Dear Adelaide

Cigarette Conversations

Silas

There is something about the way the moonlight hits Adelaide's skin that makes my head spin. I know I haven't drank enough for this to be the effect of alcohol. Right now, I am completely sober being intoxicated by the sight in front of me. I watch her slender fingers hold up the cigarette to her mouth and take a drag. Up until this moment, I had thought she was lying about smoking. I am expecting her to cough her lungs out in disgust. Instead, the smoke leaves her lips in a hypnotizing motion off the terrace.

And I am angered.

"No," I say grabbing the cigarette from her and stomping on the ground, "No,"

Adelaide has a shocked expression on her face, "What was that about?"

"What did he do for you to be doing something that doesn't suit you?"

Her eyes roll at my statement, "What? Smoke? Who do you think you are telling me that I am doing something that doesn't suit me, Silas?"

I didn't mean to make her upset. True, I know her too little to be saying what she should and shouldn't do, but I know her enough to know she would not pick up a cigarette on a good day. Something must have upset her enough to do so, and that something must be tied to James. Come to think of it, she hardly looked at him leaving the party nor did she put up a fight when I was the one who volunteered to take her home.

I take a deep breath and calm myself. "What happened back there that made you want to leave so quickly?"

Her eyebrows knit together as she looks at me with sorrowful eyes. It's pitiful to see her hurt displayed on her face.
When I said James wasn't the one for her, I only meant it in terms of personality. He is analytical and logical, with no sense of artistry. I feel like he always looked down on me for choosing to follow a carreer that does not have a certain outcome. There are times he tried to convince me to give in to my father's advice and just join his business. I am afraid that he might sway Adelaide to try to pursue things other than her passion.

I never expected him to hurt her though.
And by the looks of it, he seems to have hurt her bad.

"Poet?" I push her to tell me.

She shakes her head, "I just saw him with another girl. They were awfully close, and it made me realize that I am not really that special to him,"

The defeat in her voice is distasteful.
I hadn't really thought she had deep feelings for him, but I guess, with all the time he had been spending with her at the café, he must have charmed her. I am stumped. James is very tactical with whom he is interested in, so it is unlike him to move on without ending pursuit. Unless he wasn't pursuing Adelaide at all.

That twat lead her on.
I find myself getting angry again.

"Do you know who that girl is?" I ask, trying to not to cause more harm to the wound.
"No," she answers quickly, with a soft sigh, "Tonight was the first time I saw her,"

She looks out into the night, a car catching her attention. I hadn't really looked at her dress until now, as she leans on the rail. Her back is exposed all the way to the zipper at her lower back. The dress itself flows to her feet, brushing the floor with the height her heels give her. What did James see in this other girl that Adelaide did not possess, I wonder.

"So, was that woman your ex?"

I'm drawn back to reality with her question.
I join her and lean on the rail, observing the world beneath us.

"Ah, yes," I state dryly, "Milan. She was my girlfriend for a few years. It was on and off, but it can be considered a longterm relationship,"

"What was the reason for breaking up, if you don't mind me asking?"