Facade [h.s]

thirty-seven

I was entering my building when all of a sudden I heard a voice come from behind me.

"Raine, hi!"

I turned around quickly, my heart beating wildly in my chest, not relaxing even after I found out who had just said my name. What was she doing in front of my apartment building?

"Do you think we could talk, maybe?" Callie asked stepping closer to me, her usual calm and sweet look present in her eyes, a little smile playing on her face.

That time, though, I knew that it was all staged, just some kind of facade she seemed to enjoy putting up so nobody would suspect she wasn't as innocent as she pretended to be. I knew that what she would've said didn't matter and that she for sure couldn't be trusted, but I also couldn't tell her that openly. The only way to get out of that conversation was to play by her rules, with the knowledge that she would've told Joel everything.

"Sure..." I said, sounding a bit unsure, not making a move as I looked at her.

She tilted her blonde head, a hint of enjoyment in her blue eyes. "Could we go inside?" She asked, smiling innocently.

"Uh, okay" I replied, even though spending time with her in my apartment alone was the last thing I wanted. Why hadn't I just decided to spend the day with Harry instead, at his flat? I always seemed to have the worst timing when it came to those things.

I opened the main door and walked inside, allowing her to do the same and pursing my lips when her faint perfume hit my nose. Up until that moment I would've never thought a scent smelled like money, but there I was, doing just that.

I walked up the stairs in front of her oddly feeling like prisoner being walked to the scaffold, not daring to say a single word and preferring to wait for her to let me know why she was there. It seemed less dangerous in that way, at least.

I stopped in front of my door and opened it, for an instant hoping Amelie would've been in, my hope quickly dying when I remembered she was out with some friends - which was exactly why I'd chosen to go back to my apartment. What a stupid choice it'd been.

I entered my home and I turned around, watching Callie as she walked in right after me and sat on the couch in the living room.

I closed the door, keeping my eyes on her, standing close to it as I waited for her to speak, nervousness bubbling up in my chest more and more with every second that went by in silence.

"So I know that you know, now" she started suddenly, her words coming a bit unexpected. "What Joel has done is just, absolutely terrible. I'm still so shocked when I think about it."

"It really is" I hesitantly replied, not wanting to say too much just in case she would've told Joel, slowly walking towards her and sitting on the other end of the couch.

She nodded, widening a bit her blue eyes. "Yeah. I can't believe he really did that. It's terrifying."

"Yeah" I simply replied again, starting to wonder what she wanted from me. Was she only trying to find out what I thought about that entire situation, or was there something else going on? I couldn't tell, and I didn't like it. It was clear to me that she'd always been way better at keeping secrets than I would've expected her to, anyway.

"I just thought I'd talk to you about it because I still hadn't managed to catch up with you" she said gently, "see how you're doing."

"It makes sense" I replied, "I'm okay." It was a little lie, but I would've never told her the truth for sure.

"And something else, too" she added with a sigh, finally seeming to be getting to the real reason behind her unexpected visit. "I know you, Raine. You have a very strong idea of what's right and wrong, and I'm really scared that it'll get you into trouble."