love at first sight?

hospital bed talks

*Ivy*

Since the dinner party I didn't hear from Charles and, luckily, didn't see him. I told Elena about what happened at the dinner party. She says I should just forget about it and focus on Adrian. But she doesn't know what he did. There was no incident with Adrian since the dinner though. He's been very nice again but still I'm scared every time he touches me. I even flinch sometimes.

Sometimes I look up Charles instagram. I don't know what I hope to see. Maybe just to see if he's dating someone. It would hurt me. Event bough I have no right to feel hurt. I didn't let him explain. I ignored him. I'm with someone new. Still my tummy twitches every time I read about rumours that he's dating a girl named Catherine. She's from France from what I know, brunette and beautiful. His type. I'm nothing compared to her. I can't even speak French. I need to stop thinking about him. He moved on. Without me.

He posted a new photo on his account. It's from
a race last week. I didn't watch it but know he finished fourth. He was frustrated. I can tell from the way he looks. I really want to go to a grand prix again. It was so great last time. Last time I was with him. But it wouldn't be right. I should let him move on.

*Charles*

I hesitated at first but then texted Catherine and asked if she wants to come over today. To my surprise I'm not nervous. With Ivy I was always nervous. Because I loved her. I still love her. But she moved on and I know that I should too. She didn't show up at my apartment like Pierre said. I believe that's a good sign. It means he didn't hurt her again. But something in her eyes told me she's not happy. I know about her past. Her past boyfriend. The abusive boyfriend. She told me she was too scared to leave him. I'm worried it's the same case now.

The door bell interrupts my thoughts. Every time the door rings I'm scared it's Ivy. Maybe I sometimes even hope it's her. But it's not. It's Catherine. I'm not saying I'm disappointed. She's a pretty woman and very kind but nothing compared to Ivy. "Hey, nice to see you", Catherine says and hugs me. "Pleasure's all mine", I smile and hug her back. I don't get butterflies in my stomach with her. I only had them with Ivy. I try to focus on Catherine. Ivy is not here. She never will.

We decide to order sushi because we both love it so much. Catherine tells me about her career as a model. She started modelling when she was 10 years old. It's nice talking to her, she's funny. I even don't think about Ivy anymore. "No way he did that!", she laughs as I tell her about some funny racing stories. "Yes, he really did", I laugh. She came a little closer to me. I let her even though I didn't feel 100% comfortable with it. "You smell good", she says and chuckles. I do too and even get myself to wrap my arm around her. It's already 10 pm when there's a ring at the door.

*Ivy*

The day today was shitty. Elena and I worked on an important project for the company but our ceo wasn't happy with it. He said it's rubbish. We literally spent a month working on it. Now we have a week to fix it otherwise he'll give it to another person. On my way home I stop at the bakery to get some bread for Adrian and me.

"Hey, Adrian. I'm back from work", I say as I enter my apartment. I walk into the living room and see him sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in his hand. There are already three empty bottles of beer on the floor. Shit. No good day at work either. "I got us some bread", I smile and put the bread on the kitchen counter. "That's nice, what will we have for dinner?", he asks not looking at me. Is he dumb? "The bread I bought", I say and chuckle. Now he looks at me. An angry look on his face. I get scared. "Are you okay? How has work been?", I ask him and get the courage to approach him. He doesn't response. "Adrian?", I gently touch his arm. He shakes my hand off. "I got fired", he says in an angry tone that makes me take a step back. Shit. He got fired. "Why that? I thought they were happy with you and that you do a good job there", I say as kind as possible. He doesn't say anything for a good minute. Then he suddenly gets up. I step back. There's the angry look again. "Don't talk to me like that, Ivy. You're not better than me. I'm the successful person here", he says and slowly starts walking towards me. The bottle still in his hand. My heart starts racing like hell. I'm fucking scared. I need my safe place. I need Charles.