Mirage - Alice Tribue Page 0,73
to worry about. I know it wasn’t easy for him to comply, but he did. The look of disappointment on his face broke my heart, but only time can fix things between us now. Tonight, when I cry, I want to cry in peace. I want to be free to cry as ugly and as loudly as I want. That’s exactly what I do; I lay in my bed and give myself permission to cry for everything that went wrong and for losing the dream that had started to take shape in my head and my heart. My eyes are swollen and sore by the time I finally fall asleep.
I’m laying low because even though I’ve been told no charges will be filed against me, I’m understandably a little paranoid. For this reason, I’ve decided to work from home for the next few days. This also allows me to have as little human contact as possible right now. I just can’t handle social encounters right now so when my doorbell rings, I instantly go on alert. What the fuck do I have a doorman for, I think to myself as I answer the door.
“Miss Powell.” A young woman no older than twenty or so stands there with a bright smile on her face.
“Yes,” I answer hesitantly.
“I have a delivery for you,” she says handing me a paper bag and a cardboard cup holder filled with coffee and tea.
“What is this?”
“Breakfast, ma’am.”
“I know what it is. I mean, who sent it?”
“Oh, there’s a card inside the bag.”
“Hang on. I’ll get you a tip.”
“It’s already been taken care of, ma’am, have a nice day.”
“Thank you.” I close the door, walking over to my kitchen and placing everything on the countertop. I dig through the bag and find a folded notecard inside.
If I can’t take you to work anymore, I can still buy you breakfast.
Call me,
Nathan.
I shake my head, thinking back to the beginning. How he would bring me pastries and coffee every morning, or take me to the bakery before work, when he was trying to woo me. Now, I know he was just trying to gather information about me. I tell myself that this is just another technique he’s using to manipulate me. Another tactic to break me down so that he can hurt me again. Well, this time I’m not falling for it. This time my defenses are mounted too high because, in this war, one more blow from him could be fatal for me.
I sit in my office with my coffee and pastries and fire up my computer. Technically, this is the first day of my new life. No rich, entitled clients, no girls to keep in line, and I actually feel relieved. I feel lighter because finally, finally after all of these years, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Breakfast comes like clockwork every day for the next five days though no more notes have arrived. By the time Sunday rolls around, I’m almost disappointed that I haven’t heard from Nathan again. I remind myself that I don’t want to hear from him again. I remind myself that our relationship is over and that we’ll never be together again. I’m good with that because it’s the way things have to be. So why have I cried myself to sleep every single night?
***
“You never called me,” a familiar voice in my ear wakes me. I gasp in both fear and astonishment, moving to jump out of the bed but I’m pulled back down.
“Relax, it’s just me.”
I do the exact opposite, my entire body tensing up at the sight of him. “Nathan, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Did you get my note?”
“What note?”
“With breakfast,” he sighs. “I told you to call me.”
“Are you serious? How did you even get in here?”
His lips tip up in a smile. “Your doorman just lets me up now. He thinks we’re dating, remember?”
“Great. How’d you get inside the apartment?”
“You need a new hiding place for your key.”
“Get off me.” I put my hands on his chest and push, but he just grabs them, using his strength to pin me down. “What are you doing? Let me go.”
“We need to talk.”
“We already went over everything. There’s nothing left to talk about.”
“There’s a lot left to talk about.”
“Like what?” I ask with a roll of my eyes.
“Like the fact that I love you and you love me.”
Pettiness gets the best of me as I amend his statement. “Loved.”
“I see you’re still lying to