As I walk down the crowded street to "Gianna's", I wonder about so many things that I bump into more people than I should have. Thoughts are racing each other in my head to see which one can consume me the most. They are all winners. It's a tie. What happened to Eva? Why is Skyler the same yet something is off about her? What the hell happened last night? How, out of every single person I could have had a car crash with, was it Skyler that I crashed my car into? And what am I going to tell Annie?
The last question's answer was just a few moments away. I push open the door to Gianna's. The aroma of pancakes and freshly cooked waffles fill my senses. I spot Annie sitting looking extremely off put by something ( I assume what), at the end of the restaurant alone in a booth. I hurry towards her and at first, she doesn't recognise me.
She looks up at me with a puzzled look on her face and then it hits her. She shoots up and grabs me into her arms, huffing and puffing as if she just ran a race.
"Oh my god M!! Where were you? Are you ok??" She bombards me with questions even I don't know the answers to. I manage to unstick myself from her and look her in her hazelnut eyes.
"Yes, I am Annie, I am so sorry about this morning. Something happened at work and I'm just really out of it and I completely forgot-" I begin to scramble for words to offer her as an apology. She then notices my bruised and cut forehead.
"What the hell happened to you? Answer me Manely or I swear-" She raises her voice this time and I look around to see some families have stopped engaging in their conversations and were staring right at us. I throw a frustrated look at Annie and drag her by her arm out of the restaurant past crying babies.
I spot an alleyway and we stop there. She begins once more: "What happened to your head Manely? Don't lie to me, and what the fuck are you wearing-" She practically shouts at me. I hold up my hand to silence her.
"NOTHING. Nothing happened to me Annie. I fell down the stairs and hit my head. I didn't pass out or anything. Adam from ICU helped me patch up last night, I took a couple of paracetamol and went to sleep only to forget what we planned today." Wow. A good lie. I'm not proud but by the look on Annie's face. It had worked. She believed me. I've never told Annie about that past life, living on the edge of death, meeting it as an old friend 9-5, it feels weird. When does it not? Sometimes I wonder if I might take it to my grave. Skyler and I tracked down murderers, criminals, delved deep into the mafia, going undercover, something out of a movie. Or a nightmare, sometimes it feels like both.
"Okay. I'm sorry but you could have at least texted me?" I hate this. I hate that I'm lying, that I've lied to her. She doesn't know the real me. Only that version I've made of myself for her.
"Yes I know, I'm sorry for that too."
A few moments pass. I look around the alleyway to escape her gaze. It's shattering to look someone you love in the eye and lie to them. But what could I say? "Sorry I had a car accident with my ex-girlfriend and partner and she took me to her house for the night." ? No way. No fucking way.
"Where's your car?" She finally asks. I freeze in my spot and forget to breathe for a few seconds.
"With Adam. He brought it to my house when he dropped me off." Another lie. Great start to the morning Manely. Really kickin' it huh?
Annie sighs heavily. I could feel a heavy weight drop off her shoulders. With her long, straight black hair and round face, she stares at me and kisses me on the lips, grabs my hands and says:
"I was really scared."
"I know." I nod at her and tears well up in my eyes. But then, the moment is broken and my phone rings. I take it out of my back pocket and look at who is calling.
"S" it says on the screen. It doesn't take me that long to realise that it is indeed the reason why I lied more than once to my girlfriend.
"Um- This is important A, I'm really sorry I have to take this, it's from the hospital" I lie again and visibly wince in disgust. Annie doesn't change her expression, she just smiles slyly and motions her hand towards the restaurant and walks out of the alley. I pick up the phone call.
"You seriously let the phone ring more than 7 times? Wow Manely, not a nice way to thank someone who saved your life." Says the phone on the other side.
"Oh, and what if the person who saved my life also happened to be the one who put it in danger in the first place, genius?" I tease her whilst wiping my tears away from before. She laughs.
"Didn't we do that like every single day a few years ago?" She addresses it, I don't know what to say and I think she realises it and fills the silence.
"Anyways, not the reason why I called you. I wanted to ask. Could you meet me tonight at our old highschool at 8pm? I need to ask you something really important and I don't know who else to ask."
I'm not sure what to utter. In every way, this is wrong. Last night was an accident but it was wrong. I shouldn't have even picked up the phone. What is she going to ask me? And what is going to be my answer? At the high school? Where we had our first kiss? Never mind, where I had my first kiss alone, with her, in the bathroom after the musical performance, with my flapper girl dress on and she had hers. Green and blue, shining in the moonlit bathroom, embracing into a single kiss. Our lips colliding, our hearts colliding.
"Hello? Are you there?" She desperately asks.
"Okay. I'll see you tonight" And I hang up the phone and walk back into the restaurant acting like nothing had just happened.
YOU ARE READING
Red Ink || WLW
Romansa"Well then, I guess I have to show you where I've buried my gun." When you reunite with your 10th grade crush and detective partner after 7 years, she asks you to do a huge favour for her which forces you to open up your past life. Will you make the...
