Chapter 3: Delusion

Diana

It was exactly three days since Jane gave me the information I needed to push Adam out of my mind. I had been mildly successful at best, but I was happy about it. Since it was the weekend, I decided to invite Martin over to do some of my work with me as I was swamped with a lot of it. Martin gladly offered himself, telling me that he wouldn't mind dropping all he had to do to come over. My response was an exaggerated eye roll.

Immediately after I finished the call, I heard the doorbell ring and was on my way to check who it was, when I heard the footfalls of the only person in the house at this time apart from me. Soon, the voices of Flavia's friends filled the whole ground floor as they excitedly greeted each other. I didn't think anything of it, till suddenly I heard them in the back yard, instead of going out the front door as I expected. I went to take a peek and I saw them getting out of their clothes and wearing matching bikini tops and pants. It took all the power I had not to roll my eyes. Flavia was switching on the tanning machine my aunt, Lucia, had bought when she couldn't go on vacation last summer.

"There is no way I won't get that tan. By hook or crook, I am getting it!" she yelled just before tapping the add to cart option. She had gotten no tan up to this point, thanks to her job. She worked as a nurse in the town's hospital which can be crazy, plus the fact that she has a problem with saying no to people, so you can imagine how full her schedule would be.

It was when I realised they wouldn't be leaving soon, that I knew I would have a problem. I picked up my phone to call Martin not to come to my place again, that we should meet at the library in town when the doorbell rang. I just knew it was him. Walter watched me as I dashed out of the room, taking the stairs three at a time and opened the door.

The slight exercise had tasked my lungs because I couldn't speak as I tried to catch my breath. The force with which I had opened the door must have surprised Martin because he was staring at me like he hadn't seen me before.

"Just tell me I look beautiful instead of staring." I joked when I finally found my voice. He made that yucky face that I had come to love, whenever I tried to tease him like that.

"My thoughts towards you will always be sisterly, so kill that crush now!" He returned looking all grossed out. I punched his arm in retaliation because I couldn't think of anything else. He made a sound like it hurt and I did it again out of spite. I was expecting him to complain this time, but Flavia chose that moment to pass us on her way to the kitchen. She didn't even act like we were standing there as she did so. I mimicked punching her at the back of her fine head when Martin held my arm and shook his head slowly.

"I won't allow it." He whispered. The shock of his irrational behaviour had my mouth hanging open. I tried to free my hand but he wouldn't allow it.

"Can we go to the library? If we decide to work here, I wonder the amount of work we would cover and I need to..." I watched flabbergasted as he walked out on me and skipped happily into the kitchen like I had not been in the process of speaking to him. I looked about me in shock, disbelieving and not disbelieving at the same time that he ignored me. With mumbled grumbling, I followed him into the kitchen and found him staring at Flavia as she drank from a bottle of her weird flat tummy concoction, resting his elbows on the counter.

"I could tell her you want to have a sip," I said, purposely choosing to misinterpret his behaviour.

"Forget the lemonade, I want to be the bottle. She'll wrap her beautiful mouth around me and drink from me." He said dreamily.

I had to hold back a gag, as the image that came to my mind was far from innocent.

Flavia finished drinking and turned our way, sparing Martin a glance before coming my way.

"Why is weirdo here? " she asked, pointing at him but staring at me. "My girls and I are outside, I don't want him around."

I was super offended that she called Martin a weirdo, especially when it was no secret that Martin did most of her schoolwork for her. I opened my mouth to tell her off but Martin beat me to it-talking, that is.

"We won't disturb you at all. If you even have any assignment, I can help you with it." He said and I turned my head slowly to look at him, my eyes wide open with my head slightly bent.

"Excuse me!" I said at the same time she told him she had three assignments she hadn't done yet. "Do it your..." I began to say when Martin clamped a hand over my mouth, muffling the rest of my words.

"Just bring them down, and we'll do them," he said and she jumped up happily, calling Martin every sweet name in her book of sweet names for weirdos. I noticed she never used those names for the boys she liked.

"Again, thank you, Miles." She said and turned to run up the stairs. When we were alone, I turned my most aggressive glare his way. He, in return, gave me his cute baby pout that looked cute with his Harry Potter glasses on.

"She didn't even get your name! " I said, exasperated.

"She got it the last time," I argued gently.

Fortunately, I was there the last time. "She called you Mike."

"Which is my name." He said, avoiding my eyes.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" I asked because I needed to understand why he was doing so to himself.

"I do so out of love. Trust me, one day, she'll notice and come to love me in return. Just trust me." He said with such assurance that I almost fooled myself into believing it might be as he had said. Emphasis on the word 'almost'.

With Adam next door, there was no way Martin was winning this one.