"The best way to know someone is to have a conversation with them."
—Neal Stephenson.
Scarlet's POV
The drive to my house was silent. Not the comfortable silence that mimics the feeling you get with great conversation. Or the comfortable silence that speaks volumes about how relaxed you are with one another.
No, this silence was painful, excruciatingly so. The radio was off, so the music was unable to make the experience more tolerable. The windows were wound up so I couldn't block out the deafening quiet with the sound of the strong winds. And no one dared to make a move to change these things. Everything was simply...stagnant.
When the sight of my house finally came within my field of vision, my lungs could too because I could feel it slowly expanding for the first time since we left the diner. And it continued letting more air in, as the car inched closer to my front lawn.
In my head, I carefully thought about what I would have said once he let me off. Should I say thank you and hug him goodbye? Or should I let him say something first? Maybe I should apologize for bringing up the whole date thing?
The vehicle was slowly drawing to a stop and he shifted the gear stick into neutral. When the car finally came to a standstill, everything I had rehearsed before suddenly flew out of my head. So I just grabbed my bookbag, threw it over my shoulder, and ran to the house. Muttering a quiet "bye" somewhere in the mix.
Thankfully my mom was sleeping and Lia hadn't arrived yet so I didn't have to explain why I was so terribly out of breath.
God, I need to start running in the mornings.
As I made my way through the dark house, closing the windows and drawing the curtains, something I did every night, I heard the ping of my phone, signaling that a message had been sent to my phone. For a split second, I thought it was Phoenix but my heart slowed once I saw that it was just a message from Lia saying she was twenty minutes away. At least, I had enough time to shower and get my frantic behavior under control before she came.
After I closed the window by the kitchen sink I quickly ran up the stairs and into my bedroom, dropping my bag then I went into the privacy of my bathroom stripping until I was naked.
As usual, I started with my hair, slipping the hair tie off before massaging it under the lukewarm water. I shampooed it twice, conditioned it then detangled. Turning the knob to the extremely hot side, I lathered my body with soap allowing the steam to open the pores of my skin before rinsing.
I grabbed my towel from the rack and dried my body thoroughly, allowing my hair to air dry in two big twists. After which, I grabbed my scented lotion and moisturized every inch of my skin. I may have gone a bit overboard when my feet slipped along the floor but I felt clean. I continued my routine for the next ten minutes or so before I stepped out into my cold room only to find a bed laden with clothes and Lia rummaging through my closest.
I cleared my throat loud enough for people in China to hear.
"Hey, babe." The thing I loved most about my and Lia's friendship was that we knew what topics to avoid in conversations and the right time to speak about them. Our entire relationship was based on the saying 'There's a time and place for everything.'
We barely spoke for the entire week because I decided to take the bus to school not wanting her to press for answers as to why I was so moppy. And in spite of our distance spent apart and the obvious elephant in the room that there was something unusual going on in my life, she ignored it and we spoke like we hadn't missed a time apart. She knew that I'd tell her eventually. I knew too.
YOU ARE READING
Beyond Redemption
Romance"You said you enjoy reading books." Phoenix's voice was reduced to a whisper of seduction. He leaned over the bed, the pad of his lip tickling my ear lobe. "Well an orgasm is similar to reading a book," He placed his hand on both of my wrists bringi...
