12. The Quiet
The Quiet
Luke
Dani wasn’t bullshitting when she said she wasn’t a morning person. She has yelled at the copier six times in the last twenty minutes, smashed her fists off the printer a handful of times and has threatened to end my existence more than once.
Plus, I think she might be hungover.
"Archer!" she bellows from her desk.
I have been letting the whole Archer thing slide. I’m starting to enjoy her calling me by my last name, so long as she continues to call me Mr. Archer around clients. Standing, I take my time walking over to her desk.
"Yes, Daniella." I answer.
"What in the Christ does this say?" she questions and jabs a finger onto the paper in front of her.
Stepping around the desk, I lean over her shoulder to glance at the paper, and in turn, get the full brunt of that nasty burn mark that's visible due to the cut off collar on her pajama shirt. The scar is a bit darker than her pale skin; it’s raised and smooth and in a strange shape.
"Alimony is to be paid monthly by cheque or electronic money transfer. If alimony payments are halted, regardless of the reason, civil or criminal charges for contempt of court will be pushed through." I answer.
She scratches out my writing and adds hers. "Did doctors teach you how to write. Good God Archer, I can’t read half of this," Dani complains.
"If you are going to continue working here, I suggest you learn."
Her head turns slowly towards me. "Archer," she starts, "I’m giving you thirty seconds to get out of my face before I chop you into pieces and shove you through the shredder." Dani grabs my tie and yanks me close to her face. Close enough that I can feel her breath on my lips. Close enough that I could kiss those lips if I leaned in an inch. "You feel me?" her eyes narrow as she releases my tie.
"Noted." Is all I say as I make my way into my office.
"Finished!" Dani yells, throwing her hands in the air.
I glance at the clock.
Six-fifty-eight.
She stands and rushes out of my office, grabbing her purse as she flies by her desk. "See you tomorrow, Archer."
Disappointment floods my chest as I watch her leave and I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. It might be selfish but I was truly hoping she wouldn’t finish so I could spend more time with her.
Guess it wasn’t in the cards.
I finish what I was working on before heading home myself. I lock up and push the button for the elevator. The ride down is quiet, the drive home is quiet, the ride to my sub-penthouse is quiet, my apartment is quiet.
I never realized how quiet my life truly is.
I shower and change into something less restrictive and grab my guitar from the case. I sit on the couch and tune it. Strumming it a few times to make sure the strings are tight, I begin playing. I have no song in mind, just looking for something to fill the quiet in my life.
Playing guitar also stills the pain. I played everyday for a year after Mom passed. She was only forty-four when cancer ended her young life. However, it never stopped her from doing what she loved, like gardening and teaching me how to play. I wasn't a child when she passed, I was twenty-one, but she had been fighting since I was fifteen and Gabe was twelve. She had her great days, good days, bad days and horrible days but teaching me to play and having Gabe sing was her happy place.
I used to play for her at the hospital nearing her last days. It brought back some of that spark she had lost from Dad's infidelity and the cancer. She died with her boys by her side, playing her favourite song Lovesong by The Cure .
After Mom passed, I became very picky with who I wanted to date. Attraction wasn't my top priority. I wanted a fighter. I wanted a woman who was brave, loving, and wouldn't quit when faced with a challenge.
Sarah was like that in the beginning, but once the money started to roll in, she changed. Gone was the sweet, loving woman I knew. She was replaced by a woman who cared only about my money and herself. She quit her job, used my money to pay for her lavish lifestyle, only to have her leave when things got tough. I can't completely blame her for leaving, but it came as a shock. I thought things were going so well. She never showed any signs that she was unhappy or had fallen out of love with me. However, I had my head so submerged in my work, I wouldn't have noticed.
I played after Sarah had left. But the pain of losing a parent and losing a girlfriend are completely different.
I mostly play now to squash the quiet in my life or when I'm stressed and to quiet the pain I still keep hidden in a box in the pit of my stomach when it decides to push its way out.
I play until my fingers hurt and place it back in the case. I should pick up some more guitar picks. My fingers can't handle plucking the strings anymore. My callouses aren't as tough as they used to be.
I wander into the kitchen, on the hunt for food. I dig through the fridge and freezer, grabbing what I need to make stir-fry. I open my Spotify and hit shuffle on my Metal Mix. Rainbow In The Dark by Dio begins to play and I lose myself in the song.
My phone begins ringing from its place on the island. I wipe my hands and turn off the burner.
"Hey." I answer.
"Guess who I ran into." Gabe says.
"With you, it could be anyone." I say.
Gabe chuckles. "True. It was Malakai."
"Oh, shit. I haven't seen him in years. What's he doing now?"
"Dani girl, apparently. They're on a date at Pearls."
My stomach drops and suddenly I'm no longer hungry. Dani focused on her work to go out on a date.
"That's nice." I force out. I scoop the stir-fry into Tupperware containers so I have something to eat when my appetite comes back.
"You're not bothered by this?" Gabe questions.
"Should I be? Daniella is a grown woman, she can do as she pleases." I answer.
Gabe makes a tsking sound. "It's upsetting you, I can tell."
Instead of answering, I tell him I've got to get to work and hang up. I'm not going to admit that hearing Dani is on a date is making my lungs constrict.
He doesn't need to know the truth.