Sebastian
The quiet roads and strange attire of nature mesmerised me but at the same time, they pronounced my grief louder— I could find both my pain and peace in silence.
The bitter taste of the cigar was my momentary comfort, the burn in my lungs somehow helped me forget— Not her but the mistakes I made. If there was anything that was always awake in my mind, it was her— Alive and vivid, she breathed there. Her scent still lingered in my imagination and I loved every touch of it.
Indeed I did not want her to fade away from my memories. I did not care if it gave me trauma and left me breaking each time with the wounds deepened like the day I had first gotten them, at least I was getting a chance to be close to her even if it was just mere memories that will succeed in giving me the warmth her touch once gave.
I was the one who pushed her away. Now I was searching for her face in every unknown crowd, I wondered if she'd be there waiting, and when I'd offer my hand she'd take it and I'd never let it go again like I did— Perhaps, guilt worked this way. I wondered if our paths would ever cross with each other again, the possibility was nearly zero yet my hopes were not low.
I wanted us to meet. Maybe I wouldn't try to bring her back if staying away was what she preferred, but just one look at her face...would be enough.
But god knew where she was.
I wanted to track her down. I really wanted to meet her but I wasn't going to let myself do that and invade her privacy. I had let it all be in the hands of our fates, if we were to be united again, we would and if we weren't.....then I'd accept the reality.
Sighing I threw away the cigar and kindled a new one. The bitter taste touched my tastebuds once again and I reclined against the seat, using my other hand to drive the car. Driving did not take much effort when the roads had barely any vehicles crossing them, though I could not really say that I would have paid any more attention than now if they were busy just like the streets of London.
If I put the chaos of my own life aside, I knew today was going to be interesting—Good for me cause at the least, I'd be able to stay out of that very zone of vacancy— This event would do me the favour of taking a few hours away from my life.
Suddenly my phone began to ring, and putting the cigar aside, I answered the call from my assistant.
"Hello."
"Hello, sir. Miss Cora is here to meet you because you missed the session," She spoke up, "She is asking for your location, should I give it to her?"
"Tell her that I will meet her next week."
"Sir, I have told her that you will get in touch with her after getting back from the event but she is insisting on knowing your location."
"Is she there?"
"Yes, she is."
"Give the phone to her." Sighing in defeat, I rubbed my forehead.
"Okay, sir."
"Hello, Sebastian," Instantly her voice sounded from the other side.
"Hello, Cora. I apologise for not meeting you this week," I spoke, "But you have my word, I'll not miss the next session. Okay?"
"No, it's not okay," She spoke up, "If you have forgotten let me remind you that you have missed the last two sessions already and this will be the third one in a row if I allow you. How are you going to get any better if you don't care about your treatment?"
"Trust me, I will not miss the next session."
"No, I can't trust you with this because you are stubborn about neglecting your health."
"Cora, please try to under—"
"None of your requests is going to work, Sebastian. You'll give me your location right now."
"Cora it's not needed, I'll be returning the day after tomorrow anyways."
"So? Don't try to fool me, buddy. I know your return is not going to have any connections to your visit to my clinic," Till now it has gotten evident that she was not going to agree, no matter how much I try to convince her, "I would have tracked your number long ago but you being the smarty pants have turned off your location. So—
"Yes I have, so now you have no way but to go straight home." I interrupted, feeling somewhat proud of my decision.
Cora was an amazing being, to say the least, but sometimes she could be annoying too and right now she was just existing in her annoying phase which I wanted to avoid. Missing a few sessions of therapy was not as big of a deal as she was making it seem.
"Oh really? That's naive of you," She chuckled, "Listen to me very carefully, I am giving you two options. One: Either you tell me where you are. Two: I make a scene at your office to make your lovely workers spill out the truth. It's your choice."
"Cora, that's totally childish."
"Yes, since you've been acting one, constantly neglecting your mental health. I'd totally consider acting childish to be fair on my side."
I wish I had more logic on my side but right now, it was her who was right.
"Okay, fine. I'll send you my location but don't pop up here today 'cause I'll be busy." I ultimately sighed in defeat.
"Good, I'll see you tomorrow and yes, drive safe."
*****
Athena
I hated my luck. Yes, from the depth of my core— I loathed it.
I woke up late. Yes, very very late indeed. And guess what? Today was the only day when I actually needed to be awake on time.
Fuck my luck— Cursing was all I could do as I headed to the bakery as fast as I could. So stressed that I even forgot the simple fact that— A vehicle called a 'cab' Existed.
Yes, I was stupid. Completely and utterly stupid.
However, I'd blame myself only fifty per cent for this blunder; Aaron was responsible for the other fifty per cent.
I could not even remember when I had fallen asleep last night. Aaron Lozano indeed knew some sort of magic otherwise it wouldn't have been possible for him to fix my severe sleep issues and make me fall asleep with barely any effort at all.
Or it could be just the fact that he made me forget my pain and wiped off the traces of the memories that ruined my peace.
But right now, I had the least amount of time to think about anything other than reaching the bakery as soon as I could. And after a whole five-minute walk that could easily match the pace of a normal human's running speed, I reached the bakery and instantly rushed inside.
"Athena," She exclaimed in relief as she noticed me, "You are finally here. I tried calling you so many times, why didn't you pick up the phone?"
"I am so sorry Shelly, I woke up extremely late than usual and my phone's fucking dead," I explained, my breathing erratic, "I anyhow managed to get here. Has everyone left?"
"No, but they will soon," She said, "Go and splash some water on your face— You still look drowsy as hell."
"Yeah, you are right," I hurried to the sink and washed my face, finally finding some sort of stability.
"Here, dry yourself." Shelly handed me a fresh towel.
"Thank you, Shelly," I took it from her hand and dried my face, "I am sorry for being late. I forgot to set my stupid alarm otherwise there wouldn't have been such a hassle."
"Don't worry," She said, smoothing my hair which was perhaps a tangled mess, "It's not a problem. At least you are here."
"Still, I am sorry."
"It's okay, Athena. Tell me, have you eaten anything yet?"
"Um—No," I confessed, "I'll eat something on the way. There's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah yeah," She rolled her eyes "And you think I'd believe in your flimsy lie?"
"Shelly, trust...."
"Enough of your stupid excuses, do yourself a favour and eat this," She handed me some cookies from the jar, "I don't want your poor stomach to grumble all day. Moreover, it's going to be a long event and knowing you very well, I can tell you are not going to be responsible enough to eat anything at all. You are a perfectionist in neglecting your health."
"But—"
"I have already told you, little pumpkin. I am not going to buy your excuses," She moved to the other side of the counter and poured a glass of water for me, " First you eat and then only you are allowed to leave."
Knowing I had no way left to win this argument, I silently accepted my defeat and raised the cookie to my mouth.