Kristal Anderson
"So you stuck out and went on a date!?" Thea said with a gasp, her voice louder than I'd expected making me frantically reach over to reduce the volume of my laptop.
I was at my desk with my laptop in front of me on facetime, Thea on the other side of the line in her office, she had different braids on now; black with a few bright pink strands, "It wasn't a date," I said with an eye roll, "we just went out. . . as friends so don't even start," I told her with a chuckle.
"That's how it always starts,"
"Shush will you?" I snickered, "You know my situation all too well to know that a relationship is the last thing on my mind right now,"
"I never said anything about a serious relationship, it could something casual I mean, when was the last time you got laiâ"
"Alright," I said, cutting her off, "we do not need to get into my sex life right now, plus that was the first and last time something like that happened. . . or at least that's what my brain is trying to convince me," She nodded but stayed quiet letting me continue, if there was one thing Theadora Williams was good at it was being a listener.
I let out a sigh before I continued, "I feel like I'm going crazy in here, stuck between these four walls. It feels like my life is on an endless loop and thinking about the fact that it might last for months ahead is just pure torture. And I feel so beyond guilty for even complaining about this because I was lucky enough to have someone like aunt Jenna in my life who's willing to do anything to protect me but I just. . . I can't live like this forever. What I did last night was stupid, and reckless, and completely out of line and I know that it could've ended badly and I feel so guilty for lying to aunt Jenna's face but I don't regret it,"
She gave me a sad smile as I continued, "It pains me to admit but I enjoyed myself last night, I felt alive again, the routine was killing me. And I know how dangerous it was and I know that it could have all gone terribly wrong and Iâ"
"You want to see him again don't you," She teased with a smirk plastered on her face.
Fragments of last night's memories flashed right before my eyes; his eyes that looked at me so intently, the way his plump lips moved to form every word he spoke, his voice so deep and husky that it left me feeling all tingly. And his face.
God, his face.
He was as if a statue of a Greek god came to life.
I shook my head to rid myself of him, "That's not what I'm saying I justâ okay so maybe a small part of me wants to but I know how dangerous itâ"
"Do it." She stated finality in her tone. I stared at her stunned. Part of me wanted her to scold me for being so reckless. Maybe that way the deep desire I had to feel that same mixture of excitement and fear cursing through me would be forcefully shoved into the depths of my heart, never to be spoken of again. It would have served as a confirmation that what I had done was completely and utterly insane and should never be recreated. "Look, I understand where Aunt Jenna is coming from but come on, you can't just waste your life away for a man who might not even be looking for you. So, I say go for it, live a little, get yourself some dick while you're at it,"
A laugh rolled it's way out of us, "And here I was thinking that you were gonna put some sense into me,"
"Kris, I've told you time and time again; I'll support you through thick and thin even through your questionable decisions," Her voice came through soft and sweet, a small smile played upon her lips.
I returned the smile, the most pleasant warmth started from my heart and traveled down my body. My mind wandered back to the beginning of our conversation where we were both practically foaming at the mouth to tell each other the highlights of our week, "Okay now it's your turn, what were you so excited to tell me?"
The smile on her face grew impossibly bigger as she clapped her hands in excitement, "Okay this news is beyond exciting so drum roll please," I happily obliged doing my best drum roll on my wooden table, she took a long pause for dramatic effect, "The world's best cafe Dayglow is coming to town! I'm expanding the business!"
My hands cupped my mouth after a gasp slipped through as genuine excitement filled my veins, "No fucking way," I spoke through my hands that muffled the words.
Thea was everything I aspired to be. She was always outgoing, nothing ever scared her, she always saw challenges as opportunities. She had accomplished so much in just twenty-five years that my heart filled with so much pride to be able to call her my best friend.
I always told her that I wanted to be just like her when I grew up even though we were just a year apart because here I was at twenty-four; jobless, never lived on my own, completely dependent on my guardian, just overall boring.
But I wanted to change that, someday in the future, I wanted her chest to fill with the same amount of pride as mine does when I think of her as my best friend.
Without warning tears invaded my eyes, making my vision blurry for a second, "I want to give you the biggest hug right now, you have no idea how proud I am," I told her after dropping my hands back down and away from my mouth.
