bChapter /bb29 /b

Valencia

Stupid.

Brainless idiot.

I called myself all the names my friend was going to call me and waited by the side patiently as Sophia huffed and panted while she reached the fifth floor.

She wanted to shout at me, but she was already wheezing and panting too hard. I patted lightly on her back and even offered to buy a bottle of bwater/b, but she ced her hands on her knees and took a few big breaths.

Then she pointed her index finger at me and stabbed it in the air.

“You are a lunatic, a lost cause. You are sleepwalking or delusional, but since I never saw iyou /isleep walking, it means you have lost your mind

“Calm down, Soph” I said, but she screeched like a banshee.

“Calm down?”

She took a few more steps towards me and gave me another re beforeunching like a missile.

“The fuck is wrong with you? One second, I was with you, standing outside that shop and suddenly I look up from my phone and I see you run towards the lift like a madwoman and then run back up the stairs and disappear behind the walls.”

“I just thought-“I began, but she ced her hands on her hips and raised her voice.

“You thought what?”

“Nothing,” I said and linked my arms with her.

“Who was on the call, by the way? Some friend of yours?” I asked, and she shook her head like a wet dog spraying water all around.

“No, in fact, he is your friend. Your wannabe friend. Your wanna be boyfriend that you have been ignoring for some stupid guy you met barely a few days ago.”

I didn’t have to think twice to realize who she was referring to.

“Thomas”

“Exactly. I had barely shared my number with him and we did small talk and guess what? He wanted to know all about you, your likes and dislikes, because he wants to impress you.”

I sighed and sat by one of the empty benchesi. /i

“I don’t want him to waste his time, Sophia,” I answered honestly while fidgeting my fingers.

“Why? Because you are still in your delusional world where you and your pretty call boyn will y with your kitchen set and kiss?”

I looked up at her, not because she was taunting me but because somehow it brought up the memory of the ydates when she said the kitchen set and ying with it.

I had not really told her how my life had been before meeting her. Just given her some basic details that I wanted freedom so ran away from my bhome /bbto /bstart a new life in a new city.

ording to her, most high school students felt that and eloped so she never probed me to dig deeper.

bMy /bexpressions must have worsened because her strict voice softened a little.

“Val, I am not your enemy. I want you to be happy and get the man you want. But this is not how you do it *

Thung my head in shame.

Even I was not sure why I was behaving like this. I had never once looked at any other guy in the office or elsewhere.

The line said by myst ydate of how everybody just wanted to reject me for some legendary achievement seemed to have hit hard.

I had been terrified of even looking for a connection, so I would always ignore Sophia’s request of joining her for her stupid blind dates.

So it was strange that not only had I found a guy who treated me like a living person with hopes and dreams, not some slut he wanted to fuck.

But then even he had lied to me.

I just wanted to find him once and ask why he did that to me. He could have just looked for a one night stand to fuck around if that was his goalb. /b

Why be there for me? Why act like he cared and then disappear out of the blue?

He had always returned my calls before and also alwaysmunicated on his own.

So it was strange that almost the entire day had passed, but I didn’t hear from him.

Luckily, Sophia was hungry again instead of jus pissed at me to focus more on finding food rather than yelling at me.

I reminded her of the sushi ce she had wanted to try, and her eyes lit up for a change. She forgot all her tiredness and grabbed me bby /bthe wrist and then we were running towards the lift and the parking lot as if our lives depended on it.

“What time is it?” she asked, while fastening her seatbelt.

“Uh close to 10”

She turned the ignition on and mumbled, “If i drive fast enough, we can make it in time. Buckle up!”

And then Sophia drove like a madd, almost dashing into a few cars and knocking out a few trash cans, but somehow we managed to reach the

restaurant unharmed.

Sophia wasted no time and ordered everything she could while I only sat with her, pretending to enjoy the meal.

When her belly was full and she rubbed it in satisfaction, I pulled out my card and said to her.

“I will pay”

She argued that I didn’t need to spend my hard earned money on this, but I insisted.

“Consider it as a peace offering from me for today”

Her eyes narrowed, but she only shrugged, and I paid the bill.

I didn’t have much expense, so the sry I earned only was spent on buying basic necessities.

Sophia stretched with a yawn and looped her arm around mine again, this time less in frustration, more in friendship. “Alright. You’re forgiven ifor /ithe

day. But tomorrow, you owe me a Sunday. One without mystery men, delusions, ior /ispontaneous cardio.”

I gave her a weak smile, grateful she always bounced back quicker than I deserved.

“Deal,” I whispered.

“And no dwelling on psycho killers, alright? I was the one to ask you bto /bgo to that wretched ce, so it is my responsibility that byou /bfind srusion isn’t going to disappear into thin air.”

I wanted to argue that it wasn’t her fault, but I knew better, so I shut my mouth.

She dropped me off outside my building, and I waved as her taillights disappeared into the dark. Alone again.

And when I stepped into my apartment, the silence hit harder than usual.

He had only been here for a couple of nights.

And still, his absence was everywhere.

I walked toward the kitchen and traced the counter with my fingers, remembering the way he’d leaned against it, smirking like he had nowhere better to be. I remembered the cooking, the teasing, the way my body had leaned instinctively toward his, like it already knew something my brain hadn’t bcaught /bup with.

I checked my phone again.

Still nothing.

Not a text. Not a missed call.

I should’ve blocked his number. I should’ve deleted that photo. I should’ve cared less. But every time I tried to shove the memories away, something in me clung to them like they were proof that I hadn’t imagined it all.

I ced my phone on the counter and stood still, listening to the quiet hum of the fridge and the sound of my own heartbeat.

.. I think I would’ve still liked you.”

“You could’ve just told me,” I whispered into the silence. “Whatever the truth was…

The words hung in the air, unanswered somewhere between a half–truth and a goodbye.

AD