Superficial (DE)

Thirty-four.

Cerise walked in aimless circles around the fourier, the hard bottoms of her heels clicking against the polished wood echoing up into the high ceilings. She stopped, huffing impatiently as she spun on the balls of her feet to face the sound of where Brandon's voice was traveling from— somewhere in this big ass house.

Brandon had been on the phone the past fifteen minutes, accepting a call just as they were about to leave. He excused himself before answering it, wondering off somewhere into the house. Deep enough into the house where she couldn't hear what was being said but close enough to be able to hear him still. The front door of the winter estate was just barely cracked still, a bitter chill seeping into the home from outside.

Cerise was trying to be patient but she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before besides snacks on the plane. It was now noon the next day. They'd flown in just as the sun rose, painting the sky with strokes of pinks and oranges. Of course she had to get a photo for her Instagram story— just a PJ window and a sunrise to keep up with her mysterious internet persona.

They'd then drove almost an hour and a half into the Rocky mountains after landing, arriving at a modern log style mansion nestled in a forest of pine trees. Cerise and Brandon took and fourty-five minute nap, Brandon made sure of it, before getting ready for the day to go into town.

She glanced down at her left wrist, shaking it to slide the sleeve of her vintage fur coat down and reveal her watch. It was still on New York time, two hours ahead. Huffing again, hangry, she stormed off to the sound of his voice. Brandon hardly used his phone, if ever. Cerise couldn't recall a time she'd ever seen him text or call anyone in front of her. He didn't use social media and if he was on a computer it was the one in his office. Surely he'd heard the sound of her heels against the hardwood floor as she advanced on him, frustrated sounding, coincidentally finishing the call as she rounded the corner.

Brandon came out of the second home living room just as she went to walk in. He quickly turned her back around before she could say anything, so smoothly, wrapping his arm around her waist and walking her back towards the door. "We have to leave, it's an hour drive," Brandon said as if he wasn't the one that walked off to have a twenty minute conversation.

"Um— hello?" Cerise fussed as they re-entered the home fourier, the front door still cracked. She stopped, moving from his grasp as she looked at him with a crazed expression.

"What?" Brandon questioned, stopping just a few feet shy of the door. He dressed more casual today, black jeans and sneakers and a crisp white tee wrapped in knee length black wool coat. A plain black beanie covered his head and the tips of his ears from the cold.

"What was that?" She asked, her neatly groomed brows bunched together.

"A business call, I didn't know it was going to take that long. I apologize," Brandon answered.

She didn't know why she'd half expected him to gas light her. He probably still was but he was just so calm and convincing she couldn't tell the difference.

Business. She'd yet to ever even see Brandon really work. Her toned stomach began to churn, sickeningly. He was lying to her and she knew it. It made her sick to know how he could keep up this facade with such ease, look her in her eyes every time they saw one another and hide who he truly is so effortlessly. That wasn't the Brandon she'd fallen in love with and now she was having a hard time distinguishing the two.

Cerise knew the truth about what he really does now but she couldn't say anything because of how she'd found out. She'd gone behind Brandon's back and she doubted another visit will be so friendly next time now.

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she stared at him, guilty.

Guilty for being so naïve.
Guilty for her curiosity.
Guilty for even being with this man, flying to another state just so they can walk around freely in public because their relationship was forbidden from seeing the light of day back home.
Guilty because she knew this wasn't smart.
Guilty because she was weak for her own desires, him.