30. thirty #2
She was right, though. That was what I loved most about her. Lysandra began her life in the slums of poverty and fought to be in the position that she was in today, and she didn’t allow her success to transform her into a superficial person.
“Hilarious.” I watched her roll her eyes with such ease. As if the action had been practiced a million times before.
The cold air of November bit into my cheeks.
I let out a breath, the condensation coming out as white smoke.
I felt a droplet fall on the top of my head.
My brows scrunched as another drop rolled down my forehead.
My eyes found Lysandra, who had wiped the bridge of her nose, a look of bewilderment etched across her expression.
We remained still as we realized that more droplets had been falling from the dark clouds above, and in a matter of seconds rain began to pour down on us.
When I thought back to this moment, I believed the rain was divine intervention. That night changed the entire course of our lives. The clock that had stopped ticking, began to tick again.
“My makeup!” she cried.
“Really? I never believed you to be so vain and make a comment like that,” I replied.
Lysandra lifted a hand and slapped my shoulder.
“Do you live far from here?” I asked, raising my voice, hoping she could hear me through the roaring of the thunder. The coffee date would have to be postponed, unfortunately. We wouldn’t know how much rain would pour tonight, and I didn’t want to risk her health.
“I do,” she cried, and then groaned. “I forgot to call the electricians to fix my heater.” She set a hand over her temple.
“What about Camille?”
“She’s off on vacation somewhere.”
My loft wasn’t far from the set. It was just a few blocks down. What if I… I shouldn’t. But she couldn’t be left out in the rain like this.
“You can stay with me. My place isn’t far from here,” I called.
I saw the reluctance in her eyes. If she came with me, the walls that she had built for herself would come tumbling down. We both knew it. I just wished she knew that I didn’t intend to hurt her. Not again. Never again.
“The longer we stay out here, the more we put ourselves at risk.”
Getting sick from the frigid weather would impede our work on the film.
The goal was to have her movie out by the next Autumn.
It would push every plan back. There were the workers’ lives as well.
They could potentially drop the project if they thought it was taking too long, or if they found a better opportunity.
A whirlwind of scenarios crashed into my mind.
“Okay,” she said. I grabbed her hand and hauled her with me. We ran across the streets of Edinburgh, searching for refuge. An oasis from the storm that began to roar in the Heavens above. Lightning flashed with power, almost blinding me on our journey to warmth.
I was more worried about her health, so I pushed my legs to move faster. “We’re almost there.”
Lysandra began to laugh. I looked back at her. “What’s so funny?”
“I’ve never seen you so worried before,” she let out between breaths.
“Now is not a time for jokes, woman. Hurry your feet, we’re almost there,” I exclaimed, hauling her with me.
“My feet hurt. These shoes are killing me,” she complained.
“Lysandra, are you always this insufferable?”
“You know that I am.” I could feel her grin appearing on her lips. Reluctantly, I let go of her soft hand and pulled out the keys to my apartment. We jumped up the small steps. My fingers trembled as I unlocked the door that would lead into my foyer.
“The rain make you cold?” she asked.
Am I? I don’t know. I tremble when I’m nervous.
Lysandra Guerrera is here, in my apartment.
She’s most likely spending the night. The last time we had been in such close proximity had been at the party I hosted a few weeks ago, and even then, we weren’t this close.
Emotionally close. The festivity that Camille hosted hadn’t allowed for us to talk any further; she was more closed-off that night.
Nonetheless, as we dripped across the polished floors, I could feel the force pulling us closer to one another.
“What’s with you? Are you mute?” she asked, making me travel back to the moment I had asked her a similar question the first day we met. Now that she had asked me that, I realized how much of a jerk I must’ve been. She had every right to hate me back then.
“Just thinking,” I replied, shaking my head.
I was captivated by her. Her curly hair had fallen into a wavy mess of chestnut brown. Her eyeliner had smudged. The jacket around her frame had been drenched, and her shoes squeaked with each of her footsteps.
Maya had left some clothes here. I prayed they were about the same build, so that Lysandra could be comfortable during her stay here.
“Look, if it’s too weird for me to be here, it’s okay. I can call a cab,” she began.
“No, no. You don’t have heating at home, there’s no way I’m letting you sleep cold tonight. I-I was just thinking about how I could find clothes for you. I think my sister left a few pieces the last time she was here.”
God, I sounded like a blabbering fool.
“Sister?” she questioned.
It hadn’t been much of a secret that I had a sister, but it was something I kept private. Especially after the scandals between her and Zack. I didn’t wish to involve Maya in my work or my love life, in fact, since Zack had been a close companion in the arduous process of the film.
“Yes. She came over last week and left her mess everywhere,” I said mindlessly.
“You never told me, and when I went to dinner with your parents, they didn’t mention her either.” She seemed almost offended.
I motioned for her to follow me, but she looked down at the water that was pooling under her. The rug beneath had grown dark from absorbing the rain water. Alfred could clean it tomorrow morning. Right now, what mattered most was getting Lysandra into warm clothes.
“It’s complicated. Now, come on. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping for the night. There’s a shower and everything.”
As she walked deeper into the foyer, her stare remained on the crystal chandeliers hanging from above. She was scrutinizing every corner of my place.
We walked silently through the hallways into the guest bedroom. Only the sound of our socks engulfed in rain could be heard, as well as the droplets falling onto the windows of my apartment.
I opened the door. “Here. There are clothes in this drawer. And don’t ask me how I know this, but there is a closed bag of brand-new underwear as well.”
Lysandra’s gaze questioned me. I sighed and replied, “My lovely sister forgot to pack the correct amount of underwear and had a lady emergency. I was the one who had to buy those for her, but she left before I returned home.”
An unforgettable day. Maya was my best friend, but aside from Lysandra, she was also one of my greatest heartaches.
She left without saying goodbye. She decided to go on another trip around the world without so much as a farewell.
It always pained me to see how she only came home to me whenever she needed economic support and left as soon as she’d acquired it.
Lysandra examined me, and I think she understood the true meaning behind my excuse.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know how I can repay you for this.”
“It’s what friends are for,” I said.
And there we remained. We were silent. The wind whirled outside as the storm grew stronger. She had her arms crossed, as if that could be her armor. My fingers fidgeted with the stitching of my shirt, open and anxious for her.
I wished for her comfort, yet I broke the silence between us. “I’ll leave a basket for you outside your door, and I can put your clothes in the washer.”
“Thank you.”
She stepped into the guest room and closed the door behind her. I strode back to my room and followed the same process, changing into warm nightwear and grabbing a plastic basket for my clothes and hers.
As I was about to drop the basket at her door, she opened the door.
“Sorry,” we both replied.
I held up the basket for her. She plopped her clothes on top of mine without making a sound. I hated this silence. It was so awkward.
“I’ll be back,” I muttered.
Swiftly, I went to my laundry section and put our clothes in the washing machine. I’d have to stay awake long enough to move them to the dryer.
As I walked back to my room, I stopped by Lysandra’s door. She’d been sitting under the blankets, shivering, her teeth chattering.
“How’s the temperature?”
“It’s good, the sheets are just a bit cold.”
I nodded. It was time for me to head into my room and rest. But I didn’t want to leave her. I wanted to be enveloped in her embrace.