5
1094 Words
“Hello, Sleeping Beauty,” I heard a whisper against my ear.
I opened my eyes and saw Elgin.
“It’s almost noon,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose.
I cleared my throat gently and said:
“Am I at your place?”
He burst out laughing.
“Where else do you want to be? You fell asleep in my arms last night and it would have taken an aerial bombardment to wake you.”
I straightened up on my elbows and saw that I was still on the sofa, fully dressed, wrapped in a woollen blanket.
“I was exhausted,” I muttered.
He tenderly stroked my cheek.
“I hesitated for a long time before waking you up, but I have urgent business to settle. Breakfast?”
“Mm... but a shower first.”
Elgin led me to his en suite bathroom and handed me some towels before leaving. The shower stall could have accommodated four people at least! I showered quickly without washing my hair and got dressed. When I was ready, I looked at Elgin’s room at my leisure.
It was much different from Wick’s, smaller and more personal. The shelves were filled with books and CDs. As for the walls, they were partially dressed in scarves and rugby t-shirts. The atmosphere was masculine.
“Are you done?” I heard shouting behind the door. “I don’t want to rush you but I have things to do.”
“Yes, I’m coming!”
The breakfast was served. I gulp down a cup of tea and toast very quickly before gathering my things to leave. Elgin helped me put on my parka and hugged me.
“There’s something I forgot to tell you.”
I raised a questioning eyebrow.
“It’s about the city tours, you know, the ones planned in your class with Jefferson.”
“Yes?”
“There are two Art History students who have been chosen for the excursion.”
“Who? I thought the visit would be organized by the history students!”
“Jefferson asked for our help.”
“Show off! I’m off, I wouldn’t want to delay you.”
He kissed me on the lips and gently pulled me away from him.
“Have a nice day, Scarlett.”
“You too.”
I gave him one last kiss and reluctantly closed the door behind me. As the elevator was slow in coming, I decided to take the stairs.
I had barely gone down ten steps when I passed a young blond woman who was going up. She immediately caught my attention. First, I found her extremely beautiful, although too much makeup and of a rather sophisticated kind and second, because there were only five floors in Elgin’s building. We were halfway between the fourth and the fifth.
Instinctively I turned on her, she turned at the same time to look at me. Then, shocked, I saw her ring at Elgin’s. I went down a few more steps so as not to be seen and waited.
The door opened. They looked each other straight in the eye for several seconds, without moving, without even saying a single word. Elgin stepped back and the girl entered.
The door closed behind them.
My reaction? I fled. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could, nearly falling several times. I fled, tears on the edge of my eyes.
What I should have told myself as I left the building was that I was overreacting, that I had no reason to put myself in such a state. This girl could be anyone, a neighbour, a college colleague, a long-time friend. Yeah, anyone... But the problem was, he pretty much kicked me out to accommodate this... bombshell. I wanted to scream. I should have screamed. Instead, I imagined the worst possible scenarios where I was betrayed, abandoned in favour of a girl much more beautiful and mature than me, abandoned like an old sock. Not for a moment did I tell myself that I was lacking in judgment, that the boy I love had spent a long time explaining to me that he was in love with me and how important I was to him.
It was all ridiculous. I had to learn to contain myself. Pretty girls were everywhere and Elgin probably had at least one around him, that’s all. Nothing more complicated than that. He didn’t care...
I picked up the pace and got to the bottom of my building, sweaty. I climbed the three-story steps two by two and threw open the door.
“Hi!” I shouted a little too cheerful as I walked into the apartment.
“Scarlett! I was worried...,” cried Tarja, leaving her room. “You could have warned me!”
“I was at Elgin’s,” I explained, rushing straight into my room.
“Everything all right?” she asked, on my heels.
“Yes. Excuse me, Tarja, I have work to do,” I said, taking a seat at my desk.
I didn’t want to explain myself.
She looked at me for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders without insisting. That’s what I liked about Tarja.
“If you need to talk, I’m here.”
I gave her a tight smile and turned on my PC as she gently closed the door behind her.
The Viking invasions in Northern Europe. That should do the trick. Maybe I would manage to think of something other than Elgin and the pretty blond for several hours?
I tried to concentrate on work, rereading what I had written over and over again, trying to delay my next moments of non-activity. But after four hours of work, I had to admit my defeat. I had nothing more to do.
I turned my head to my cell phone. Nicely placed on the table next to me, it was taunting me. I had the feeling it was calling me and ordering me to phone Elgin. But that was out of the question! I wasn’t that kind of girl. I grabbed it and stuffed it deeper into the back of my clothes drawer, under a pile of T-shirts.
At six o’clock, I left my room to cook, although I wasn’t hungry. Tarja suggested that I watch a movie with her.
She insisted on City of Angels, with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. Another terrible love story. I cried most of the way through.
At nine o’clock I went to bed, determined not to think of anything. Strangely, I succeeded.
- Writer
