Perhaps I would stay, even if it meant sleeping on the floor; fatigue overwhelmed me with every passing second.
— Could you lend me something to change into? — because lying in this skirt was very uncomfortable. Leo disappeared down the hallway, and I followed him. He entered the first door and came out with a black t-shirt that reached my knees and white socks.
— I’m afraid I wore the t-shirt; however, it’s clean, and the socks are brand new. Come on, — he led me further down the hallway. — This is your room, the bathroom is here, and I’ll bring your bag now.
In the bedroom, there was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, a double bed with a canopy, and a dressing table opposite it. On the left side of my bed, there was a door that Leo pointed out, and on the right from the entrance (the lock, by the way, did indeed lock from inside) was a door leading to a small closet.
— And here I am, — he brought my bag.
— Thank you.
— Now I’ll bring you lemon tea; you stay and change, and rest — the guy left, and I was left alone with nostalgia, which surged from his words. I changed and crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door.
— Yes?
— I called Nick; Ella will also stay with him, so you don’t have to worry about her; he’ll bring her to you tomorrow. Also, I brought tea; I didn’t know what you liked, so I brought everything I had, — Leo pointed at the cookies, candies, and various chocolates on the tray. He smiled at me and sat down next to me. I even forgot about Ella, so I was pleasantly surprised.
I thought I wouldn’t fall asleep that night due to emotions and a stuffed nose, but Leo was right there, and I felt some strange peace, so I fell into a colorless sleep.
In the morning, I felt weak, and it was clear why: it was only seven o’clock, and I probably went to bed around midnight and had caught a cough and a fever. It was good that I had late classes today.
Not managing to fall asleep again, I got out of bed and found Leo sleeping in the chair opposite me. A wet bandage was still on my forehead; I probably had a fever, and Leo had been taking care of me all night... I wasted no time, packed my things, changed into my pristine outfit, and entered a room resembling a study. Anthony was quietly snoring there. I managed to leave a note:
Didn’t want to bother you, so I went home.
I thought for a moment and added:
Thank you for taking care of me)
— What are you doing? — Merlin’s beard! I was so startled that words couldn’t convey. Leo stood in the doorway, half-asleep, with tousled hair (which somehow still looked like he had styled it) grinning and squinting his eyes against the rays.
— Nothing, — I instinctively crumpled my note and hid my hands behind my back. — I was just about to head home.
— I’ll drive you if you wait five minutes, — I didn’t want to argue too much, so I nodded. De Vile suspiciously stared at me for about thirty seconds: how come I agreed with him so easily? But my heart was still racing in my chest, so I fidgeted, and when the guy left, I tossed the little paper ball in the trash.
By Wednesday, I felt chipper again, but still couldn’t persuade anyone to accompany me to the event. After being unwell and sitting at home all day, my social battery was depleted. Moreover, the doctor (yes, Leo did convince me to see a doctor) assured me that if I didn’t get nervous — everything would be fine. So it happened that on Wednesday evening, while Leo was sitting at work, and Ella and Nick went out of town somewhere, I sat with a giant bucket of popcorn on my lap, rewatching “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Jopling had just killed Kovacs when my phone buzzed. A message from one of the news outlets. I didn’t remember subscribing to them, but whatever. I clicked on the notification. The headline was screaming: “CELEBRITY COUPLE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!” And then — I exhaled loudly in astonishment — a photo of Leo with some girl. She was way too exposed, and he was in a plain black suit. I didn’t know how I started shaking and how, in a state of absolute shock, I was able to read the note that followed the photo:
“Leonardo De Vile — the most eligible bachelor we know — has once again been spotted in the company of his former fiancée, Rose Dupont, at today’s exclusive ‘Louis Vuitton’ party. Eyewitnesses report that the couple was having a lovely conversation, hiding from the public eye.”
My sick brain in a state of stress could only come up with one thing: to forward this news to Leo. What happened next was a mystery to me: either I was depressed, or I lost consciousness because I woke up in the morning with a swollen face and a million messages on my phone.