BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTIONS

For the first time in some days, nothing strange happened, no whispers, no moving shadows, and there were no weird calls.

There was no woman dressed in white and standing behind my bed. The fact that my apartment was completely quiet all night after the message appeared on my wall. 

And somehow, it scared me even more, because silence frightens more than fear itself.

 When everywhere becomes quiet, you’ll start overthinking too much. At that point you’ll start asking yourself questions, you’ll start doubting yourself, you’ll start wondering if you’re going crazy.

I could barely sleep after the woman disappeared. Every tiny sound in my room made my heart beat faster.

The sound of footsteps outside my apartment would make me fear and seat up quickly. 

At some point I kept staring in the darkness, expecting something terrifying to appear there.

But morning finally arrived, peacefully, no wet footprints on the ground. It was so calm like nothing strange happened.

I slowly turned my head to the direction of the wall where the warning had appeared a night before, but nothing was there.

The wall looked clean and dry, there was no water and no message.

Nothing like any proof that strange things happened.

I sat quietly on the edge of my bed and covered my face with a cloth. 

“Maybe I imagined everything..” I whispered 

I was thinking maybe it’s stress and fear that was making me see more things and it was affecting my mental health seriously.

That thought alone made sense.

My phone suddenly vibrated beside me, making my heart skip.

I quickly carried the phone.

A message from Adrian Vale.

Good morning, Elena Hart.

Just seeing his name alone made a warm smile spread through my chest.

I hated how fast my body reacted to him. Just then another message came immediately.

Did you sleep well?

I looked at the screen for a few seconds before replying.

A little.

Another message popped, That means no.

“Gosh this man is so intentional,” I whispered.

Before I could even stop myself I was smiling subconsciously.

Why is this man becoming so important to me, and he is not even in my class, he can't pick me over other beautiful and rich women out there.

Another message popped. 

Get dressed.

I replied immediately.

 Why?

Because I'm outside.

My heart skipped, I quickly rushed to the window and moved the curtain aside.

Downstairs, A luxurious Benz waited in front of my building, and Adrain Vale leaned casually against it.

He looked so handsome and expensive, one hand in his pocket, he rolled his sleeve up to his elbow.

People walking past him must turn back to look at him and somehow he was waiting for me.

For me? I asked myself as I quickly stepped away from the window.

“This is crazy,” I whispered to myself.

Twenty minutes later I found myself in front of the mirror changing clothes for the third time, looking for the perfect cloth that will match with Adrian Vale fashion.

When I finally went downstairs, Adrian Vale looked at me and smiled.

For the two days I meet Adrain he's not someone who smiled randomly, he hardly smiles and for him to look at me and smile he truly loved what he saw.

“You took forever,” he said calmly.

“You came without any information,” I replied.

“And yet,” he said softly looking straight to my eyes,”You still look beautiful.”

I was blushing, but I quickly rolled my eyes to hide it.

“ You say that to every woman?”

“No,” his answer came too fast.

Too sure, like there was no doubt in mind.

Before I could even reply, he walked around and opened the car door for me himself. 

I was so surprised, no one has ever done that for me before.

Not for Elena Hart, not for a broke girl like me struggling to pay rent.

Not for a girl wearing a second-handed clothes and pretends like everything is okay. 

The drive through the city felt so peaceful, strangely peaceful for the first time in along while i stopped thinking about money or fear or survival, i was laughing, actually laughing.

Inside the car, Adrain kept looking at me, his whole attention focused completely on me, like I would disappear if he blinked.

While I was texting my coworker, he kept glancing on my phone.

“That phone belongs in a museum,” he said.

I gasped dramatically. “Excuse me?”

“The screen is cracked.”

“But it still works,” I said.

“Barely.”

“It has feelings,” I replied.

“It has trauma.”

We burst into laughter so suddenly.

He took me shopping first, I refused but he found a way of persuading me into it. 

I picked lots of groceries and beverages.

