Eyes Deep Within A Frozen Heart

Untitled Part 3

     ALMOST 3 WEEKS LATER

  VANESSA

   Almost three weeks have passed since I’ve showed up on his porch. I’ve completely avoided him, staying in my office on days when he drops in. Last thing I need is him living in a fantasy world and running up to me screaming Jillian I’ve missed you. For me to remind him of Jillian is truthfully quite flattering but highly uncomfortable to be stared down and dressed in the clothes of someone’s deceased girlfriend for the pleasure and comfort of someone else. On the Michelle situation, I’ve covered it. I rented a 4 bedroom luxury condo for two weeks which took a decent bite out of my savings but my ego was worth it and I decided to tell them me and Ryan broke up to clear part of my fabricated life.

  I looked over at the clock and noticed it was just after 2pm, which was the time Jason usually brought the ice by on Saturdays. As if on cue, the bell sounded and I bet every silver penny in the world that’s him. I sat tensed and uncomfortable in my office, as if I were prey trying to camouflage itself in the wild. I heard the jingle of keys so I assumed Penelope had given him the key to the freezer but I received the shock of my life when the key was pushed into my lock and turned. I went pale as the familiar timberland boot peeked from behind the door and his whole body eventually came into view. He looked his usual self only his eyebrows were not scrunched together and his frown was bent a little more upwards.

 “I sense that you’re avoiding me” he says uncomfortably and I went wide eyed.

 “No no no, I’ve just been really busy lately, that’s all”

 “Remember what you said to me before, ‘I’m just a convenience store manager’?” he added and I laughed softly.

 “ Wow, who knew it had such a large vocabulary, thirteen words” I said and he…laughed? Jason let out a small chuckle which made my stomach twist and churn with mixed emotions.

  “Well I came to apologize for how I acted a few weeks ago, I didn’t really think about how wearing her clothes would’ve affected you, I was being unreasonable” he said awkwardly and it seemed to be contagious because I shifted in my chair.

  “No really it’s no problem, I understand what you went through” I said and he slowly nodded and turned to walk out. As he was walking out of my office I suddenly remembered what I was waiting to return to him.

  “Jason, hold on a second” I said and he stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. I dug into my massive handbag and pulled out the clothes he had lent me two Fridays ago.

 “So you aren’t going to pretend to forget and show up on my porch later to return them?” he asked and I folded my lips to suppress my smile. 

  “Actually I decided to keep away from the old place, I think you’ve had enough of Vanessa Chambers to last you a lifetime” I said casually flipping my hair over my shoulder since the room was starting to feel warm. His expression was unreadable but I assumed it was a happy one. He had simply nodded in response to my statement and walked out my office.

  Did I do something wrong?

 Before I could process what happened Penelope burst into my office, a cheesy smile plastered across her face as she sat in the chair facing me.

   “What is up, with you and boots?” she asked and I sighed. I don’t even know. What was up with me and boots?

  I took a deep breath and explained all that had happened within the past several weeks to her, leaving out no detail and she seemed beyond intrigued.