As I headed downstairs, I wondered if Arthur might actually take his time eating today. My question was answered as I entered the dining room. In short, not exactly. While he was definitely eating slower than usual, I would hardly call it "taking his time."
Thomas walked in at that moment. His jaw almost hit the floor when he saw Arthur at the table. I guess he was just as stunned about Arthur eating on time as I was.
"My goodness, how did you manage this?" He asked.
"I talked with him about some personal problems of mine," I said, shrugging. "He couldn't leave the room fast enough."
Thomas chuckled at this and shook his head. He didn’t ask for any details though. Again, I
Although Arthur certainly wasn't shy about asking me questions, he definitely seemed cautious about the kinds of things he was asking me now. I could see him pausing and second-guessing before every question. I felt a little guilty. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to be so defensive around me.But again, what was done was done. I hated that I seemed to be having that attitude so often lately, but I really wasn’t sure what else I could do about it. All I could do now was answer the rest of his questions in a cheerful manner and hope that he would start to feel comfortable again soon."What kind of scenery do you enjoy most?" He asked."Umm... I suppose things like the garden," I said, shrugging. "I’ve always loved nature. Flowers, forests, sunsets. Oh, and anything to do with water. Espe
Luckily, it seemed I was right about Arthur warming up to me again. Despite his initial hesitance to ask me questions, he seemed to relax more and more as time went on. Finally, he started getting into a groove of just throwing questions at me without even stopping to think about them anymore."So, what about your educational background?” He asked.I shrugged. "Nothing special really. Community college. I have an Associate's degree. Literature was my major.""Amazing," he said excitedly. "What drew you towards it?""Well, I used to read a lot as a child. It was kind of my escape from reality a lot of the time. As I got older, I guess I never really grew out of it,” I mused. “I was especially drawn towards the classics. Something about the romance of the
I knew that crying was pointless. That it wouldn’t solve any of my problems. Still, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I sobbed heavily. Even with my hands pressed against my face, they did very little to muffle the sound."Oh no. Oh no," I heard Arthur mutter. His voice sounded slightly panicked.I heard his footsteps pacing back and forth for a minute before they suddenly headed my way. His hand rubbed against my back. Stiff, hesitant, distanced. It was obvious that he had no clue what he was doing right now.Somehow, that fact made me even more miserable. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop crying. I hated this. Not only was I having a complete breakdown, but I was also doing it at a completely inappropriate time and place. Something like this might not matter too much with Jack or Victor, but I’m
What to do? What was the best way to get Arthur to feel comfortable around me? I watched him as he played around with his camera. Well, Thomas did mention that getting involved in a new project would help to distract him. Maybe I could talk about work.But what? This project was what was causing the discomfort. I doubted talking more about it would help to fix that. But what else was there to talk about? He didn’t have any other projects going on right now.Or did he? My eyes suddenly landed on the bookshelf. The lightbulb went off in my head. I sat up straight and smiled at him. Although, he still wasn’t looking."Oh, by the way, di
It wasn't a lie when I told them I was tired. Crying always made me feel sleepy. Like the effort drained all my energy. I thought about sleeping in my spare room, playing things safe, but I decided not to bother. I was sure Arthur would be in the studio all night again, and besides, I missed our room.I thought sleeping there tonight might make me feel better, but it didn’t. The air felt different as I entered. Colder somehow. I could probably guess the reason for that though. Guilt.I still couldn't get Victor's pain-filled face out of my mind. I sat on the edge of the bed, but all I could think about was the last time I saw him there. Staring down at the floor, too hurt to even look at me, the misery and betrayal on his face.I could feel my eyes tearing up again at the thought. I shook my head,
I was sitting on the bench in the garden. The soft breeze made the roses sway gently around me. I watched as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky, covering everything in a faint, orangey glow.Suddenly, a hand slipped into mine. I glanced next to me. Jack smiled warmly, bringing my hand to his lips."Promise you'll stay with me forever, Anna," he murmured, pressing my palm against his cheek.I smiled as he did. Roses, sunset, this spot in the garden. It was exactly like the first time we met. Only now, it was even better. No more sneaking around or awkward moments. We could finally be together. Really be together.So, why did I still feel like something was missing? That fee
“Jack. Jack. Jack.”I murmured his name over and over again as I covered his face with dozens of kisses. He didn’t try to do anything to stop me. Instead, he seemed to be trying hard to stop himself from laughing. He rubbed my back gently, smiling at me.“Goodness, and here I was worried you might not even remember me,” he teased. “If I’d known that this was what was waiting for me, I probably would have woken you up sooner.”Gentle, playful. It was Jack through and through. I buried my face against his shoulder and closed my eyes. There was just something so comfortable about being in his arms. I know it technically hadn’t been that long. Not even a week really. Still, I could
Despite my annoyance, I suppressed the urge to blurt out everything about Victor. Jack had no way to know that saying something like that would be upsetting to me. More than that, this wasn’t the kind of thing I could be overly emotional about. I’d already hurt Victor by not thinking through my actions. I didn’t want to hurt Jack too.I took a deep breath and smiled. Alright, it would be better to tell him the more detailed part of things later, but for now, it wouldn’t hurt if I just let him know my thoughts about Victor. At least then he might tone down the criticism a bit."Actually," I explained, "Victor isn't that bad. In fact, I’d even say he's pleasant t