“What would you be making for dinner tonight?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, you guys would have to chew on some Cheerios or something and wash it down with some milk, water or juice, whichever you prefer. I’m completely drained from today’s sessions.” The shrink established as she and her friend walked through the black gates of their house.
“Oh, come on, Mera!” The redhead whined with infantile humour as she stomped her feet on the gravel floor behind Emerald, her car keys rattling due to the motion. “I’m famished!” she continued to wail.
With her head pounding mercilessly as a result of the hectic day she had had at work coupled with Oriana’s puerile tantrums, she couldn’t help but wish that her friend’s heels would break from the impact of her feet hitting against the rough ground.
“If you’re so hungry, why not cook for yourself?” Chaffed mockery laced her words as she turned around abruptly in aggravation, making Oriana bump into her chest.
“Ouch, Mer-” the protests that began bubbling in her vocal cords immediately died down on seeing Emerald’s death glare. Wearing a juvenile pout on her lips, she rubbed her forehead as though Emerald’s chest had been as hard as metal.
Seeing that she could finally enjoy some silence as she made her way to her room, Emerald turned around and resumed walking into their home. Using Oriana’s weakness of being a walking cooking catastrophe against her had successfully shut her up. Emerald couldn’t be more glad for the resultant quietude.
As usual, the house was dark, empty as well as tranquil. Everything Emerald had always wanted, yet she couldn’t help but admit that she missed coming home to settle or most times, ignore Oriana’s and Logan’s puerile banters.
Since the past week, Logan had been pretty busy with work. He’d leave really early in the morning, arrive very late at night when he was sure no one would be awake or not even bother coming home at all.
Emerald had had her suspicions that it could be that Logan, just like Oriana, was also avoiding the elephant in the room, or rather, the elephant that had moved into their home.
She had confronted him about it when she had patiently awaited his arrival in the mid of night and had cornered him. As expected, he had laughed it off and had just given the vague response of ‘work has just been really hectic these days.’ At least unlike Logan, Oriana had told Emerald truthfully her reason for not wanting to be home.
Finally arriving at the door of her bedroom, she hurriedly walked in and shut the door behind her, making a quick escape from Oriana’s throttling claws. She plopped down on her bed, heaving a sigh when she felt her strained back and waist muscles relaxing against the plush paradise.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled deep, long and steady breaths before exhaling while peeling her eyelids open synchronously. Her eyelashes fluttered as she kept her emerald green orbs, which shimmered in the darkness surrounding her, fixated on the grey coloured ceiling.
She let the events that had occured in the past week float around her in the darkness. Letting out a groan, she remembered how Oriana had been so overly clingy this past week.
She knew that her friend was still terrified of the Mafia Don’s presence in their home and that it would take some time to adjust to the definitely temporary new living arrangement but she didn’t know that she would be the one to shoulder most of the burdens.
Oriana, immediately after she closed from work, would drive all the way to Emerald’s therapy place to wait out the few minutes to an hour left before Emerald’s last session or closing time.
At first, when Emerald had seen her arrive on the first day, she had thought that her friend had just been in a really good mood and had decided to reward her by driving her home as well. But, when she saw Oriana again the next day, she began suspecting that her friend’s unusual actions were equivocal. There was more to it than meets the eye and only when she saw Oriana’s Toyota SUV pull up at the curb of her building on the third day, were her suspicions finally confirmed.
Her friend had an ace up her sleeve.
Emerald had confronted her and gingerly, Oriana had defeatedly conceded her claims. Unable to proffer a more befitting solution to her friend’s obvious yet understandable fear, Emerald had succumbed to her pleas but now, she was definitely starting to regret it.
Letting her eyelids shield her knackered green orbs, she groaned when she remembered Oriana’s seemingly infinite rants about the neverending drama in her workplace and the vulture-like squall that had emanated from her throat when she had tried to sing along with the band music playing from her car’s stereo system.
Shaking her head emphatically, she assayed to rid her head of the reiterative caws of Oriana’s voice before successfully subjecting herself to the silence again.
Letting her thoughts drift to Logan, she brought her phone out of her purse to send him a text. ‘Busy?’ she wrote but didn’t have to wait for long before the three bubbles-an indication that he was typing-showed vividly on the screen of her device. His text came in.
‘Just wrapping things up,’ he replied.
She rolled onto her side so she could be in a better and more comfortable position before sending him a reply. ‘Home?’
She knew very well, her reasons for the one worded responses. She was trying to reel him in and she knew that he had bitten the bait when her device dinged as his text entered.
‘Are you angry with me, Meme?’
Yep, he had fallen right into her trap. All she had to do now was play her cards right. ‘Why?’ she pressed on.
‘I don’t know? Your one worded sentences?’
‘Hmm. . .’ she feigned ignorance.
‘Well, Meme?’ he prodded.
‘Yes, I am. Since you’ve chosen to avoid my existence.’
‘That’s not it, Mera. It’s just that. . .’ he left the sentence hanging.
‘Just what? You’re trying to avoid the situation? Or save yourself? Which one is it?’ she finally snapped.
‘I’m sorry,’ his reply came later than the others and although it was a text, those two words conveyed his earnest sobriety.
But she needed one last thing from him. ‘Home. Now,” and with that, she turned off her phone, not waiting for his reply.
She knew she was being a tad selfish by requesting such from her friends but if they continued to avoid the pressing issue that had moved into their home, it wouldn’t be a fair act; no matter his status, he was still an ad interim roommate.
His existence was unavoidable and they had to believe that sooner or later. And she preferred sooner. She couldn’t believe that she was the one saying this but one week of deafening silence was enough for her ears.
Not wanting to leave the cloud-soft haven of her bed and room, she thought of taking a much needed nap before showering but her demon of a stomach apparently had other plans.
Begrudgingly getting up from her bed, she stretched her arms and legs, wincing when she heard simultaneous pops from both body parts inclusive of her aching back. Moaning softly, she admitted that she had really missed Logan’s therapeutic massages.
Her stomach growled again, reminding her of its looming munchies. She sighed.
‘Looks like Oriana had won this round.’
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