Enjoy: ̗̀➛
...
It was getting dark when he got back to his cozy, large apartment. He threw his keys on a little table near the door and went into his room. He lay on his big bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He was stuck in the same mindset, overthinking the things he'd told Celine and wishing he could escape the whole situation. He was tired of feeling all twisted up inside.
He let out a sigh, frustrated. Then, he wiped his face with both hands and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. The day was long, but he couldn't sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw her teary eyes, and all the things she had been telling him about popped into his head.
He opened his eyes wide and grabbed a pillow, squeezing it tightly as if it were a way to stop himself from thinking about her. This time, though, he wasn't being honest with himself. Deep down, he wanted to pick her up and take off, but he was too angry to do it, and that made his feelings all messy.
"Okay, just relax, and everything'll be fine," he said to himself, closing his eyes again and crossing his fingers. A few seconds passed, and then he shouted as he sat up in bed, "Damn!"
"I need a tea, alright," he addressed himself before getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen to start preparing something he knew wouldn't make a difference, but he did it anyway.
He poured the tea into a big cup and added a spoonful of honey, stirring it in.
He didn't realize how much time he spent stirring because his eyes were on a small paper stuck to the fridge with a magnet. The paper was just a cute and funny drawing of him as a cop, drawn by Celine with a felt pen.
"What the hell is this doing here?" He hurried over to the fridge and pulled the paper out of it with a lot of force. He opened the trash can with his foot, about to throw the paper inside, but then he changed his mind and put the paper back on the fridge door. He slammed the fridge and yelled, "Shit, Celine!"
He got his tea and went to the living room, sat down on the couch, and started drinking it. He was staring at the steam coming out of the tea for a moment, and suddenly he heard a woman's voice calling his name; he was startled and poured some of his tea on his lap as soon as he recognized Celine's voice.
"Shit!" he said, getting up and putting the cup on the table. He felt the pain of his skin being burned, but it wasn't as disturbing as what he'd just heard. He started looking around him. His heart was beating fast. "Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm starting to hallucinate," he thought.
He slapped his cheek as hard as he could. It left a red mark, then the voice came again and again and again without stopping.
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the balcony window. Then he slowly walked towards it, opened the window, and peeked through it without going outside. He was surprised when he saw her. She was there, standing in the middle of the street, looking at him. She smiled widely and opened her arms dramatically. "Here you are! Juliet!"
He went outside and put his hands on the railing, looking at a bunch of scented lighting candles on the ground. They made a short sentence, but it had a big impact on him. (Sorry.)
He smiled a little without realizing it, but he soon pulled himself together and looked around, feeling embarrassed as many rooms had their lights on, which meant they were a night show.
He quickly went inside and wore his jacket, running outside and standing a few meters away from her in the street. She smiled with joy when she saw him, waving at him, "Aiden!"
He hurried over to her and grabbed her arm. "Are you drunk? What are you doing here? Go home!" he said in a low voice.
"No, I'm not," she said, putting her hands in her jacket pockets and staring at him with an expressionless face.
He narrowed his eyes and approached her, looking for the smell of alcohol, but he smelled nothing, which meant that she was a person who was capable of doing anything just to achieve her goals.
"Celine, I said go home; everyone is looking at you; you will be on social media soon!" He said in annoyance as he grabbed her off her shoulders and turned her body to force her to walk away, towards her parked car. She pushed him away and said, spreading her hand as if she was waiting for him to give her something; he had no idea what it was.
"What?" he asked, looking a bit confused. Then she replied, "The engagement ring. Give it back to me."
A weird silence fell over the place, and they were both staring at each other like they were about to shoot each other. He burst out laughing. He was shocked by what he'd just heard. He crossed his arms and smiled a little. "Nice try," he said.
She was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, saying, "I'm not leaving here until you give it back to me."
"I sold it. I used the money to buy new clothes and furniture for my apartment," he said, not even looking upset, which confused and shocked her. But she soon smiled as she stood up from the ground and approached him, staring at him in silence.
She said, smiling, "Okay, show me your new clothes and furniture so I can believe you."
He couldn't hold back his smile, so he let out a deep sigh, like he'd been waiting for that moment. He moved closer to her, put his hands in his pants pockets, and said, "It's in my closet, in the first drawer, and you know my apartment's security code."
A few seconds of silence was all it took for them to rebuild the bridge that was about to collapse. She smiled widely, unable to hide her delight, and then ran away from him, heading to the apartment. She left him laughing lightly in the middle of the street, in the dark, knowing the neighbors were curious about the end of their story.
He kept staring at the candles, the light from their flames reflecting on his eyes, but those flames were no match for how much he missed her.
