Orphic//H.S.

Chapter 04

//Sorry in advance, I got carried away while writing, so it's a long chapter..10k words...comment and vote, please :)//

Toni

"Wow, Toni. I- fuck." Sam trips over her words, also tripping over her own feet, and drops her full wine glass on the kitchen floor. "Shit, T, I'm so sorry. Damnit."

Leo's discomfort with the situation is very clear on his face. His hands are intertwined behind his back as he fidgets with his fingers. His eyes carefully drift down my body, but when he notices I'm watching his eyes move, he blinks and quickly looks away.

I walk over to the little closet in the hallway and pull out my broom and dustpan. Walking back out, I notice the tense awkwardness in the room. It's very hard to ignore, and it's becoming unbearable.

"Sorry, it took me so long, I lost track of time...again." I come over to where the broken glass is, beginning to sweep it up when Sam grabs the broom from my hands. The look in her eyes is full of guilt and worry. I give her a small smile so she understands that it's okay and I'm not mad.

Turning back to Leo, I meet his eyes, clearly confused by watching Sam and I's silent exchange. "Oh, it's okay. I guess I was a little too, um, punctual?" His voice is still a bit timid and he seems so unsure of himself.

"No, you were perfect, it's my fault really. You clean up very nicely, Leo." I walk over to him and straighten out the lapels of his simple black suit jacket. His cheeks flush at the comment while his eyes rake down my body again.

"Thanks, you look, well, I mean, just look at you." I laugh a little at his nervousness, seeing his eyes soften a bit when he knows I understand what he was trying to get across. I take a step back from him and grab the wine bottle from the counter that Sam must have gotten into while they were waiting for me.

Taking a quick drink straight from the bottle, I recork it and lean down to pick up a large shard of glass that Sam missed. She empties the pan into the garbage and takes the supplies back to the closet after I hand her the shard of glass.

The tension is so thick that I could cut it with the dagger currently strapped to my thigh. Thankfully, Sam's phone rings, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"It's Pera, wait for me. It'll only take a minute." Sam walks back to my room, closing the door behind her to give herself privacy. I wonder what that's about.

"Is she okay?" Leo's soft voice breaks my wandering thoughts, a look of concern written in his expression. "She just seemed a bit tense, and she drank almost half of that bottle." He notices my hesitation to answer, mostly because I'm not sure how to answer. "Shit, that was totally out of line for me to ask. I don't even have the right to as-"

"Leo, don't work yourself up. I don't really know what's going on, but she hasn't been-"

"What do you mean, you aren't coming back?" Sam's voice echoes from my bedroom, even with the closed door, cutting me off. This doesn't sound like the call she expected. "Pera...please, just come back and we'll talk about this. Please, love....what did I do? Let me fix this please. I'll do whatever...baby, please I lov-" Her voice cuts off at the end, and I realize she must have been hung up on. Did they just break up?

Leo must have realized the same thing because his face pales, probably knowing that was something he wasn't really supposed to hear. After a couple of minutes, Sam still hasn't come out of the room, and I start to worry.

"Is she.."

"I'm gonna go check on her, I'm sorry. Can you wait here, just for a second and we'll be right out?" Leo just nods with sympathetic eyes, full of worry. I give him a small smile and turn back towards the hallway.