The closed curtains

Chapter 2

When I called Simon that night, I had hidden in an area where I would most likely be left alone. If Hillerska had been a place where you had limited access to private life, the military had taken that a step further. We were around twenty boys sharing a dormitory. It was ten double bunk beds in a row. There would not be talking on the phone until we fell asleep together. I loved hearing him breathe on the other side of the line when we could not sleep together. But now I would have to live without that.

"When are Rosh and Ayoub coming to help you move?" I asked Simon. He was supposed to get the keys to his apartment in the morning, so he was still in my bedroom in the castle.

"Tomorrow after lunch," Simon replied. "The furniture should get there by then too. Then they will stay to help me put everything in order."

"I wish I could be there and help you test out the bed," I replied. I could hear Simon laugh. It made me smile. His laugh was one of the most beautiful things I could think of.

"You will have time to do that too. You are still coming in two weeks, right?" Simon asked. I hummed a yes.

"I promise. I already miss you like crazy," I replied.

"Me too," Simon said. "The hoodie you left me will not smell like you by the time you come back." We had exchanged hoodies before I went. I wore his purple and he probably wore my hoodie from Hillerska.

"So my parents did not give you a hard time at dinner I hope?" I asked. I hoped they had behaved when I was not there. I knew how they could be.

"Don't worry, darling. Your parents love me, you know," Simon replied. I laughed.

"Not as much as I love you," I said.

"And I love you," Simon replied. "How are the other boys in your dormitory?" We had eaten dinner together in a huge cafeteria. We had all been dressed in military green outfits. I still wore the green trousers and a green t-shirt under the hoodie.

"I think they are okay. They don't treat me like I am a fragile porcelain doll like some did at Hillerska," I replied. At Hillerska people were scared to speak their mind around me. Simon was not. That was what had caught my interest. That and the fact that he was gorgeous.

"That is nice," Simon replied. I heard him yawn.

"Are you tired, sweetheart?" I asked. Simon said that he was.

"I don't know how I will fall asleep without you though," he replied. "I was spoiled sleeping next to you the whole week." I would not have the easiest time falling asleep either, I had a feeling.

"I can stay on the phone until you fall asleep," I offered.

"Honey, you need to sleep too. You have your first day tomorrow," Simon said.

"I know," I replied. "Good night."

"Good night, Wille," I heard Simon say while putting out the light in my bedroom at home. I was the one to hang up. Otherwise we could have been sitting there for hours on end. I would not have minded. I got out and walked slowly back to the dormitory. I met a guy who I was pretty sure was called Hannes in the hallway. He was staying in the same dormitory as me.

"Crown prince Wilhelm," he began. Then he let go of the formal tone. "Have you called your girlfriend to say good night?" I could imagine that I was blushing a little. He was smiling.

"I don't have a girlfriend," I replied. I did not lie. I did not have a girlfriend. I had a boyfriend.

"I won't tell on you," Hannes said. "That hoodie looks way too small to be yours and I bet you don't call your mother sweetheart though." Hannes had a teasing smile on his face. It was not that shit eating grin that August would have had. If he wanted to believe that I had a girlfriend, then I guess he could think that.