C H A P T E R 4 8
?My lonely place is everywhere you aren't.?
The wedding was lovely. I was so happy for Brian and Brooke even though I didn't know them much. Their wedding was like a fairytale. Although I didn't believe such kind of thing existed in real life, but looking at Brooke and Brian made me think that they were an exception.
After the reception, Brian and Brooke set off for their honeymoon. The bouquet was caught by Heather and the garter by Ethan. It was so surprising and everyone was sure that they would be the next couple to get married soon.
Ethan was a little weird at the reception though. Whenever I went to talk to him, he was always busy talking to others. Even when I caught him alone, at the sight of me he'd become panicked and dodge me by going in the opposite direction and getting someone to talk to him.
I didn't know what was up with him.
At the time of the dance he literally danced with every woman in the hall except me. It was like he was purposefully avoiding me. I didn't understand why he was doing this. I really wanted to dance with him once but he never give me the chance to. He even danced with Olivia but not me.
So many men asked me to dance with them, even Vince. I knew that if I refused to dance with him he would make a scene and nag me the whole night so I didn't have a choice. I saw Ethan giving Vince a cold glare but Vince was too busy looking at me to notice him.
I knew that Ethan didn't like me dancing with him.
The night ended with him and Heather exiting the reception hall before anyone else after congratulating the newlyweds and I was left disappointed. Weren't we friends? Why would he totally ignore me like that?
As expected, at the end of the reception party, Olivia was wasted.
I didn't want to handle a drunk Olivia and so an equally drunk Tristan offered to be with her and to deposit her in her room when they reached.
I ordered the driver to take the two home because I didn't know where Tristan lived.
Olivia looked really sleepy so I deemed it safe to send her with Tristan because in her state I highly doubted she'd say anything about our secret to Tristan.
I stayed back for a while to click pictures with the married couple and to congratulate them again after which I decided to call it a night.
All I could think of during the ride back to the mansion was Ethan and his odd behavior.
But as I thought about it a lot, I came up with a reason.
Maybe Juliet and Ethan's rivalry was known to the media and he didn't have an intention to clear things up for them.
Because I bet this would have been huge and maybe he just didn't want the limelight to be off of Brooke and Brian because it was their long awaited special day.
I waved it off after that. Of course this would be the reason. There was no other way he'd be like this. I was just overthinking which was never good.
When I went to see Olivia the next day, the first thing I noticed was that she looked exhausted even though she slept for more than twelve hours. Her hair was messy and a lot of tangles were visible. But before I could talk to her, she shut the door on my face.
Right after the wedding it was exam season for me.
I had to work extra hard during those days.
I also had to work extra hard to keep my secret, a secret.
It was decided that Heather or Amelia would pick me up from the mansion whenever I had an exam and would drive me to college under the excuse of hanging out.
Returning to college felt weird for the first time. I also had to be careful and try not to run into Ashley.
Amelia bought some simple clothes for me which was usually what I used to wear.
I left home in clothes considered normal for them and changed in the car into other clothes which wouldn't draw attention to me. And after exam I changed back to what I wore when I left the mansion.
Olivia's exams were starting a little later than mine so she had a few days more to prepare.
I was able to give my exams without any problem. The exams surprisingly went well for me. I wasn't expecting that as I thought I'd be distracted from all the pretending that I was doing. But it was good that it wasn't the case.
During those days I wasn't able to talk much to Olivia or Ethan or anyone for that matter.
I had remained holed up in my room for about a month to study for the exams.
But what bothered me during that period was that Ethan didn't come to ask me to hang out with him at all.
It wasn't long ago when he was whining at my door, asking me to come out and spend time with him.
We did have a lot of fun when we were in Paris and when we went to watch a movie late at night.
Even driving for an hour to have breakfast at the place where I used to work was fun.
Often times when my mind wandered away from the books, I found myself staring at the door, expecting a knock from Ethan asking me what I was doing and to leave everything aside so I could have some fun with him.
Why was it so silent now?
I just made up some plausible reason for it. He must be busy. He must be with Heather. He must be away on a business trip. He must be tired. He must be sleeping because he's such a workaholic.
Yes, it had been a month already. I was busy with exams and I didn't give much thought to his absence.
But when exams were over, I noticed it.
So I decided to try and talk to him.
The next day was a bright Sunday. I woke up a little early than usual, bathed and dressed in a cute top and shorts. I waited outside his room for a while.
I knew his Sunday routine a little and it was no different from other days. On Sundays he worked. The only difference being that he woke up an hour late on Sundays.
On other days he woke up at six and on Sundays he woke up at seven.
When I heard him shuffle around in his room, I went and stood right in front of his door with a smile on my face.
Seconds later, he opened the door.
He must have been surprised to see me so suddenly because his eyes widened a little.
He looked almost ready for work in his dark blue suit. His tie was around his neck, waiting to be done and he was in the process of putting on his watch although he stopped to stare at me.
