Peter

  The night went perfectly just like he wanted. There was a strange underlying soothing feeling whenever he was with her and it was the same today.

  He also left his hoodie with her so he could have a rational reason to look for her. The night was really cold and his balls were freezing out here with the light T-shirt he was wearing, but it should totally be worth it.

  He walked towards home but dreaded getting there and being alone again deep down.

  He got home sooner rather than later. He fumbled for the keys to open the door. He couldn’t find them. His heart skipped a beat. Had he forgotten them in his hoodie? That would be really messed up, he thought. No, he didn’t. He found them in his back pocket. He’d been so engrossed in looking for the key he hadn’t noticed the footsteps approaching him quietly. It was a bit too late. Whoever it was was right behind him. He felt a tinge of fear. He tried to swing a fist on a turn as reflex. The person was totally expecting it. He caught it like it was nothing. Peter was facing him directly at his mercy.

  “Peter.”

  “Ralph.”

  “I thought you were a burglar. Where have you been?” Ralph asked.

  “What are you doing here at this hour?” He shrugged.

  Ralph’s smile turned to a frown.

  “I was worried you didn’t come to school today, but I thought you needed the time alone since you spent yesterday not talking to anyone. Then again, you were not picking my calls nor replying to my texts.

  “I was starting to get really worried, so I came earlier. I knocked on the door for a long time without any reply from the inside. I left after a while.

  “I wasn’t comfortable at all when I got home. I sent more messages with yet no reply. I came back here with the plan to force myself inside, in case something had happened to you.

  “I arrived here and saw a dark figure that seemed to be struggling with the door, which I presumed to be a burglar, and I approached stealthily with the intention to knock him out before discovering it was you,” Ralph said.

  “Fair enough,” Peter said, nodding.

  “Which brings me back to my question. Where have you been and why were you ignoring my messages?”

  “I’m really sorry, man. I had my phone on silent mode for most of the day. I went on a hike. As you can see, I am just coming back. I haven’t gone through my missed calls and new messages. I’m really sorry I had you worried,” he lied through his teeth.

  “But Ralph, I ain’t that unstable nor a coward. I keep avoiding you all because you keep treating me like something fragile about to break. Yes, I am sad, but I’m not going to break. You know better than to assume I would hurt myself. That’s a real insult to my ego and me as a man.”

  “I gave you a benefit of a doubt till you decided to ignore my calls and messages,” Ralph replied.

  Peter knew Ralph wouldn’t budge. He didn’t bother to push it any further.

  “But I am good, man. I am fine. I promise.”

  “I will take your word on that.”

  “It’s really late. Are you still planning on going home tonight or will you sleep over and we can go to school together tomorrow like old times?”

  “The latter sounds nice.”

  Peter opened the door and ushered him in before closing and locking it behind him.

  “Where’s your dad?”

  “He has traveled.”

  “Again? So soon?”

  “Yes”

  “You are home alone?”

  “More or less.”

  He saw Ralph sigh, but Ralph didn’t pursue the inquiry any further.

  Priscilla

  “So when will you return his sweater?” Janet asked.

  “I have no idea yet. I don’t want to walk up to him with it in the midst of everyone. It would be insanely weird,” she replied.

  “Coupled with some wild misconceptions.”

  Priscilla and Janet were sitting in the campus café. She had just narrated yesterday’s incident to her. She couldn’t wait to tell them this time around.

  Janet was surfing through the net while Priscilla ate silently. She watched Janet’s face twist in horror.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Janet said, covering her mouth.

  “What is wrong?”

  “This is horrible.”

  “What?”

  “The storekeeper of InsideOut was attacked yesterday night on her way home.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “That is horrible.”

  Priscilla covered her mouth in fear. She knows that woman.

  “Is she alive?”

  “Yes. She is still in the hospital, it seems,” Janet replied. “Her condition is still critical, they said.”

  “Who could have done such a horrible thing?” Priscilla retorted.

  “Priscilla.”

  “What?”

  “It’s literally just a few blocks from your house.”

  She kept quiet for a moment, trying to process it.

  “Any word on the culprit?”

  “Nothing. They have nothing on him.” Janet shook her head.

  “Meaning he is still at large.”

  “Yeah.”

  “They are still trying to find out the motive behind the attack, since it was not a robbery.”

  “What could be the motive behind maiming an old woman if it isn’t robbery?” Priscilla wondered aloud.

  “Some people are truly psychotic.”

  “If your mom sees this, I doubt she would allow you to continue working,” Janet said.

  Priscilla shrugged.

  “You know I was never in support of you working till late at night. It is really dangerous and it is high time you saw it. If nothing has swayed your decision thus far, this is quite enough to, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, it is. I will think about it.”

  “You should.”

  Priscilla continued eating her food till she saw Janet packing her books. She had been reading initially prior to their conversation.

  “You are ditching me?” She asked.

  “I have somewhere quite important to be,” Janet replied.

  “Where?”

  “I will tell you later”

  Priscilla whined audibly while Janet finished packing and rose to leave.

  “Are you still coming over to my place this evening so we can read together for the test we have tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, I should.”

  “You had better. I heard the test would be very tough and I doubt you’ve read anything.”

  “Yeah, true enough.”

  “When will you be back at home?”

  “I will call you when I am.”

  She watched Janet exit the café. She was alone again.

  She contemplated what to do for the rest of the day. She wished she could go to work. Perhaps she could run into Peter. She hadn’t seen him all day despite searching for him voluntarily and involuntarily with her eyes all day. She had assumed he probably didn’t come to school.

