In the morning, I opened my eyes and looked to my right only to find an empty bed. Mason had left, as usual after I had fallen asleep. The only time he'd left me while a was awake was on the first night. After that, he'd stayed each night. I let out a heavy sigh and pushed. myself on my elbows. Apart from the tossed bed, there was no sign of him. Like he'd never been in the room. I plopped myself back on the bed and grunted frustrated that for the life of me, I couldn't make heads or tails of the man.
Might as well call him mystery man. I giggled at that thought and rolled off the bed.
As I stepped into the shower, the academy was another thing that bothered me to no end. It was mid-July and I haven't heard from them not a single peep. I washed as quickly as I could and stepped out of the shower, sliding across the wet floor. I turned to the girl in the mirror and smiled. Even with the little crumbs he gave me, I was happy. It was just enough to keep me going. My lips were still a bit swollen from the roughness of Mason's kisses but that was nothing that a layer of lipstick wouldn't fix. After preening myself in the mirror, trying to find any other marks on my body that Mason might've left on me. I finally made my way to the bedroom and began picking the bits that I'd spread all over the floor, caught in the heat of the moment.
Opening the wardrobe door, I picked up a loose outfit for the day. It was another day in the Morston slums, and by the end of it, I will most likely be covered in all sorts of things. It was the norm.
I need my tennis shoes, for some odd reason, I found them extremely comfortable. I frowned, a little out of sorts when I couldn't find them anywhere in the room. I had worn them the day before. I couldn't have misplaced something like that unless I was going crazy again.
I glanced at the clock.It was almost six and I had just run out of time. I picked my flats instead and bolted for the door, through the corridor and barged into the kitchen, to find Enid had already started to cook breakfast.
" Morning, dear" Enid glanced over her shoulder and returned her attention to making pancakes.
" Morning, Enid" I greeted as I made my way to the counter to pour myself a cup of coffee.
" How was the film? What was it called?" Enid asked bringing the events of the night before back to the forefront. I had already forgotten about it. I hadn't watched any of it, and I had no clue.
I poured the egg mixture into the pan and shrugged " I don't remember how was it called. It was a romantic film. The usual." I casually added, stirring the eggs with one hand and holding my cup with the other.
" That bad, huh?" Enid hummed, and flipped another pancake, with her eyes on me.
" He thought it was a date. I thought we were just going to watch a film. He tried to kiss me." I cut the story short, I didn't want to dwell on it any longer. I had eyes only for Mason.
" Who tried to kiss you?" Mason's voice rang in the kitchen and I froze. My mind went from zero to a million miles per hour in one split second. Enid frowned at me and glanced at Mason over her shoulder. I could hear his footsteps behind me, but I didn't dare to look at him.
I caught a glimpse of him pouring himself a coffee from the corner of my eye. It was clear enough to see the side eye he quickly gave me.
" Stir, dear" Enid urged me and I was finally able to move my hand and looked at Enid smiling.
" David," Enid answered for me, as she began placing the usual breakfast spread on the table. I let out a silent breath and emptied the scrambled eggs onto a plate. I wasn't hungry anymore.
Mason hummed " How was it?" Mason asked and I didn't know how to answer that question.
I turned around, taking the plate of scrambled eggs with me and sat down at the table, almost robotic. Nothing happened between me and David. I had no clue why was I so afraid.
" I don't know. I ran away," And you know the rest. I wanted to add but with Enid in the room, some things were better left unsaid.
Mason walked behind me to take a seat at the table in his usual spot, and I could feel his eyes on me. I didn't dare to look at him, my eyes roamed on the table.
" Why? From what you've told me, he is a sweet young man, smart. He has a bright future ahead of him." Enid chimed in, as she took her seat at the table, brows all quirked up, waiting for me to answer.
Because I'm in love with someone else and we've been fucking him every night for the past month. I wanted to say not just to her but to the world. I took a deep breath, to calm my qualm.
" I know. I don't like him like that. To me, he is just a friend," I wasn't lying about it.
Enid hummed with a deep frown " Love can be born out of friendship, " She said as she piled the usual pancakes on the plate and threw me a glance. I've never seen that look in her eyes but I was pretty sure she knew about me and Mason.
" Maybe. I don't know," I looked at my empty plate, trying to come up with a better answer. When I couldn't, I left at that.
" You don't know until you try, dear," Enid advised and I was done with the conversation. I didn't want to think about it anymore. Mason just munched on his breakfast. Smart man, I thought. If he would've say anything more, for sure Enid would have sussed us out.
" I was wondering if you've seen my jeans jacket and tennis shoes? Things have been missing from my room. I was wondering if you or maybe Harriet had taken them to clean ." I quickly changed the topic. I either lived in a magical room that took my things or we had thieves coming into the house to steal just my stuff. Since I was the only one to raise the question, I gathered that I was the only one who had that issue.
" No, dear. I and Harriet don't clean your room. We don't have to, since you do it yourself. Are you sure that you haven't taken them out and left them at the soup kitchen or the beach?" Enid said with a frown. It made sense but I hadn't. I didn't need to.