The romantic allure of Paris, their first stop on the tour, set the tone for the trip and became a cherished memory for Carmen.
She was drowning in thoughts the whole afternoon as they couldn't stop driving, and the same happened to Grey, pleasing Carmen the whole afternoon until they lost their way back to the hotel. The city was like a maze,with labyrinthine streets filled with French speaking residents and every place seeming indistinguishable.
"yep as I thought, Paris is a living maze", Grey said as he tilted through the never ending roads, "I think we're a bit lost Grey, maybe we should trace our way back on the GPS", Carmen said as she took her phone.
"give me that", Grey said as he tried to Grab Carmen's phone and accidentally touched her thigh, he noticed it and looked at Carmen closely as she did the same, they were all speechless for a while.
"Look out!!", Carmen said as Grey's Car was about to go off road,
"Gosh you scared me", he said as he stopped the car and they all laughed.
"sorry for that, I was trying to…",
"it's nothing, don't bother", Carmen interrupted,
"alright".He turned his attention to the road ahead and restarted the car. For a moment, there was a heavy silence as everyone pondered Carmen's words. Grey drove aimlessly, lost in thought about her perception of his move lately.
"Carmen I was about to say that, there's no fun in tracing our way back on the GPS", he said nervously after a while of silence
"okay, no offense, you're the driver and it's kind of fun", she said sarcastically,
"then let's get lost right, I'm good at mazes", Grey said as he starred at Carmen again,
"so be careful then, you don't want to cause some damage",
"oh, my bad", he said as he, As he turned his attention back to the road, the beauty of the landscape and the soothing music carried them further than they had anticipated. The drive was enjoyable for Grey, but Carmen began to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
"no way, it's not the right time for this", Grey said as he stopped the car,
"why are you stopping right here", Carmen said
"I guess the engine needs to cool down, didn't think of that before", he laughed to himself as he stepped out of the Car, Carmen then followed him outside.
The Car was fuming due to excessive over heating in the engine, "damn, this can't be good", Grey said as he touched the hood cover,
"and does this mean we're stuck here, in the middle of nowhere", Carmen said as she approached Grey,
"yeah, but just for a couple of minutes, it's going to be fine, I'll find a way out of this as well"
"atleast you could have listened to me before and take the easiest way", she said
" actually don't you think it's not the right time for those kind of talks, we did it and this is what happened, not my fault Carmen it was too hot out here and the car couldn't handle it",
"well, we couldn't get into this kind of mess though, we could take the shortest way back",
"well I thought you were having fun, because that's what you said", he interrupted again as he looked at Carmen
"why couldn't you first let me finish",
"that's not important right now Carmen", he interrupted again as he moved to the trunk of the car. Carmen was pissed, just because Grey couldn't listen his rude actions made Carmen even angrier with him.
Grey found some water in the trunk but it wasn't enough, "Grey…", Carmen called but he interrupted again,
"Carmen I think I'm not ready for anymore of this", he said angrily
"I was just trying to help Grey", she replied
"okay make yourself helpful then", Grey said as he gave Carmen a bottle
"and what am I supposed to do with this", she said as she took it,
"you said you wanted to help, so get me some water and let's get moving",
"no way", she dropped the bottle, "I am not wandering out here with all this heat, it's like a million degrees out here, and I don't even know where to get the water", Grey stood leaning on his car and laughing as she spoke.
"alright", he said as he took off his shades, "so does that mean I'm getting the water", he said folding his arms, they were all silent for a while and faced each other.
"Carmen, what's wrong with you, it's not that far just a few steps and you'll be at the there", Grey said pointing at the store besides them, "and you better stop all this nonsense or else…",
"or else what", Carmen interrupted, "you know what, I'm fed up with this… whatever type of fun you say it is", she said as she removed her necklace, the same necklace that Grey got her and threw it in front of Grey,
"I'm fed up with you Grey and am out of here", she said as she turned back,
"where do you think you're going",
"let go off me" Carmen said , Grey reaching for her hand, accidentally ripped the medallion from her bracelet. The medallion, a cherished keepsake with her brother's picture, fell to the ground with a clatter.
Carmen looked at him angrily and picket it up, "you're disgusting Grey", she said and walked away, Grey thought of what she just said and got angrier as he saw her leave but couldn't call her back. "Damn", he said as he kicked the metal bottle towards Carmen.
Carmen glanced back, her eyes widening at the sight of Grey's furious expression as he returned to his car. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fled the scene, her mind reeling from the recent events. She ran aimlessly, unable to stop despite the uncertainty of her destination.
Grey sat by himself in his car as he tried to cool himself down and looked at Carmen's necklace and held it tight, he stepped out of his Car and looked around as the sky was darkening and was unsure of where Carmen was heading to, but he didn't feel the same love he felt before , the anger he had was overshadowing his concern for Carmen. in a midst of labyrinthine streets that she knew nothing about. Grey assumed she would be back at the hotel as there seemed nowhere else to stay in such a crowded city where she knew no body.Grey got the water for himself and drove out of the road back to the hotel.
Grey parked his car just outside the hotel and left the keys at the Juliet's table, he didn't greet anyone and didn't bother inquiring about Carmen's arrival. Grey tossed his watch to his bed and when to sit at the window in his room.
Lost in thought, Grey ruminated over the events of the day. While he couldn't alter the past, he began to regret his lack of assertiveness with Carmen. He considered calling her but hesitated, overcome by shyness. Finally, he decided to send a voice message, expressing his apologies and leaving an open invitation for her to contact him if she was willing to talk.
An hour passed, and Carmen still hadn't responded. Frustrated, Grey finally gave up and decided to take a shower. His efforts to make Carmen happy and express his feelings had been in vain, undone by a single day in Paris. His hopes and expectations had been dashed.
Grey came from the shower and went to the same window after dressing up, he had not received any replies from Carmen still, Grey then tried calling her but she still couldn't answer. He was so confused, and terrified of Carmen's attitude even though he was the cause for all of what happened. "Carmen, if you come back to your senses, I just want you to hear this, I am totally sorry for all that happened, it's all my fault Carmen, I was too bossy to admit it but I finally recognize it now, I was wrong and I apologize for being such a bone head lately, I am looking forward to hearing from you", he sent another voice message and went to his bed.
Overwhelmed by regret and fear of losing Carmen, Grey was too distraught to order room service that night. Sleep eluded him, his mind consumed by worry. He checked his messages repeatedly, hoping for a response from Carmen, but she remained silent. Desperate, Grey left his room and approached Carmen's door, just about to knock.
"Mr Grey", Philippe called from behind him just as he was about to knock, Grey turned back hurriedly,
"Philippe, what's the matter?", he said as he turned back,
"I was about to check on you Mr Grey you didn't call for room service and it's almost midnight", he said
Grey approached him silently, "Philippe, have you seen Carmen lately this evening", he whispered to ensure Carmen heard nothing from their talk" ,
"I'm sorry Mr Grey, but who is Carmen?", Philippe said softly
"The beautiful lady that I'm always with",
"oh, I recognize her Mr Grey, is there something wrong? What happened to her? I haven't seen her because I was off duty but I'm sure she returned where else could she go", he said as Grey breathed heavily.
"what's the use", he said to himself, "Philippe, it's just a long story but I have been through a lot today and I probably need to rest", he said as he returned to his room, "good night Mr Grey and good luck with the lady", Philippe said softly as Grey went back to his room. The night turned to be so boring and dull, he fell asleep after a while with Carmen still on her mind