Stefani sat in a chair on the balcony of her room, her feet resting on the front seat and her head tilted back against the top of the backrest. The wind blew against her face, making the dry, tear-streaked patches on her skin feel cold. She had never known such pain before, and she never wanted to experience it again. When she had dressed up that day, she never could have imagined that it would lead to so much heartache. She didn't even know if she was beautiful or ugly, and if she could see, she might not even recognize her own face.
She couldn't understand why Bradley had treated her so poorly. She had done nothing to deserve such humiliation. But she had already cried all the tears she had to cry. There was nothing else she could do. It was better to not dwell on the past. Nothing would change it. She had given herself to a man who didn't love her and never would, and she would never love him either. They were two strangers brought together by fate, nothing more.
Stefani was so angry with Bradley. One day she was beautiful and the next ridiculous. He had deceived her and used her for nothing but sex. She felt disgusted with herself for being so naive. The thought of it made her feel worse than a piece of rotting meat. For him, it was all about sex, nothing else. She couldn't understand men and their priorities, but she knew that sex was more important to them than love.
A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.
She opened her eyes, startled, and leaned back in the chair. The knocking continued. If it continued like this, her mother would wake up and it would be worse! She got up at once and hit her knee on the small table in the corner. A sharp pain brought tears to her eyes. She put her hand on her right knee and bit her lower lip to calm the pain. Stefani limped to the door, holding on to things to get used to it. She reached the front of the door and felt around until she finally found the latch. She turned the key, trying to make noise while whispering "Hang on!" She turned the knob and opened the door slightly, in order to hear something. But she heard nothing, she only felt the smell. And she knew who that smell came from.
It was Bradley.
She swallowed, wondering what he was doing there. She didn't want him there. She didn't want him anymore. She made a gesture to close the door, but he moved forward and put his foot between the threshold and the door. She felt disgust for herself for getting involved with someone like him. All he wanted was sex.
"Can we talk?"
"No." - She tried to close the door again, without giving him the opportunity to say more. However, Bradley had not removed his foot from the threshold, making the door not close. Stefani breathed in anger, feeling a great desire to slam the door with all her strenght to hurt him. But she couldn't, her mother was sleeping just two meters away, she couldn't make noise.
"Please."
Stefani was surprised by the request. For a moment she was a little astonished to realize the drastic change in his tone of voice. She walked out of the room and closed the door gently, now completely out of the room, in the middle of the huge and empty hallway. She stopped in front of the door and touched the wall. On the side of the latch was her father's and cousin's room, on the other side there was nothing. And she decided to go to the other side, which was the safest. She walked cautiously, touching the tips of her fingers on the wall to orient herself as she had done these weeks.
Bradley walked behind her, analyzing all her movements, in a state of total alert to help her at any time. They reached a kind of anteroom at the end of the hallway. Stefani reached a chair and sat down, sighing, waiting for Bradley to tell her what he wanted.
Stefani was so beautiful, she was still wearing the same clothes, the same makeup, the same accessories, and her feet were still bare. She was beautiful! He leaned against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to find something to say.
"You... You..." He stammered, trying to find the right words. "Can you make it back to your room by yourself?"
"Of course," she replied, with annoyance in her voice, while spitting out a piece of nail she had chewed on. "I'm blind, but I'm not stupid. I counted three doors until here." Bradley smiled and nodded, she was right, three doors separated them from her family.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'd prefer if you spoke now about what you want to say, because I'll have to wake up early and as you know, I slept very little from yesterday to today."
He swallowed, blushing with shame. "What time is your flight?"
"At 9 am," she replied.
"My flight leaves at 6, and I'm not worried about sleeping," he said.
"But I'm different from you, I don't spend every day dancing until dawn. Sometimes I wake up when the rooster crows and I go to sleep when it gets dark."
"I don't dance every day. Not even every year. It was a special occasion for the two of us," he explained.
"Don't tell me...," she mocked, feeling as if her body betrayed her. She was happy for what he said but tried to hide it by frowning.
Bradley leaned away from the wall and sat next to her, turning a little to the side, and put his arm on the back of the couch. Stefani grinded her teeth, feeling his proximity. It was too much to ask not to be nervous when he came too close. And she shuddered when she felt his hand caressing her cheek while turning her to the side, facing him.
"I lied..." he whispered in front of her lips, making her close her eyes and feeling her heart race.
