Paralyzed (ON HIATUS)

Seeing You Again

I swallow the sudden lump that had formed in my throat. I watched as Felix closed the yards between us. Even though he was a few feet away I could see the hard stare and clenched jaw.

"Hey Felix?" I said in a more confused tone than a welcoming one. It's not that I didn't want him here, I just expected him to take longer with the tenant. After a couple of seconds we were finally face to face.

"I thought you said you were going home?" The disappointment in his voice was masked with what seemed like bitterness. I straightened my posture at the sudden mood change in the atmosphere and cleared my throat.

"I was but then I decided to finish walking the dogs and then I ran into Sean." At that moment Sean had been silent and just observing our interaction. He walked forward and stook out his hand to introduce himself to Felix but something was off about it.

Sean's posture was cocky, he had a smirk on his face and a look that seemed to be daring Felix to shake his hand. Felix didn't bother to shake his hand, nor really even acknowledge him. Instead he was just looking at me, with a sense of urgency in his eyes, like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Sean wasn't surprised or upset by Felix rudeness, in fact he seemed amused by it. He turns back to me and smiles, now he was the one ignoring Felix.

"It's getting late and I have some errands to run before heading home." Sean comes closer and gives me an unexpected hug. I blink my eyes and reluctantly hug him back. He pulls away and smiles before speaking again. "You should head home too and be more careful. Crazy stuff has been going on lately, who knows what can happen at night." A small chuckle escaped his lips and my back stiffened as I felt Felix's eyes on me. "I'm glad your friend came back. I'll see you around yeah?"

This whole situation was putting me on edge, Sean wasn't trying to be creepy but his choice of words kept bothering me. It wasn't his fault however, it was me just being paranoid. I think I'm just worrying myself at the thought of walking alone after the events that occurred days ago. I nod my head and say a quick goodbye before walking away with Felix and the dogs. I find myself exhaling and feel my body slowly start to relax. That whole interaction was so awkward, I know Felix wasn't a friendly person but he was never that cold towards strangers.

"Felix what was all of that-" but I stop mid sentence as I realize Felix wasn't by my side. Instead he was back to where Sean was previously standing. For a quick second it seemed as if they were having a conversation but Sean quickly turned around and went back from where he came from. Felix turns and makes his way towards me in a hasty manner. I open my mouth to ask him what happened but he just walks past me and goes straight to the car without uttering a word.

I had to admit that seeing him be distant did bother me, especially since it felt like it was because of me. I silently walk towards the car with the dogs and load them in before reluctantly making my way to the passenger side.

The ride back home was silent as I sat there dumbfounded not knowing why the hell there was so much tension in the air. When we approached my house Felix parked but kept the car on.

"You're not going to come in?" There was no point in trying to hide the disappointment in my voice. He shook his head no but didn't bother to look at me. "Felix did I do something?" No answer, instead he clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "Felix." My tone was soft and laced with concern so he knew I cared about what was going on with him.

"What." His voice etched with so much bitterness. What the hell.

"What do you mean what? You're acting cold towards me like I did something wrong and I just want to help-"

"Get over yourself," I blink and retract at his sudden hostility. "not everything is about you Bri. Did it occur to you that something else is going on in my life?" I sat there in silence as I watched the stupid sly smirk that was appearing on his face. Was I shocked by his old cold demeanor, no, but I had thought we had moved past the walls he had put up. Normally as a therapist, this wouldn't be a big deal. I could handle the anger as it was never personal but I couldn't help but feel hurt. It was a no brainer that he had anger issues and I tried to be understanding but words just started slipping out of my mouth.