"So, I have to put out all of those candles, cool," he said, nodding slowly. "It's always like that. She's always leaving everything behind her, and I have to clean it up."
...
The next night, Taylor was out. He went into the restaurant and looked all over for Aiden. He saw him there waving to him as soon as he found him standing near the entrance; Taylor smiled broadly and walked over to him. "This is so expensive!" He opened his arms wide to give his friend a long but violent hug.
"Welcome!" Aiden said," Taylor smiled, looking surprised. "You know I was just messing with you, right?"
Aiden smiled back and nodded, "Yeah, of course."
"Hey, it's great to see you again," Celine said as she stood up, offering her hand for a shake. Taylor immediately shook it, smiling, and said, "Congratulations on the engagement!" as soon as he noticed her ring.
He shot Aiden a look and said, "I'm so happy for you guys!"
Aiden smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I wanted to surprise you," he said.
"And you did," Taylor replied. Then Celine felt the tension in the air. She invited Taylor to sit down, saying, "Thanks! Please, have a seat!"
He was sitting in front of her when Celine addressed him, looking grateful. "I wanted to thank you from the depths of my heart for helping Aiden save me, so I hope you will remain close friends for a very long time," she said.
She put a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her fiancé before adding, "Our wedding will be after a week, so..."
"We want you to be the best man," Aiden said, cutting in. Taylor didn't say anything, just stared at them with a blank face. Then Aiden added, pointing his index finger at him, "We insist."
Before Taylor could even speak, Ashley, out of the blue, sat down next to him and greeted them with a cheerful "What's up!"
She poured a glass of water and popped a green olive in her mouth. "Sorry I'm late. The traffic is so bad."
"I hope you didn't order food yet," she said, and they all stared at her in silence, not saying anything, as if they were used to her weird and rude behavior.
Taylor kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. The table was big enough, so why did she have to sit here? He thought.
He was surprised when he saw a girl he hadn't seen in a while standing in front of them. Or, to be more precise, he thought he'd gotten rid of her. Their eyes met, and they both looked shocked.
"You!" they said at the same time. Then Taylor, confused, asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you what you're doing here," she said, ignoring the confused stares of their friends.
"They're my friends," Taylor answered, raising both eyebrows. She, on the other hand, sat next to Celine, staring at him with narrowed eyes while holding her purse with both hands. "They're my friends too."
"Do you guys know each other?" Aiden asked.
"No," Taylor said.
"Yeah," Catherine replied.
The atmosphere was tense; Catherine looked at him in disbelief, and on the other hand, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled broadly. "Let's have fun tonight," he said happily, standing up from his chair and holding a glass to make everyone forget what had just happened.
He was nervous about the awkward moment, so he bit his lower lip. He was about to sit down when Ashley stood up from her chair and screamed in joy, holding a glass. "Yeah!" she said.
Then, they smiled at each other.
They were having such a good time chatting, eating, and telling jokes that time flew by. They were having a really good time, but one girl did not seem to be having any fun for about a quarter of an hour; she just remained silent, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, staring at her empty plate of food and then at Taylor's face without stopping.
She was trying to figure out how to convince him to meet with Mrs. Garcia, who was still waiting for her answer. She had no idea how she ended up in such trouble, and what made her mission even more difficult was that her boss was extremely insistent, as if it were a matter of life and death.
She let out a deep sigh and leaned her back against the chair, thinking about what had happened the day before.
...
Flashback,
She was sitting at her desk, which was pretty big and fancy. After she finished checking some files, she took a pen and used it to fix her little bun. Then she leaned back against the chair and looked out the big window at the view of New York City.
She had her coffee mug in one hand and her phone in the other as she checked her email. Catherine had sent her a short video from her last mission. When she opened it, she smiled a little as soon as she saw him.
"That's what I'm talking about," she said to herself. She wanted to watch the video again. Suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed. She brought the phone close to her face and focused on his face and the way he was talking. Every single detail piqued her curiosity and interest.
"This is weird," she said, watching the video a third time. Then, after a few more viewings, she put the phone on her desk and rubbed her forehead. Her mind was floating away. "Why is this guy looking exactly like Daniel?" she said in a low, trembling voice.
She got up from the chair and put her hand on her waist, and the other hand was stroking the back of her neck until her nails almost caused a wound on her bright skin.
"Maybe I imagined it," she told herself, then nodded, trying to convince herself that it was nothing, that he was just a strange man who looked like her first husband by coincidence, that he was not her son.
She glanced at her phone, staring at it for a moment, then quickly picked it up, searching for Catherine between contacts, swallowing hard as she waited for her trainee to respond.
"Good morning, Mrs. Garcia," she said into the phone.
"Are you busy today?" The woman asked, hoping she wouldn't be busy. "Um, no, I'm just shopping in the city. Do you need something? Is everything alright? Mrs.?"
