"This is bad!"
Taylor exclaimed as he walked into Eris' study. He kept on staring at the phone in his hands. As expected, no sign of interest was seen in Eris. He did not bother to raise his head from what he was doing. He totally ignored his best friend.
"Eris, ain't you even bothered about what I found out?" Taylor who was getting tired of being ignored asked.
Silence.
"Hey, I am taking to you!" Taylor waved his hands in front of Eris to get his attention but his workaholic boss paid him no attention in the slightest.
"Eris, your lady is going out with another man already!" Taylor finally snapped. He just could not bear the silent treatment from Eris any more and blurted out. Although he did not regret saying what he said because as the words left his mouth, the rigid stone structure moved.
Eris hand that was initially writing stopped on hearing the statement 'your lady is going out with another man'. He raised his head and gave his dearest friend a look that says 'speak'. Only then did Taylor know that he made a good but not too good decision to distract Eris using Rhea.
"Mm.... the thing is that I did not exactly confirm if she is going out with this guy—" Taylor started but his words got stuck in his throat when he met with Eris chilling gaze.
The atmospheric condition in the room already dropped drastically. Eris' little finger twitched as he 'patiently' wait for his friend to continue speaking.
"Eris, I think you should calm down a bit" Taylor suggested but he received a deathly glare that shot icicles at him.
"Nevermind. I did not mean to stall your girlfri— I mean the lady but somehow, I ended up doing so. It is for your sake so don't kill me yet. So from what I gathered, I think there is this guy—"
"A guy?" Eris cold voice said. He looked at his friend to continue speaking.
"You just need to be calm really, it is not like she is your girlfriend—!" Taylor frowned but when Eris looked at him with a raised brow, he quickly added "—yet".
"Tell me more" Eris voiced.
"I knew you would be interested when it comes to her. So I caught on the news that she met with this guy sometimes ago and somehow, they met again and now he was invited over for Christmas dinner in her home" Taylor explained. He looked at Eris to guage his reaction but was disappointed when his friend only had an arrogant smirk on his face.
"You have nothing to say to that? Look, this girl is going to slip away if you don't—"
"A dinner huh?" Eris said cutting Taylor halfway his speech.
"Eris, could you please have the decency of not interrupting me each time I am talking!" Taylor furiously snapped.
Eris looked at him with a questioning brow. It was as if he was asking Taylor 'are you really asking me not to talk when I want to?'. The latter quickly shut his mouth and accepted his fate. The man in question is unfortunately his boss after all.
"So, it is not like you confirmed she is going out with him?" Eris asked.
"Yes, I doubt if they are" Taylor responded.
"Good" With that, Eris bent his head to continue his work. Taylor rolled his eyes. 'Good, just good?' he thought. Could his dumb best friend's emotional quota be any lower than this?.
"Eris, let me ask you, did you ever contact her again?" Taylor asked.
"I had no reason to do such superfluous things" was his answer.
"Eris!" Taylor yelled causing Eris to look at him.
"You are damned so dumb" Taylor said and Eris raised a brow at the unexpected jab. "Do you think you are so stupid god that can just make her fall head over heels for you without you making any move?" Taylor paused to look at his friend who seemed generously attentive before he continued.
"You need to prove your affection, give her calls and unnecessary text messages. She poor lady might have even concluded in her heart that you don't remember her existence anymore and is planning on moving on with her life. It is a pity" Taylor concluded with shake of his head.
Eris remained quiet and Taylor watched him. After a moment, he opened his mouth and said.
"You can leave now" Taylor raised a surprised brow and he added, "I am busy".
Not wanting to have an argument with the boss, Taylor left the study, he closed the door with a thud. Eris dropped his pen and stood up from his chair. He began pacing to and fro in the room. The word 'moving on with her life' kept on ringing in his mind.
The angelic smile on the face of the woman he chose to be his was brought to his mind. Even without them being together, he had an affection he can't possibly get over for her. He could not afford to loose her, not when she had got him attracted to her this much.
What if she really is doing that already? He thought. He ran his fingers through his hair. He messed up this time. He could not possibly let her slip away. If anything, he really missed her but was only waiting for perfect timing to reach out to her again. Perhaps, this was the perfect time for him to do so.
A thought crossed his mind and he smiled. The time to execute his over due plan is finally here. He picked up his cell phone and sent a text.
Back at the Rhea's home, the dinner was over and the family saw their guests off. Since there was nothing much left to do, Rhea and Madeline did the dishes before retiring to their rooms.
Rhea laid on her bed and stared into the empty space of the room. Her suddenly remembered the discussion at the dinning table. The truth is, for a very long time, she never had the thought of dating and even if she was going to eventually, she wanted whoever she dated be the right man for her. Not a man like her father, not a cheat or a coward.
She wondered if there was anyone like that and her thoughts trailed to a particular someone. His handsome face flickered in her mind. She closed her eyes and opened it. She remembered his feathery touch on her skin, it was with all tenderness.
She tossed on her bed and tried to erase the sudden thoughts in her mind but could not. It was like he was suddenly embedded in her heart. What was happening to her again. But this man had never reached out to her since the camp. He said he was attracted to her, was it all lies? Even without him relating with her much, a part of her really wanted to be his. What was this feeling called again? She thought.
She heaved a sigh and tried to sleep but could not. Just then, her phone beeped. She picked it up from the desk beside her bed and saw that it was a text message.
'Hey, asleep yet?' the message read.
'Nope, can't sleep' She replied.
'What is in your mind? A guy?' Another text was received.
'Claire, how could you guess so easily?' Rhea texted back. At least, she had a friend to talk to.
'I am a genius, what do you think. So who is it? Is it the guy from the camp?' Claire messaged.
'You are so wise, great one' Rhea flattered.
'Ha, ha, ha. I know right. Back to business, what is your deal with the guy, any progress yet? You refused to give me the details'
'I don't think there can be anything between the guy and me, I mean, we never spoke since then'
'What! You are kidding right'
'Nope'
'Wow.. the guy is either a snob or a dumb one. Who does that?' Claire's irritation for the guy seeped through her text.
'Well, there is actually something I did not tell you about him because I did not want you to freak out'.
'Oh, talk now before I freak out'
'The guy is actually the guest of honor for our camp then'
'What the fuck are you just telling me!' In Claire's room, she sat up on her bed and stared at her phone unbelievably. If Rhea was before her right now, she would have knocked sense into her.
'Best friend, don't be mad. It is actually a really long story' Rhea texted.
'Yeah right, I have all day'
'Okay, I met this guy at work the first time. It was really a messed up first meeting because he was with Amelia. They were kinda dating. Then we started meeting coincidentally and I don't even understand anymore because I won't just stop thinking about him especially after the camp. Do you think I am obsessed?' After multiples of typing and deleting, Rhea finally came up with a better explanation and sent it to her friend.
'Ah... this messed up story really explains a lot. My dear, you are officially in love but you just don't know it'
Rhea stared at her friend's text. She was in love.
She was in love?.
How come she did not know it. She tugged at her hair and puffed her breathe. She was in love? She asked herself again. How is it when love happens and the guy in question had not even tried to reach out to her. It is not possible, she is not in love. She texted Claire good night and turned off the light in her room. She closed her eyes but opened it when her phone beeped again. What is it again Claire? She thought as she picked her phone.
'Hey'
The message read. Not seeing anything special about the message, she closed her eyes and sleep took over.