That Escalated Quickly #3
A slow grin spread across his face as he looked at her. His gaze softened at once. For her, he wasn’t going to do just that. He would get her the moon. And a shooting star too, maybe? If she asked nicely.
Strangely, I never saw my sister with a man like Mark, who was too much of a gentleman, too considerate, too everything .
Not once did I see them have an argument.
Too perfect. For this family. But then again, I hadn’t been around to see how much she had changed over these past years. Perhaps he was exactly what she needed.
“Darling, if you ask with a smile like that,” he said, taking a few eager steps towards her, and before she could react, he lunged forward, sweeping her off her feet with a dramatic kiss that probably left her lipstick smudged, should I have decided to stick around to witness that.
“Um.” My gaze darted involuntarily towards Miles but quickly shifted away the moment I realised his sunglasses were looking right back at me. God, even sharing the same air with him was suffocating. “Gotta go,” I mumbled, and with each pounding step my feet carried me away.
***
I tiptoed inside the house, hoping to reach my room unnoticed, but alas, fate had other plans for me.
“And where do you think you are going, young lady?” The stern voice made my heart jump in my chest.
“Jesus!” I muttered. My body froze at once. A tall figure stood up from the settee, the familiar rustle of a newspaper followed as he clutched it in his hand. Yep, that was my father. Always reading, always wandering through the pages, always on top of all the fresh news.
“If you were trying to slip past your mother,” he said, a self-satisfied smile curling his lips, “she isn’t home yet.”
“Hi, Dad,” I mumbled, caught red-handed.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” he said, his arms flying open for a hug.
The corners of my mouth lifted in amusement. “I missed you too,” I said, stepping into his embrace and letting him squeeze the hell out of me.
“God, Florence, you are so thin,” he would say every time he saw me, a worried crease appearing on his forehead.
“Don’t they have any food out there?” And then every time, with a laugh, the same response would spring from my lips.
“Whoa there, Dad, careful, you might actually break me!” That was just our special and awkward father-daughter routine.
“You must be tired after your trip. Why don’t you freshen up and have a little rest?”
“Sounds great,” I smiled, slowly making my way upstairs.
“Oh, and Florence?”
“Yes?”
“Dinner’s at six. Sharp. We wouldn’t want to keep your mother waiting, would we?”
“Um, don’t worry, Dad, I’ll be on my best behaviour tonight.”
Finally reaching my safe place, I closed the door of my bedroom behind me and sighed heavily.
Ah! I smiled. Everything was exactly the way I remembered it.
Apart from the mess I left in haste, of course.
Even my vinyl records were arranged in the same order on the shelves.
A few pillows, fluffed and neat, were on that perfectly tucked, wrinkle-free bedding cover . I wouldn’t dare to take a seat.
My favourite green velvet chair—the one I loved to curl up on with a blanket for a late-night read—stood in the corner, a book right beside it.
Must have been an abandoned thriller from Jo’s collection I never finished.
How my sister grew up loving fairy tales while simultaneously developing a sudden fascination with murder stories has remained a mystery to me to this day.
A few frames were displayed on the top of the chest of drawers: my friends and family and, oh my God, my prom photo, the one my mother hired a professional photographer to take. This was one of the most lifeless and soulless shots ever. My cleavage, though, looked great.
I swept my gaze around, quite astonished by how much bigger this room was compared to my entire apartment. Plants thrived here, whilst even cacti died back there. Well, technically, one was still alive, hanging by a thread. I wish it would simply tell me where it hurts.
The long curtains draped down the wall, framing the window.
And then—drawn in by the vast expanse of the sea, a smile touched my lips—my feet slowly carried me to the balcony.
“Hey beautiful,” I said into the horizon, the salty breeze caressing me, “have you missed me?” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
The rhythmic crash of the waves soothed my soul, a sound I hadn’t heard in far too long.
“Because…I missed you,” I whispered. Feeling the sun’s warmth seeping into my skin, I murmured, “Mmm, this is nice.” But the only thing nicer I could think of was a cool shower.