The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking, trying to keep her voice steady. "The young man you told me about, what's his name?"
She felt her heart stick in her throat even before she got the answer.
"Oh, his name's Taylor," she said. Then, her boss's sudden silence made her confused. She felt like she couldn't hold herself up anymore, so she threw her body on the nearest couch, head bowed, while staring into the empty space. She forgot that she was talking on the phone.
"Mrs. Garcia, is everything okay?"
"Mrs. Garcia!" Catherine's worried voice made the woman jump. She asked again, while she started to feel tears gathering in her hazel eyes, "Give me his full name, Catherine."
The girl was silent for a few seconds, then replied, feeling as if her mission had failed before it had even begun, "I'm sorry, I don't have it; that's all I know about him.
Catherine heard her sigh on the phone, and then she said, "I'll give you ten thousand dollars as a down payment. Just find him and bring him to me as soon as you can."
The girl's eyes got big, and she didn't say anything for a moment. Imagining what to buy next time she went shopping, she bit her lips and replied with an excited smile, "Just trust me, Mrs. Garcia."
As soon as the call ended, Catherine's smile vanished, and she slapped her forehead with her phone. "Shit, Catherine!"
She was in the middle of the street, squatting, with the bags in both hands. She had a nervous and scared expression on her face. She muttered under her breath, "Why? Why would you agree to do something you're not even capable of doing right?"
"What an idiot," she said, running her fingers through her wavy hair as she blew out a frustrated exhale. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"You are such a materialistic woman; that's why you will be fired soon!"
She stood in her spot for a few minutes, thinking. Then she went to the park where they first met, trying her luck. She sat on the wooden bench; maybe she could spot him. She stayed there for a few hours, then got tired and left.
Then, she went to the Sun Coffee as a last-ditch effort. She sat there for a few more hours, but he never came. She rested her elbows on the table while staring into the void and grabbing her hair with both hands. "Why don't you show up when I need you?"
"I don't even have his number," she said, leaning her back against the chair and looking out the window. Then she remembered Taylor's friend who had called her before. She quickly pulled out her phone from her bag and searched for Steven's number.
"This is it, I'm sure. Good, I didn't delete it!" She ran her tongue along her lower lip before putting the phone close to her ear. She tapped her feet on the floor while waiting for the young man to answer.
"Hello?" Steven's voice came through the phone, and she replied, fixing her posture, "Hi, it's me, Catherine. Remember me?"
He took a few seconds to answer, and then he said, in a happy and surprised tone, "Yeah, of course, pretty mushroom!" He hadn't expected her to do such a thing.
She rolled her eyes tiredly before speaking without giving him another chance to invent another silly nickname for her, "I wonder if Taylor is with you now. I want to talk to him about something urgent and really important."
"Oh, wow," Steven said, and she heard him laughing lightly. Then she heard him talking to another man. "Hey, Taylor! Someone is dying to talk to you!"
"What the!" she whispered, making a fist with her hand and pushing the air out of embarrassment. But she soon calmed herself as she listened to Taylor ask who that person was. Steven said he didn't know, and it was a surprise. He was just trying to add some suspense to the situation.
"Hello?"
"Hey!" She replied as soon as she heard his voice, tapping on her bag on her lap. "It's been a while, Taylor. It's me, Catherine."
He was silent for a moment, then she added wearily, "Catalina."
"Oh, yeah, what's up?" He replied, and when she was about to speak, he cut the line on her face, leaving her floating in the black space, trying to understand what had just happened.
She glanced at the screen for a second, looking a bit annoyed, and said, "The network's weak."
She tapped the number again, put the phone close to her ear, and then she never could join him; she remained frozen in expression. "Did he just block my number?"
End Flashback.
...
She smiled a little, then stood up and took her purse. "I'm going to the restroom. I'll be right back," she said to her friends. As soon as she entered the restroom, she closed the door and leaned against the wall, calling her boss.
"Hello, Catherine," said Mrs. Garcia, and then Catherine said, without any introduction, as if she had been followed by a gang, "Mrs. Garcia, I discovered something amazing: Aiden and Taylor are close friends. You can talk to Aiden, and he will convince him to join your company."
"Since I couldn't," she added in a low voice, actually Taylor didn't even give her a chance to try to convince him.
"I'm surprised," the woman said. "Thanks, Catherine."
"You're welcome, ma'am," Catherine replied with a smile. "I was wondering when I'll get my money," she asked, biting her lip and playing with her hair. Then she realized she was talking to herself.
"Damn!" She clenched her teeth and was about to throw her phone away out of anger but controlled her nerves. "Your phone is expensive; never do that again!"
...