  But… speak of the devil.

  Peter walked into the building. He looked so graceful with his default cold blank expression. She could feel her heart tingling again. He looked around before finding an empty spot to sit at the opposite end of the café. She was sitting at the extreme end with people and chairs blocking her. She doubted he saw her.

  She waited for a few moments before walking up to him. He was so focused on his phone, again. She never seemed to get the enthusiasm of people with their phones. To her it was just a tool for communication.

  “Is this another coincidence? I am starting to think you are stalking me,” she said with a laugh.

  He looked up at her coldly and back at his phone. She regretted saying the last part. He probably took it literally and didn’t find any humor in it.

  Great going, Priscilla. You have managed to ruin the conversation before it began.

  “Can I sit here?”

  He stared at the empty seat and back at his phone. He said nothing.

  “I will take that as a yes,” she said, sitting down.

  Well, he didn’t say no.

  “Are you waiting for someone?”

  He still said nothing. He was staring at his phone. This was very awkward. She wasn’t exactly expecting a very warm reception, but most definitely not a cold one either. They had a good night yesterday and parted on friendly terms, so what changed?

  “I brought this with me in case I ran into you by chance.”

  She reached into her bag and brought out his hoodie. He extended his hand to take it, still saying nothing. That was the last straw. She shouldn’t embarrass herself any further. She rose to leave.

  “Don’t go.”

  She would have assumed it was a hallucination if he wasn’t staring straight into her soul with his big brown eyes. She searched his face for any traces of emotion. It was true. He probably wanted her to stay.

  She sat back.

  “You always seem to be alone and away from everyone else.”

  He finally spoke. “Needed some time alone.”

  “Oh, I am sorry I came to interrupt you.”

  She felt really awkward, quite unsure of what to do. He probably asked her to stay to save her face from self-embarrassment. He gave enough pointers of wanting to be alone, yet she managed to intrude on his personal space. Why was she so mediocre? Janet was right. She was overestimating the significance of a meaningless walk and her importance to him.

  “I can leave,” she said, standing up awkwardly again.

  “I would rather have you here than anyone else,” he said solemnly.

  That was really smooth. He sure knew how to keep a lady on her toes. She would have screeched in delight if she was alone. She maintained her cool and sat back.

  She was skeptical about what to do next. To shut up and let him keep to himself or try to start a conversation.

  The latter.

  “Want to talk about why you are alone?”

  “No.”

  Well, that was blunt.

  The former then.

  “Do you like pets?” he asked.

  That was the most random thing to ask.

  “Yeah, I really do. I had a cat once. Her name was Bella. She died though. I was so pained. I grieved for days. I didn’t get another. I don’t want to deal with the pain again. Besides, I would betray Bella’s memory if I did,” she blabbed.

  “That’s sad,” he said. “I’m sorry I brought that up.”

  “No! No! I’m fine.”

  He nodded his head.

  “What about you? Do you have any?”

  “No.”

  “I loved animals and have always wanted one though.”

  “Why didn’t you get one then?”

  “Mom said I shouldn’t. She always said I was too busy to take care of it like they deserved. I shouldn’t just get them for aesthetics just to abandon them. It would be unfair.

  “Deep down, I knew she meant I was too irresponsible to take care of them. It was true though. I was never responsible.”

  He was repeating the same thing all over again. Whatever was eating him up was probably related to this, Priscilla thought. She didn’t dwell on the matter. Trying to get him to speak about it might be met with reproach.

  There was a moment of silence.

  “What about now?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “Can you take care of them now?”

  He thought for a moment.

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Then you should totally get one.”

  There was another moment of silence.

  He finally cleared his throat.

  “Do you mind accompanying me to get one?”

  “Yes, it would be an honor.” She mocked a bow.

  She saw he didn’t laugh and switched up.

  “I would really love to,” he added.

  He rose from his chair.

  “You are leaving?” she asked.

  “We are going to a pet store.”

  “Did you mean now?”

  “Yeah. Do you have somewhere to be now?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Great. Let us go then,” he said, extending his hand to her.

  She placed her hand in his. It was quite soft and cold.

  “I meant your bag,” he said with a grin.

  This was so embarrassingly awkward for her. She wanted the ground to swallow her. The only solace was he found it humorous enough to smile.

  She tried to remove her hand from his, but he held on to it. Firmly but softly. Again, he was trying to save her from the hole of self-embarrassment she dug herself in. She picked up her bag as he pulled her up. Only then did he release her hand gently.

  “Do you know any pet store close by?” he asked as they walked out of the café.

  “I was thinking about adopting one from the abandoned animal shelter. Don’t you think so?”

  He nodded his head.

  “But it’s a bit far from here, beyond walkable distance.”

  “We can go in my car.”

  “Oh.”

  For a moment she’d forgotten he had a car, perhaps due to their late night walks.

  “I parked it right around the corner,” he said, pointing to a distance.

  “Wait here.”

  “Let me bring it right over.”

  She watched him walk away and disappear around the corner. She thought about what just happened and what was happening. Was she wallowing in delusion or was he warming up to her? Like Janet said, she shouldn’t be quick to raise her hopes, but perhaps he enjoyed her company or he wanted her to accompany him because she had a pet once.

  She was jolted out of her trance by a horn of a car. It was parked right at the other side of the street. She could see Peter in the driver’s seat waving at her.