Episode 29: Exception

Episode 29: Exception

It was suffocating.

The air around the four individuals despite them being in a vast space.

It wasn't a mystery to know that it was on behalf of the two people who refused to even acknowledge each other with mere eye contact.

The more Leslie gathered the little details of their tense relationship, the more she noticed something striking.

It was how much the woman—Marley she'd been called—looked more like Christopher's type than she did.

She was adorable; in that girl next door kind of way.

Her dark hair was styled in a simple but neat updo. The clothes she wore were elegantly laid on her—a bright green dress with a parka jacket to compensate for her ignorance of the cold weather. Her lips were almost nonexistent because of how small they were and her nose was as cute as a button.

However, despite her high school sweetheart image, there was something unsettling and wicked that slithered beneath the surface.

It felt like she had dark thoughts bubbling up inside of her the entire time she looked at Christopher.

In her mind, his interaction with Chantel on behalf of this random woman did indeed prick her like a thorn to her side.

Therefore, Leslie's perception was spot on.

Who the hell are you? She seethed internally, holding back from having her scorn for Leslie come to the surface.

Marley had never seen Christopher out in public with a woman for almost four years now. It wasn't the fact that she was even making his acquaintance, but the way he defended her was very abnormal.

He wasn't the type to put himself out of his comfort zone for anyone. Not even his own family. She knew that much about his introverted thoughts and actions.

Plus, it was shared knowledge that he had to have a bond with someone for that to even have a possibility of happening.

So just what did the two of them have?

She felt an uncomfortable burning sensation in her chest as they stood so closely beside each other.

He had even grabbed her hand!

Marley closed her eyes and reminded herself that she was to act appropriately.

As much as she was affected by the presence of him, it wasn't ideal for her to show it now.

Christopher was a figment of her past.

Thus, she gave a bright smile to Chantel who returned a confused expression because of it.

"Didn't you say that you had something important to show me? Let's go to my office. We can look at it together there." She said to her supposed friend.

"I didn't—"

Marley grabbed her by the arm and disappeared into the back where the owner's space was.

Leslie noticed the smallest fraction of a breath leave Christopher.

It was in relief.

She tried not to display what she had pieced together within that interaction; or a lack thereof.

Emotionally indifferent people, cold hearts and attitudes, her mind discerned cleverly — the words so silent they were whispered like a secret.

"Leslie, I'm so sorry for what Chantel has said. You really shouldn't take her words to heart. Even though she's legally an adult, she unfortunately doesn't act a day over five years old." Noah stepped up with an earnest appeal.

"I see," she entertained. "But why would you apologize on her behalf? Are you two back to seeing each other again?"

His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"How did you know that we dated?"

"Yes, how do you know?" Christopher solicited.

He finally was back on earth from the thoughts he had which bombarded him after seeing that woman.

"She told me herself that day at your poetry launch event. That's where we first met."

Something seemed to dawn on him as he let out an exhale. "That's why she approached you so impolitely...because of me."

"If you're going to apologize again for her behavior, there is no need. I'm pretty sure she's capable of doing that on her own."

"I understand but I can't help but feel guilty now that I know that she only acted that way because of me."

"Are you seriously seeing past what she did? And not only that, you're blaming yourself because of her own toxic traits?"

His lips folded.

"He's always been like that when it comes to her. It was only a few months ago he swore to not see her 'deceitful' face ever again. Yet here we are. He just walked in with her practically stuck by his side."

"I see you and Leslie have the same habit of remembering people's words verbatim," he heeded with a grumpy disposition. "And I did not walk in with her."

"You did."

"I did not!" He objected strongly. "We bumped into each other. I wasn't even aware that she'd be coming to this evening's book club meeting. It's not like she ever does."

Christopher scoffed.

"You know she wasn't interested to begin with. She only came because you two were dating."

"Exactly! Now that we're broken up I'd expect her not to show."

"So why is she here?"

"You're asking me!"

There was lingering silence before Christopher spoke again.

"I was hoping that the book club didn't exist anymore."

He sounded almost bitter.

