Twinkling Dots On Empty Skies

14. A wounded girl's feelings

After that weird conversation, Reg came back to Sandy, still confused about Mia's previous behavior. It wasn't the first time she did something strange and after that confusing episode, questions in his brain were getting more abusive.

"Everything's fine?" Sandy asked as he arrived at her apartment.

"I don't know" he sighed, "I'm sorry if I ran away like that ... I was worried she could have done something stupid".

"Who is she?"

"She's uhm... my flatmate. A dear friend"

"Does she have problems or something? Sorry for being intrusive"

"It's fine ... She's ok but I just can't understand her sometimes. She literally told me that her dog died. I mean, you saw her... was that the reaction of a person who lost her dog? I'm so confused!" Reg finally confessed, placing his face behind his palms.

Sandy wasn't stupid, she noticed there was something that was bothering him so, as the good friend she was, she offered herself to listen: "Do you wanna talk about it? Maybe I can help you".

Reg wasn't sure about disclosing his personal problems with her. He would have talked about his relationship with Mia to the girl he was dating. It wasn't nice, it wasn't the right time to talk about it.

But, despite his strong morality, words came out like a volcanic eruption: "She's just so weird sometimes ... there's something she's not telling me"

"Why don't you ask her? You two are close, right?"

"Yes, very! That's why I'm confused. We talk about everything so I just can't understand why she's hiding something from me!" he complained.

"Ok, listen..." Sandy began, "As a girl myself, I can tell you that our minds can be really complicated sometimes" she giggled, "Maybe it's something she's ashamed of... or scared of. I'm sure she wanna talk to you about it, she just need a push to spill it all out"

"I don't know, I don't wanna force her"

"You are not forcing her, it's just a question and, with all due respect, she doesn't seem to have a lot of people to talk to since she cycled so far to find you"

"No she- she doesn't. God, I'm an idiot! How could I be such an asshole?!" Reg roared to himself.

"You're right... her own family is in Italy and her closest friends left the country. I never thought about that... it shouldn't have been easy for her to be all by herself for so long" he realized.

Sandy remained silent for a bunch of seconds, until the whole previous scene popped up in her mind. Mia ran away, crying as if the core of her soul broke. She was demolished and the whole thing happened right after their kiss.

"Can I ask you something?" Sandy politely questioned.

Reg nodded.

"I'm not implying anything but... Is there a chance she could feel something for you?"

"Uh? No!" he exclaimed surprised, "No, that's impossible... Trust me, no chance at all" he nervously laughed.

"Why are you so sure?"

Reg's mind started to recall their last argument about the topic. She's been really clear about her feelings, she didn't want him that way.

"But, what about all those hugs and long cuddles on the sofa, all the times you caught her staring, the things she confessed, whispering a few inches from your lips right after Christmas, the kiss she gave you? There's tension, desire" his subconscious talked with no filters.