THE ROOMIE (Pedro pascal)

Chapter 6

Lua woke up and felt as if her head was about to explode. Her eyes were swollen and when she grabbed her phone to check the time, the blinding light coming from it made her close one eye. The clock marked four in the morning.  She massaged her temple, trying to reduce the headache, and deduced that she had fallen asleep after crying.

She felt a little embarrassed, she was aware that it was no use crying over spilled milk, but she hadn't been able to help it. She thought that for the first time since she moved to New York, things were going to turn out the way she wanted, but as always, it ended in disappointment.

Lua left the room to go wash her face and realized that she was all alone. She wasn't sure where Pedro was, in fact, she realized she didn't knew anything about him. Sure, the first time they met they just fought, but after they left the landlord's office, he had been nice enough in the way to the apartment. Someone who does that can't be that bad.

She went back to sleep, hoping that the next time she got up, Pedro was there. She wanted to talk to him. Perhaps even apologize.

''I think we have not started on the right foot.'' Lua surprised Pedro.

He was just arriving and closed the door behind him. He walked straight into the kitchen without even turning to see her, took a glass from the cupboard and poured himself some water.

"Do you work at night?" The young woman asked curiously, insisting on creating a conversation.

This time, Pedro did turn to look at her, but only for a moment. He left the glass near the sink, walked quietly to the table where he left his keys and wallet, and went to sit on the sofa.

"I also sometimes work at night" Lua continued "Do you know the Mexican restaurant that is three blocks from here?"

There was no answer.

''I'ts called La olita." She persisted while leaning on the table ''If you ever go, I recommend that you ask for the vegetarian fajitas, and avoid at all costs...''

A grunt interrupted her.

Pedro eliminated the distance between them in three long strides. He planted one hand against the table, rather close to where she was. Lua felt trapped, even though she could move to the other side. Pedro leaned forward, and she felt her stomach flip. He couldn't help but notice again her damn mole.

"Let me tell you something." He finally spoke. ''You and I are not friends''.

He had to set the limits. She had to understand that they would only be two people who shared a place to live. Nothing more and nothing less. He didn't want to know about her work, her life, her dreams, or anything. In fact, he was upset that he already knew her name.

''You're not going to ask me about my day, nor will I ask about yours,'' he continued ''What's more important, you're not going to speak to me under any circumstances. If it is something relevant to the apartment, you can send it to the email that is in our new contract. Just one email that you send me for another reason, and I will block you immediately. "

He met her eyes and saw fear in them. Good, he thought. She should understand that she shouldn't get close to him. Lua just nodded. Pedro walked away from her, grabbed a book, and returned to the sofa to start reading.

She didn't want to accept it, but she felt like crying. She just wanted to make the best of the situation. She had never asked for this. And neither to go through it with him. Lua closed her eyes for a moment trying not to show that her eyes were starting to fill with water.

''What is your problem?'' She said walking to the door ''One moment you're flirting with me, the next you're nice, and now you're just being an asshole.'' She grabbed a jacket, and left the apartment.

She wasn't going to humiliate herself more in front of him.

When Pedro heard the sound of the door, he stopped reading and dropped his head back. He couldn't get Lua's eyes on the verge of tears out of his head, and the idea that he had been the reason for it. Has he gone too far?

He shook his head.

What was he thinking? He had never cared what others thought of him. Why would he care what someone half his age thought?

But then, he remembered Lua's eyes again.

Pedro was suddenly gripped by the most insane desire to see her eyes again. And that mole, he wanted to rip it out of her face. Why did it have to be so distractingly close to her lips?

Oh, her lips, he wanted...

He scrunched his eyebrows. It was a terrible thought. He didn't want to be distressing about a stranger he had met just days ago.

He couldn't.

He wouldn't.

That idea bothered him so much, he wanted to hide his face from the world. So, he let his book lay on his face to bury it.