She giggled, "Well I'll be there in a few weeks and I want all the hugs you can give. I'll be there for a few months this time to get things sorted and I'm already so giddy at the thought of being with you for more than a few weeks. It'll be like old times,"
"This just made my week, month, year even. God, you have no idea how much I missâ"
A knock on my door stops me in my tracks, a mixture of guilt and fear set deep within me, "C-come in," I internally cursed myself for letting my uneasiness show through my voice. During breakfast today, my body had broken into a cold sweat that seemed to last for hours. I was prepared for the very worst, everything told me that she knew exactly what I did last night, that she could see right through me. Although she never mentioned anything I was still on edge all throughout breakfast, but nothing ever came.
The sound of my doorknob turning sent my body into a cold sweat once again as I had convinced myself that she'd heard my conversation with Thea. And now there was no saving me, no way to deny it.
"Who are you talking to?" She asked coming up behind me placing one hand on my shoulder, her other hand carried her phone that she placed down on my desk and used her now free hand to wave when she saw who was on the screen, "Thea dear, long time no see,"
Thea returned the gesture waving back at aunt Jenna, "Aunt Jenna, good to see you again," She smiled brightly.
"How are things going in New York?"
"They're going good. I was just telling Kris that I'll be home in a few weeks, I'm beyond excited to see you both,"
"Oh that's very good news dear," Her hand applied a little pleasure on my shoulder giving it a reassuring squeeze, "your visit couldn't have come at a better time,"
Before she could respond her ringtone filled the speaker, she picked up her phone from her desk and let out a deep sigh, "It's work, I have to take this,"
I nodded, "Of course, yeah. Text me later?"
"Of course," She smiled before waving us goodbye, hanging up.
My body grew tense now that the call was over, for a split millisecond my heart stopped at the sound of her voice, "Now that she's coming home you'll have more company, isn't that exciting dear?" She released my shoulder and moved away from my desk.
After shutting my laptop I got up and walked over to sit on my bed. Maybe the soft material of my bed would help me relieve some tension, "It is," I told her with a small smile. My brain was still yelling at me telling me that she knew everything, "Did you need anything?" I asked, doing my best attempt to casually run my hands down my sweatpants covered legs to rid myself of the sweat coating them.
She shook her head, "Nothing important, just wanted to ask if you wanted to continue that reality show we were watching," Relief flowed through me but it was only temporary because the guilt was quick to swoop in to replace the fear.
"Of course I do,"
"Great cause I was just about to make a bowl of your favorite caramel popcorn. Meet me in my bedroom in twenty," She said before walking out of the room, leaving me to ponder on how shitty I truly was for lying to such an angel of a woman.
I ran my hands down my face letting out a deep sigh. What the hell had I done? Recklessness of that sort was so unlike me yet here I was thinking of doing it again.
Her ringtone brought me back to reality, looking up to realize that she had forgotten to pick her phone back up from my desk. I got up and made my way over to my desk picking up her phone.
A single A was in the place of the caller ID. After exactly two rings, A hung up not even giving me a chance to get the phone to Aunt Jenna.
"Was that my phone?" I hadn't heard her coming back in, causing my body to jolt in surprise.
"Um yeah, it was A but theyâ"
I must have been blinking in slow motion or something because in a blink of an eye, she grew many shades paler. Making her look like she had seen a ghost. She was in front of me ripping her phone from my grip at an alarming speed, "What did he say?" Her eyes moved frantically between my own and her phone.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Nothing I justâ"
Before I could get the whole sentence out she gripped my arm, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough for me to feel her acrylics dig into my skin,"What did you say to him? Did he hear your voice? Did you hear his?" The look in her eyes brought no remnants of the woman who was in my room just a few minutes prior.
"What no no I didn't say anythingâ" For a second it left like my head was spinning from how fast the words were spilling from her mouth. "He hung up after two rings I promise," I told her and she finally stopped and took in what I said, I gave her a reassuring nod.
The reassurance seemed to be enough to calm her back down, she released her hand from my arm and took a step back, her eyes softening, "Iâ justâ please don't touch my things without my permission. You know how much I hate having my privacy invaded," Her voice grew soft, completely contrasting her voice from moments ago nearly giving me whiplash.
I simply nodded, my throat dry, my heart still running at high speed, my mind still trying to comprehend what I had done wrong.
She stared at me for a moment longer, the aftermath of her sudden outburst sinking in before she turned around and walked out the room without another word.
Curiosity killed the cat is an accurate saying. Because now all I wanted to know was who this A was.
But I would never act on that curiosity.
Or would I?
Thank you so much for reading<3 I appreciate you.
Qotd: Who do you think A is??
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