Chapter Two
It was a cold evening when I decided to go out to grab a cup of coffee. I put my coat on and took my key inside my bag. Since I fired Eli, I have felt so empty. I know it was my fault because I was carried away by my anger. Eli and I have been friends for almost five years, and she's the only person I feel comfortable being with. I am picky when it comes to friends, so pushing Eli away from me is hard, but I know I need to do it before it is too late.
The main reason I'm upset with her is because she's so emotionless. She didn't feel that I had a feeling for her, so before I completely drown in my love for Eli, it's better if I just let her go because I'm afraid to get hurt too much in the future.
I was in line to buy a coffee when I saw a chair near by the window, and I felt so nervous when our eyes met. Eli's eyes are sad as she looks at me now. I looked away because I couldn't bear to see the sadness in her eyes when she stared at me. I pretended to be okay and didn't seem affected by her presence. After I paid, I looked for a seat far away from where Eli was, but fate was playing tricks on me because only one seat was not occupied, and that was the seat next to hers..
I slowly walked to the empty seat when a man suddenly sat down. I stopped not far from the seat I was supposed to sit on, and I didn't know what to feel at this moment. I saw Eli stand up, and she approached me.
"You sit here next to me," she only said.
I just looked at her as no words came out of my mouth.
"Are you just going to stand there, Zia? Sit down because other customers are looking at you," Eli whispered to me.
I sat down as I glanced at the man who grabbed my seat.
Eli was smiling as she looked at me.
"What's funny?" I asked her defiantly.
She just shrugged her shoulders as she didn't take her eyes off me.
"How are you, Zia?" she asked with all her heart.
"I'm okay; I'm better now that you're not with me." I'm lied.
I saw Eli's face become sad after she heard my answer.
"It's good that you're okay even if I'm not by your side. Do you know that I'm worried about you? There's not a minute that I can't get you out of my mind, Zia," she answered sadly.
"Don't worry about me because I can take care of myself, Eli; I'm too old for someone else to take care of me," I said.
"It's only been a few days that we haven't talked or been together, but you've changed so much, Zia. I kept asking myself now if I really know you. I asked if our five years together are enough for me to say that I know you completely," she said.
"You haven't known me since the time you left me, Eli," I said.
At this moment, she raised her eyebrows.
"I left you. Did I hear you right?" she asked while looking at me.
At this moment, I could feel the mixture of annoyance and sadness in Eli's voice.
"I didn't leave you, