was quieter than earlier. Fewer people. Softer lighting. The receptionist recognized me this time, and didn't ask questions. Just nodded when I said the room number.
I quickly texted her number to avoid interrupting anything
After confirmation that she was around I headed straight to her room, second floor third door by my right.
I knocked once and I heard a faint “come in”, I didn’t want to intrude, I really didn’t want to see her and started regretting my decision to come, why was she so beautiful.
Aida looked surprised.
She stepped aside and I went in, immediately I started having wild thoughts about what I’d have done to her in this very room, if she was mine.
She noticed the things I brought and rushed to get it from me.
I sat on the chair this time.
She leaned against the headboard.
“I almost texted you,” she admitted. “Then I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t want to feel like I was a burden to you.”
“You’re not,” I said easily. “I wasn’t forced to come, I
Came on my own will,if you were a burden to me do you think I’d come back?……. Bearing things??.”
That seemed to relax her.
“I checked my phone earlier,” she said suddenly."He's been texting nonstop”
I didn’t ask who.
“Didn’t reply,” she added.
“Good.”
She glanced at me. “You’re not going to tell me what I should do?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you already know,” I said. “And because you’re not a child.”
“I feel… weirdly okay,” she said.
“Is that good or bad?,” I replied.
“Good” she nodded. “But It feels temporary.”
“Everything is,” I said. “That doesn’t make it less real.”
She turned her head, studied my face.
“Why did you help me”
Well if I tell her it’s because I have a massive crush on her and wouldn’t want to see her get hurt by that fool she calls a boyfriend would it be weird?
“Cause you asked for it” I finally said
She smiled. Then lay back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.
Her phone buzzed on the bed.
She didn’t look at it.
I noticed her jaw tighten just a bit. The way her fingers curled into the sheets.
“You don’t have to answer that,” I said.
“I know.”
Another buzz.
Silence.
“I hate that it still affects me,” she admitted. “Even when I don’t respond.”
“That’s normal,” I said. “Control doesn’t end just because you stop engaging.”
She glanced at me, something unreadable passing through her eyes. “You sound like you’ve experienced this before.”
“I have,” I said. “Enough times to know it’s not your fault.”
She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
For a moment, she looked tired again.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
She hesitated. “Tomorrow.”
“Work?”
She nodded. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to show up like everything is fine.”
“You don’t have to figure that out today,” I said. “Today is Sunday.”
“That doesn’t make Monday disappear.”
“No,” I agreed. “But I promise you that nothing will happen if you don’t show up on Monday”
“I’ll be penalized”
“I’ll tell them you fell ill and couldn’t show up, don’t worry they’ll believe me”
She looked at me then, really looked at me, you know those kinds of looks that have you questioning what you just said.
She was weighing whether to believe it or not?
“You’d do that?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“But why would they listen to you?”
“Because I’ll tell them to call you and confirm”
And then the both of us burst out laughing
“ I thought you wanted to say something serious” she said
“So I can just… not go?” she asked.
“For one day,” I said. “Yes. The world won’t collapse.”
A small smile tugged at her lips.
Her phone buzzed again. This time she reached for it, turned it face down without reading anything, and slid it under the pillow.
“What are your plans for today?” she asked.
“I need to go bathe and change, then I’ll come back and we’ll go out” I paused to look and see how she was taking what I said “do you want to go out……. With me?”
“Yeah, I need it, but I don’t have any other thing to wear except what I wore yesterday”
“Don’t worry about it we’ll get another one”
I really hoped she’ll trust me even, so I told her I needed to go change and that I’ll be back later in the day so I stood up and left.
Reaching back to my car I immediately dialled my dad’s secretary
“Good morning miss mercy”
“Good morning handsome”
Handsome?????
I always knew she had her eyes on me but I tried waving it off and avoiding any interactions with her whenever she came to the house to meet my dad.
One time she tried dipping her hands inside my trousers when my dad wasn't looking, in as much as I’d want to do bad things to her too, she really wasn’t my type but I think I can continue using her for myself now that I work in the office
“Can I beg you for a favour” I said
“That depends,” she said lightly.
“I need someone marked sick today. No questions. No noise.”
There was a pause.
“You owe me,” she said.
“I know,” I replied, wishing she’d just stop there.
- Writer