"Why? It's something you and Marley created together."

As soon as the words left Noah's mouth, he realized the reason why.

Christopher's bearing on the issue showed he wasn't impressed.

"T-That was thoughtless of me. Sorry." He fumbled over his sentence.

Leslie noticed that was the first time she'd seen him not being fluent in his speech. He'd always been someone confident in his words and his expression of them. A single frosty glance from his best friend was enough to jeopardize that though.

It's a relief to see that his eyes don't only intimidate me, she surmised with a humor unbefitting for the situation.

Noah had just revealed a tradition shared between him and a potential ex-girlfriend.

So why was she more caught up on the fact that Noah was blindsided by his own past he still gave the benefit of the doubt regardless of whatever happened between them?

It wasn't hard to see.

Leslie was one hundred percent sure that it was that nut bucket's fault.

Okay, maybe blaming the break up on Chantel just because of their interactions was biased, but hey, this was her spiteful side doing the talking.

Though there was hardly anything she could think of that Noah must have done when he was such a gentleman inside and out.

She was quick to remind herself, however, that people were different when they were in love.

It turned them into someone even they themselves couldn't recognize sometimes.

It was a scary little thing.

Speaking of which, Christopher still hadn't released her hand which drew Noah's attention. "I think at least something good came out of us bumping into each other today."

"Don't even go there." His friend growled at him wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sorry again, Les!" Noah bidded farewell before disappearing out the door.

Whether he intended to or not, he was successful in leaving them in a pile of emotions they had to sort out for themselves.

Leslie sighed heavily.

"So this is why you looked so uncomfortable since we came here. Turns out your ex-girlfriend and you have history in this very bookstore."

She hated to admit it, but suddenly she liked this place a little less now.

Maybe even didn't want to visit it anymore knowing the traces of their past lingered between the nooks and crannies of every bookshelf.

"She's not my ex."

"Oh, she's not?" Her elation couldn't be masked.

His eyebrows lifted at the sound.

"She's my first love."

Her hope instantly died.

Anger replaced it.

"Couldn't you have ended the sentence there? You two didn't end up dating despite whatever you had. You could've just left it there and made me feel better about your reunion. Now I'm starting to feel stupidly jealous."

He took in her pouting face in detail.

His hand reached out and patted at her head. "You don't have to be jealous. She's married."

Oh.

"She is?!"

Somehow that new piece of information made everything better.

That was until Leslie remembered an important detail.

Then why did she look at him like that?

Like some desperate fan fawning for his attention?

"She is," he shared, highly amused by how quickly her spirits lifted.

His own did the opposite at her following interrogation.

"How am I supposed to feel when you phrase it like that? 'You don't have to be jealous. She's married.' What? So I should only be concerned if she wasn't bound by the law to not be involved with you?"

He sighed.

"Leslie."

"What?" She asked, positively vexed by the situation.

His low tone sounded almost disappointed and she hated it more than anything else right now.

Here she was thinking he was untainted. That this beautiful man could have been someone to call her own—he'd be the only for her to have new discoveries with. For him to have only been attached to her.

She wanted to be an exception to other women.

Goddamnit, did that make her sound like an awful person?

To want to keep all his experiences between the two of them?

Every silly thought she had of a chance of him being inexperienced went straight out the window.

She mourned a particular one that assumed he was a virgin.

The woman could almost bury herself in shame.

Turns out she wasn't much different than any other woman.

He could be attracted to them as well.

There wasn't any specific 'wow' factor about her nor was there a formula to his heart.

Somehow, that had Leslie feeling like shit.

She ran a hand through her hair as her eyes refused to meet his own. "I'm gonna go."

Before he could get another word out, the woman made her way through the store and out the building.

His hands that had reached out for her lingered midair.

His body was frozen into the spot where he stood despite all the molecules in him vibrating with the need to run after her.

He was too much of a coward to actually do it.

Christopher couldn't dare to do so in this situation when all that she had summarized was the truth—Marley was a figment of his past.

A very dark one.

One that he would keep the details of hidden forever if he has to.