Bags left unpacked, I rushed to start the water running.
***
The warm stream cascaded down my back, washing away the aches and knots of travel and flooding my body with relief.
As I reached for a towel, my fingers brushed against something damp and…
used? “Gross!” What was going on here? Stepping out of the shower, I scanned the room with newfound urgency.
A toothbrush and a used tube of toothpaste sat nestled on the sink of my bathroom.
“What on earth?” Wiping the steamy mirror, I glanced at it, looking as confused as I was.
Suddenly, the doors swung open, sending a jolt through me and eliciting a loud scream.
Naked, my hands flew up instinctively, trying to cover myself.
There, framed in the doorway, was Miles, the very person I’d fantasised about catching me soaking wet and vulnerable.
The shock on his face mirrored my own. But before I could utter a word…
“What are you doing in my bathroom?” he sputtered.
“This is my bathroom!” I exclaimed, bewildered. “And close your eyes, you jerk!”
His gaze darted towards the open doorway, then to the bed of the suite, before finally settling on a random spot on the wall. “Um, this is the room I’m staying in, Florence,” he mumbled.
“The hell not!” I hissed, my voice low and dangerous. Grabbing the nearest towel from the pile and wrapping myself in it like a cocoon, I noticed his grip tighten on the doorknob. “Obviously one of us has made a terrible mistake, and it most definitely involves YOU. BEING. IN THE WRONG. BATHROOM!”
“Well—” He cleared his throat. “—your mother kindly showed it to me herself. So, definitely not my mistake.”
“What?” I choked out, my eyes darting around the room, landing on a couple of things, including some bath essential oils and face masks that definitely did not belong to me.
Huh? Oils? Face masks? Really, Miles? Were you planning on having a relaxing bubble bath party in my tub?
“Well, I am here now, so how about you pack your shit and find yourself another room?”
His eyes glistened with amusement as he turned to face me. “But I seem to like this one,” he said, his voice dripping with a honeyed sweetness, trying his best to get under my skin. And, well, he was succeeding.
“Are you really that obtuse? Or just good at playing dumb? This is my bedroom , you know, the one with all my stuff in it!”
“Hmm, if you want to sort it out with Elizabeth?” he offered, an eyebrow raised with a self-satisfied question.
And that was my defeat, because bringing my mother into it would only make things worse.
I had promised dad to be on my best behaviour, after all, and with two whole weeks looming ahead, picking a fight with her now seemed like a tactical error.
Frustrated and annoyed, I clenched my hands into fists.
There are dozens of rooms in this house and the jerk gets mine, ugh!
I pushed past him to grab my bags. The urge to get away from this unsettling situation was way too strong.
Hair dripping wet, I rushed around the room, quickly picking up my clothes I left on the way to the bathroom.
I scanned the floor one more time for anything forgotten, then, grabbing my prom photo—because hell no!
—I bolted for the door without glancing back.
I wanted to immediately remove myself from his presence.
“Florence?” he suddenly called out just as I reached for the doorknob.
“What?” I hissed, throwing him a cold, murderous look.
“For what it’s worth,” he offered with a slow smirk plastering across his lips, “you did look truly… breast-taking .” What the fuck? My jaw immediately clenched further and, dear God, I really wanted to punch that stupid, smug face of his.
“For what it’s worth,” I screamed back, before slamming the door behind me, “screw you, asshole!”
For another half hour, the blood in my veins still ran hot.
Fuming, I fished a dress out of my suitcase and dumped my luggage next to the pool.
A little too dramatic, I knew that, but I just had to get out.
One day at home and I was already going crazy.
I knew my mother had done it on purpose, I just wasn’t sure what that purpose was.
Hmm, probably all the calls I had never made.
***
The dress was dancing with the sea breeze as I walked along the shore.
My hair, a stubborn mess, slowly dried in the sun.
Ever since I was a kid, these curls were my dad’s delight and my personal nemesis.
“Ouch!” I winced, running my fingers through my waves.
“Detangling these knotted strands is going to be a nightmare!”