"I'm going out, but I will be right by the doors. So, if anything happens, just call and I will come," I spoke through the length of the small corridor that separated the living room from the bathroom. And without waiting for a word of opposition or acceptance, I grabbed my cheap-ass phone and walked outside before securing the doors with a lock.
It was better if Fay wouldn't be burdened with the heavy call I was about to make.
'This is for the better. I clung to this relationship because it was the only semblance of affection I found. But now that I have this portal…'
Even before I could dial the number, my eyes moved back to where I came from, to where I could see, with the eyes of my imagination, the middle point of my run-down shed.
The theoretical origin of the portal that I had under my command.
'I'm not switching to a better woman as soon as I found one. I'm just ending what, in my soul, I always knew to be just a hoax. After hearing what I managed to hear, this relationship was over anyway.
All that was left now, was to put it to a quick end so that I could move on and focus on things that I was far more happier participating in.
Truth be told, if not for Fay or her parent, it would be the mobster I met who showed me the greatest compassion since the day my mother died. I knew he did so only as an investment in a future asset…
'Oh how sad my life was, for me to consider this sort of relationship to be an improvement,' I allowed myself a moment of self-pity over the state my former mentality brought me to. Then, I raised my phone and dialed one of the very few numbers saved in it. 'Would my life change along with the change of my mindset even if I didn't get this ability to open the portal?' I thought while starting the call and raising the phone to my ear.
A mere two signals later, my dear girlfriend's voice came through.
"Peter! I've been trying to reach you since forever!" Cassie's voice was disturbed as if she was in the middle of some sort of a tunnel… or a crowded, indoor area.
'Right, I didn't really check my phone ever since the portal appeared,' I thought, brought to my senses by the valid point Cassie brought up.
"Sorry for that, stuff happened," I replied as coldly as I did shortly, taking a short breath and stabilizing my heart to prepare for what I was about to say next.
"I'm actually about to…"
"I'm sorry, but can I go first?" I cut into Cassie's soft speech, not giving her the chance to muddle my conviction with her soothing voice.
Startled by something that didn't usually happen between the two of us, Cassie turned silent.
"Go on," she spoke, her voice mellowing down even further.
I took another breath and braced myself.
"Actually, I know about the dare," I revealed while holding nothing back.
What would be the point of going around in circles? It would only make this moment last longer and thus prolong the potential grief of a break-up… Even if this relationship wasn't real, to begin with.
"To be honest, I don't really give two shits of what you have to say in response. I'm calling you just to inform you we are no longer a thing, even if we never were, to begin with," I spat out those words as coldly as I could… not to make myself sound cooler or not affected by the situation at all.
My voice sounding cold was just an effect of me trying my best to hold back all the emotions that I've suppressed thus far.
The anxiety of having Cassie hang out with people who sneakily bullied and made fun of me back at school. The constant doubt and stress of what a great girl like her saw in me to ask me out. The endless nights I went without sleeping, worrying where she was, what and with whom she was doing…
And all of it, only for the humiliation of learning that I was nothing more but a victim of a slightly more elaborate bullying scheme. Or to be frank, I wasn't even the target in this event.
I was merely someone who would bear the emotional fallout of this unfunny joke of a dared relationship.
But as if this wasn't humiliating enough, I could pretty much tell that Cassie, my alleged girlfriend, was at the party.
The party I wasn't invited to, as the only member of our class. The party where her friends promised to find her a stud to replace the loser me.
'To think that hearing those background noises would calm me down so much,' I thought, baffled by how seemingly small things could change the outlook of the various situations.
I knew Cassie was going to cheat on me. I knew she was going to take part in the party where making out with everyone around was the main goal. And she still dared to answer my call while already there?
Out of a sudden, all the love and affection I ever had for that girl for the few fun memories we shared… It all vanished without a trace, replaced with just empty numbness.
"On that note, I hope you won't have to look long for a stud to replace that loser ex of yours," I offhandedly added, unable to stop this singular bout of poison from escaping my mouth.
And before Cassie could insert even a single word of protest, question, or anything else…
"Well, I don't exactly want to hear your voice anymore, so let's just end this farce and move on. Don't call me again."
I ended the call without letting Cassie speak up even once, proving how petty I was in reality.
But what was the point of listening to her excuses? Her accusations? Or whatever she would figure out to be the best form of damage control at the moment? What good would come from listening to her?
'I have more pressing matters to attend to than a fake girlfriend that played on my feelings,' I spelled out those words in my thoughts. Then, I took a deep breath and casually turned around, ready to get back into my shed.
As I opened the doors, my phone rang. And judging by the slightly different tune of the song that my phone started playing out, it was Cassie calling me back.
"Aaaannndd… muted," I whispered under my nose while putting my phone into airplane mode. The connection between my phone and the global network broke, instantly cutting the call without any need for me to drop it manually.
'Now then,' I thought, opening the doors and getting inside… Only to see Fay wrapped in the soft fluff of the brand-new towel I bought for her. Obviously, the towel was too narrow to cover the entire length of her legs and chest, making her expose herself up to the half of her thighs and then from roughly the upper third of her impressive chest up.
My eyes lingered on her charms for a second, instantly providing fuel to the fire in my groins that the break-up talk just now seemingly extinguished. And as my eyes moved up, scanning every detail of Fay's slim waist, healthy figure, supple bosom, and then her adorable, slightly puzzled face…
"Peter… okay?" Fay asked in a low, unsteady voice while making a single, reluctant step toward me.
A few droplets of water dropped down from her skin and down to the ground. Yet, judging by how few of them they were, Fay actually had to be out of the bath for quite some time by now.
'I wonder if she heard the call, and if she did, then how much?' I thought, realizing that my attempts at keeping Fay away from my private problems were not as effective as I assumed they would be.
While making the calculations for this plan, I failed to include how Fay's animal qualities could give her senses far keener than that even the most sensitive human could ever hope to achieve!
"I'm okay," I muttered in response, reaching out to pat Fay's wet, fluffy hair. And by doing so, I remembered what I'd talked with the girl before leaving to make the call. As the perspective of the potential future appeared before the eyes of my mind, a small smile formed on my lips…
Only for the worry at the bottom of Fay's eyes to vanish without a trace.
"I was supposed to wash your hair, wasn't I?" I muttered, eager to move on from Fay's desire to ask me out about the talk I just had. "Do you want me to do it, or…"
"Yes!" Fay spoke decisively and without even a hint of hesitation. She even reached out and grabbed my other hand, only to bring it up to her head and then place it down on its top. "Fay wants Peter to groom Fay!"