"Uh...," I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, not knowing what to say for a second. "Let me do it for you," I said, stepping closer to do his tie.
I felt his eyes on me but I focused on making his tie perfectly.
"There." The tie was done nicely and I smiled up at him. "Do you want to go watch a movie with me after work? You wanted the whole living-like-common-people experience but we didn't get much of that last time."
Ethan avoided my gaze. "I'm busy and I have a date with Heather later so I don't have time for that."
Without waiting for my reply he closed the door behind him and started walking down the hallway.
"Wow. You really are busy," I mumbled to the door.
Fine. He must really have a lot of work today and of course Heather was more important than I.
I watched his retreating back until he disappeared around the corner.
"What's up with you?" Keith asked while I was absentmindedly stirring some soup in a pot.
"Nothing," I sighed.
"Are you not feeling well?" He asked, tugging at my arm to make me face him. He put his palm on my forehead. "You don't have a fever. Do you have a headache?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Looks like you're not in the mood to cook," he commented. "You aren't attentive."
"Sorry."
"That's okay. I have days like that too," he said, taking the ladle from me.
We cooked in silence until he decided to break it. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know if it's just me overthinking about the situation or the situation is really like that."
"I don't understand."
I shook my head. "Don't worry. It's nothing big."
"Still...can I do something to help?"
"Hey, Keith. You're a man. So tell me why a man would avoid a woman who he was previously friends with when the woman seemingly did nothing wrong?"
Keith took a lot of time to answer. "I don't know.
I've never been in a situation like that.
But if I think about it hard, maybe the man started becoming annoyed at her presence.
Maybe he doesn't want to hang out with the woman anymore and didn't want to be rude and tell that to her directly. So he avoids her."
My face fell at his reply. "Really?"
So he was annoyed with me. That actually made me mad at Ethan. Wasn't he the one begging me to hang out with him about two months ago?
"Or the man likes the woman but is in denial. That's another reason why he would avoid her," Keith added.
I waved off the second reason. "That one is so not it."
"Why? Why can't it be that reason?"
"It's not a question about if it can be or cannot be. It shouldn't be."
"What's the problem with that?" He asked, quirking one eyebrow up which I found annoying because I didn't know how to do that.
"That would make things complicated for both," I replied. "Especially if the woman is starting to doubt if what she feels for the man is friendship or something more," I whispered low enough for Keith to not hear.
"What did you say?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing."
"So who is this man who's avoiding you?"
"It's no one. I was just curious about it. You see Olivia and Tristan are avoiding each other like the plague so I was wondering what was up with them. As I didn't want to directly ask them so I thought to ask you."
And that was the truth, although the matter with Olivia and Tristan was just a save for me from this topic. But Olivia and Tristan avoiding each other was true. I needed to ask her about this but delayed it because I was busy thinking about what was up with Ethan these days.
Keith didn't look convinced but didn't prod much into the matter either.
I didn't see Ethan for the whole day. It seemed like he was eating lunch out after work for the past few days otherwise he would mostly make time to come and eat at home because that was what was best suited for him, he had said.
When dinner time rolled around, Ethan made conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Jenson every day and when he was done eating, he'd immediately retreat to his room or go out with Heather or for work and would return late at night, long after everyone went to sleep.
This continued for a few more days. I tried to catch Ethan alone for at least a few minutes and he'd always had the same reply for me, that he was busy and we should talk some other time.
That definitely told me that something was wrong.
"How were your exams?" I heard Olivia's gloomy voice one early morning.
"Quite good. What about yours?"
"Fine," she grumbled.
"So I had been meaning to ask about this but didn't because you had your exams but now that it's over," I looked over at her as I poured coffee in two cups. "What's going on between you and Tristan?"
Olivia didn't seem happy about the question I asked. I passed her a cup of coffee and took one for myself.
"What do you think is going on? We're just following your orders. You wanted us to not hang out with each other." Her tone was a bit snappy and she sounded a little mad at me.
"One, I did not order you to do that. I said it would be best for us if you do so.
Two, I'm not talking about how you're not hanging out with him.
I'm talking about the tension between you guys.
Whenever he comes over, you two avoid each other.
I've noticed you don't look at each other or even have small talk.
I didn't mean you should completely cut off contact with him.
I'm surprised that even Tristan is behaving like that.
The Tristan that I knew a month back had feelings for you and wanted to be with you whenever possible but now he doesn't come over often and whenever he does, you two act like the other doesn't exist," I replied, taking a sip from my coffee.
Olivia ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at the roots. "Do I have to report everything that happens between us to you?" She asked harshly.
"Yes, if it's serious and problems could crop up because of it." I said matter-of-factly.
"Then I don't have anything to tell you. As for the matter between Tristan and I, it's best if it's left alone."
We sat in silence until I finished my coffee. "Okay, I trust you. Just don't do anything stupid." I stood up, washed the cup and set it to dry.