And somehow, two hours later, I found myself standing inside one of the most popular aesthetic phone store in the city.

“No!” I said quickly when the sales woman brought out a brand new latest iPhone 16 box.

“No, absolutely not.”

Adrain lean lazily on the counter.

“Yes,” he said.

“I can’t accept this.”

“You can.”

“It’s too expensive,” I said.

He came close to me and held me my my arms.

“Elena,” he said.

“What?”

“You saved my life.”

“That doesn’t mean you should buy me a phone that cost more that my two year’s salary!”

The saleswoman pretended not to hear us.

Adrain suddenly stepped closer close that I could feel the air he was breathing, it made me so nervous.

“You look at prices before touching them,”  he said slowly.

“So.”

“So,” he said softly, “I want you to stop.”

Those words hit me harder than it should, because he was right. I always check prices of things first.

I’m always calculating, always worried, always afraid of not having enough money to purchase what I want, I always go for quantity instead of quality.

I looked away first and pretended everything was fine.

Ten minutes later, the new phone was sitting right inside my hands, still seal waiting for me to unbox it.

“You’re crazy,” I whispered.

“Probably,” Adrain replied smiling.

Then he kept looking at my face as i unboxed it.

“But you’re smiling.”

And truly I was.

**

By evening Adrain took me to dinner.

Then we drove around the city together, chatting and playing in the car.

Later, we stopped at the cinema to watch a movie. 

I have never been to a cinema it was so amazing.

Hours passed so fast around him.

The fear I had before, slowly started feeling embarrassing and maybe truly I imagined everything, stress was making me hallucinate.

Adrain didn’t feel evil, he’s just lonely.

At this point during the cinema, Adrain grabbed my hands softly.

“You’re thinking too much again,” he said softly.

“How do you always know?” I asked.

“You disappear into your own mind when something bothers you.”

“That sounds so creepy,” I replied.

“Maybe.”

I smiled softly, but then it faded.

“What if am crazy?” I asked quietly.

Adrain looked at me carefully  “No you’re not.”

“What if I imagine things.”

He touch my cheek slowly.

“Then give me a chance to give you something real instead.”

My hear beat so fast, and for the first time in years I allowed myself to hope, and real hope.

The kind of hope that makes you forget the past pain.

 Later that night, after Adrain dropped me off. 

I quickly went inside and called my best friend Clara immediately.

The moment she picked, she screamed “you disappeared from work for TWO DAYS.”

“I know,” I replied.

“Manager said that a billionaire sent him money.”

Gosh I covered my face with embarrassment.

“Okay.. but when you say it like that it sounds terrible.”

“Elena!”

I suddenly burst into laughter and almost dropped my phone, then i started telling her everything.

Well.. almost everything but i didn’t mention the ghosts or the whispers.

I only told her about Adrain, the accident, the dates, kisses and my new phone.

Clara nearly lost her mind.

“A billionaire bought you an iPhone after meeting you ONCE or TWICE.”

“Twice,” I corrected her.

“That’s not helping.”

I fell backward into my bed smiling helplessly and staring at the ceiling.

“He’s different.”

“Different how?”

I paused for a moment.

 Then I answered honestly.

“When he looks at me.. Clara, it feels like he has already decided something,”

Clara kept quiet for few seconds then she signed and said “That sounds romantic and scary at the same time.”

I laughed maybe she was right.

The call ended, I charged my new phone.

Freshened up and changed into pajamas.

I lied down on my bed and started laughing at how terrified I had been before.

And just before sleeping I picked up my new phone and a notification popped up.

Unknown number again, my smile slowly disappeared.

I opened the message there were no words, only one photo attached to it, my hands were shaking.

I slowly tapped it open. The image loaded slowly.

Dark room, old wooden floor and a small candle light.

At first I didn’t understand what I was looking, then suddenly my blood ran cold. 

It was a picture of me.

Sleeping and the timestamp under the photo was 3:41 AM.

LAST NIGHT.