【04】Numb

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As hard as I tried, it was nearly impossible to go on with my routine

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As hard as I tried, it was nearly impossible to go on with my routine. How was I supposed to go to work, see people, keep living? Everything was futile.

It all felt so meaningless, given the circumstances. Chances were Lex would spend the rest of his life imprisoned. And I was the reason for him being in this situation.

Working had become an awful experience, given how everyone there knew about what had happened to Lex, and that we were together. Colleagues would ask me subtle questions or be rather blunt and rude about it. It was hard keeping a straight face, hard to accept this was my life now—my Lexless life.

After I'd insisted that I didn't know anything, the guys from the Troll's Lair had stopped asking. But it didn't prevent the looks full of pity or the compassionate smiles they would offer me now and then. As for the rest of the office, most of them didn't know me enough to talk to me about what was happening to Lex, so they had the decency to keep their curiosity in check.

Still, I couldn't help but notice how a room would suddenly fall silent when I'd enter it. Or I'd hear the investigative whispers they'd exchange with hushed voices. I couldn't blame them, though. Finding out that your boss might be a wanted felon was bound to be mind-blowing. It left me wishing my relationship with said boss/felon hadn't been public knowledge.

Another big question that was preoccupying everyone was the future of Kelex. Even though Lex wasn't the face of it—Kevin was—his pending trial had been made so awfully public, half of the country knew he co-owned the company. Because I'd grown much closer to him in the past few days, Kevin had shared some of his concerns with me. A few investors were already distancing themselves from Kelex, and some who were in the process of investing were getting cold feet.

When some rumors spread through the office, he'd told everyone things were under control. Kelex had enough funds to keep going for a while. From what I knew, Kevin and Lex had enough money to keep it afloat regardless of investors anyhow. What Lex could and couldn't do with his money was rather uncertain, though.

As desperate as I felt, as hopeless as the future seemed, I had to keep on living. Or at least, I had to pretend to. Not for me, not for the people around me, but for Lex. I couldn't show the world how devastated and gloomy I felt. If Lex was wrongly accused, if this was only a misunderstanding that would be solved soon, I had to show how optimistic I was about this, how this was only a bump. It didn't matter how awful I felt inside; I had to look the part for Lex, so I could get him out of the nightmare I'd thrown him into.

Despite my best efforts, it was incredibly hard to pretend. It took everything I had not to break down in the middle of the day and isolate myself in the bathroom. I would come in, work, smile, talk, and then come home, exhausted, all of my willpower drained by the efforts of the day.

Even as days passed, nothing felt right, and I started to wonder if the guilt and sorrow I constantly felt would ever fade. It didn't matter how many times Kevin tried to convince me none of it was my fault. It didn't matter if Lex had insisted I wasn't responsible for this. Deep down, I couldn't deny the fact that I was the reason all this had happened.

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