"Hey hey Alex dear, get us more beer please!"
"Right away" said the woman with a faint blush on her cheek, she went to the bar and came back with 3 big glasses of beers for the men sitting on the table. The man gestured for her to join them on the table. The faint blush grew redder and she sat shyly on the corner of the table. The man is none other than the investigator and his buddies.
It's been a week since the investigator took fancy on Alex. After she fell on the stairs to his arms, somehow he has been smitten as well. He came to purple rose regularly and always took a chance to call upon the woman. When she's on the front desk he always chatted with her while coming and going. When she's on massage duty, he takes the chance to get a massage from her. When she's in the lounge, he always calls upon her to accompany them on the table. He loves to praise her and see her cheeks turn red. He thought it's very cute and refreshing.
Tonight is no different. Alex is joining the group of men on the table and pouring them drinks. The men drank and chatted all night while she just sat there smiling and being quiet. She took the liberty to refill their food and drinks on the table. The lead investigator never ceases to praise her and looks amused everytime he manages to get her cheeks red. They hung out until late night and left. The lead investigator became bolder and bolder in his advances, he even gave Alex a kiss on her hand before leaving tonight. Her face turns red as a tomato and she almost loses her balance. The investigator laughs and leaves satisfied seeing her reaction.
Alex shook her head and her cheeks returned to its usual color. She has been trying hard to become a shy and clumsy girl but she's not lying when her cheeks turned red just now. She is not used to handling man and no man had kissed her hand like that before. Some gentleman might kiss her hand as a greeting at parties and noble gatherings but none did it like the man just now. She is indeed a bit shy in this aspect.
She came back to the lounge and saw that it's nearly empty. Almost all of the guests had left since it's very late now.
"Hey lady, can I get a refill?" a man suddenly shouted at her from a corner. She looked at the man and saw that it's Will. "How unusual, he is alone tonight?" she thought when she saw the man missing his 2 buddies who are always with him. She nodded and went to the bar to get a new glass of wine. She came by and placed it on the table.
"Want to join me? I'm getting lonely since my mates are taking too long upstairs" he said to her. Alex pondered for a while. "You don't want to? I'm sad.. You seemed to have no problem sitting with other guests here" he said while pouting, faking sadness in his face. Will had been silently observing her these days and saw she often accompanies a group of investigators on their table.
"Are you a child?" Alex squinted her eyes a bit at his act. Well fine, there's no harm since there's almost no one else in the lounge now. She decided to sit down with him after all. Will smiled cheekily when he saw her sitting down. He glanced at her hands and noticed the bandages are off now. The wounds seemed better with new skin forming already over the cuts.
Truthfully, he had been curious about this woman for the past week. He still can't think of a reason why this woman is hurting herself and trying to kill herself in her sleep, he never saw someone like that before.
"How is your wound?" He decided to start a conversation. "Not bad, it's recovering" Alex replied and showed her hands. Will smiled and passed her the full glass of wine along with the snacks on the table. She took the glass of wine and took a sip from it.
"Glad to hear that. Are you still trying to kill yourself in your sleep?" Will laughed and said to her with a joking tone. The words took Alex by surprise and she looked at him. His tone seems lighthearted like it's a joke but his eyes show a serious light.
"I'm not trying to kill myself" she replied with a mocking tone while taking another sip. She did not do it consciously. Of course there are times when she contemplated the meaning of her life, on why she's still alive while her family members are all dead, but she never actively thought of committing suicide. But maybe... Maybe somewhere deep inside, she wishes to die alongside her family on that night instead of escaping alone.
"That's good then" Will smiled hearing her answer. They're not close or anything, but he does not wish for someone to just take her own life like that. Life should be cherished in his opinion. "Do you like wine? or you prefer beer instead?" Will talked to her again in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Alex looked at him for a few seconds before answering "No preferences". Will saw the look in her eyes and noticed something deeper in them. He contemplated for a while before asking again, "Then what's your favorite liquor? Or favorite food?"
Alex squinted her eyes at the question. This man had seen her having her nightmares and hurting herself, she really had nothing to hide right? It might be the alcohol taking effect but she felt like she wanted to rant to this man. It must be because of all the alcohol she drank while she accompanied the investigators.
"Have you ever seen your whole life crashing down in front of your face?" she said while putting her glass of wine on the table. "When you lost everything you once had, you can't feel anything anymore. I felt empty. You asked for my favorite food? I don't have one now. They all taste bland to me, I can't feel any taste anymore" she said while giving a bitter smile. She looked at the red colored liquid in the glass that reflected her mirage. The woman is smiling but all she saw was an empty shell looking back at her.
She gazed up from the glass to look towards the man sitting across from her. The man seemed a bit shocked, not expecting that answer from her. He had thought something was up with this woman but he didn't expect her to throw it out there to him randomly when he asks for her favorite food.
"Williaaam" a drunken sound suddenly called out to the man from the lounge's door. The two men who often accompany him stood there. The men had finished their massages and wanted to go home now as it's late already.
Seeing Will's two buddies standing at the door, Alexandra stood up. She smiled and nodded at him before leaving. Seeing her leaving, Will got up as well and went back home with his two mates. While the two snored away in the carriage, he was filled with thoughts.