Closer (Book 1) Dark Romance | Henry Cavill

Chapter 7

Song: Carnival of Rust by Poets of the Fall

Come feed the rain
'Cause I'm thirsty for your love
Dancing underneath the skies of lust
Yeah feed the rain
'Cause without your love, my life
Ain't nothing but this carnival of rust

.....

The next two days of work were hard to get through. Hard was definitely an understatement. During those two long days, regret began seeping through the cracks of my decision.

I thought deleting his contact would rid me of him for good. It did the opposite. Henry was constantly on my mind, haunting me with his smile, his confession, followed by his mournful gaze. It was nothing but a cycle of images that I couldn't shake off.

It didn't help that Henry was such a popular subject. Everything was suddenly related to Henry. I couldn't be anywhere without someone asking me his whereabouts or how he was doing. Eve and Rick whenever I went over for dinner. Nancy while at work. and my friends, Adam and Lily whenever I was home.

A week soon passed by without a phone call or a single text from Henry.

I kept looking at my phone every time I had a spare minute just in case it was on silent or something. Then I would remind myself that it didn't even matter because I deleted his contact already. Why did I even bother?

By day seventeen, still no contact. I was now 100 percent sure that he wasn't ever going to talk to me again. Either he was too embarrassed or his pride must have been too bruised by my rejection. I hoped it was the secret third option - because he was busy.

Maybe he's traveled to another country. Went on a business trip. He did mention he did a lot of traveling for work.

Friday finally came and there were only fours that stood between me and the weekend. It was my turn to have the weekend off. As I came back from my lunch with Lily and Adam, Nancy informed me to send an order, her eyes twinkling with a cryptic smile.

When I checked the order receipt, it was addressed to the Pearce Hotel, no specific name oddly. My heart suddenly quickened, thinking back to that place.

"Nancy," I said, and she turned around from behind the front counter. "Can Sally go in my place?"

"Why?"

"Because ... Well -"

"Don't tell me it's about that boy," she frowned in worriment. Nancy knew me all too well. "Ally dear, don't mix your personal with your professional life. That'll only get you in serious trouble."

"But I-"

"No buts dear. I already have Sally on another project. Hurry along now."

And with that, Nancy handed me the order and pushed me out the door. A deep sigh fell from my lips as I caved in.

The drive to Pearce Hotel felt shorter than expected. I could feel my insides shaking at the mere thought of running into him. I wasn't ready to face him yet. Not in person. Safe to say, I was embarrassed too.

But it was a Friday. Maybe he wasn't in the office today. Maybe he was on that business trip I mentioned to Finland or Yemen or somewhere. Anywhere but here.

I walked inside, trying to look confident as I approached the reception desk. Though my gaze was straight, it was secretly on the lookout for him.

"Hello," I greeted the same receptionist last time.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you ma'am?"

"I have a prepaid order here. We weren't given a specific name, but they asked to drop it off here."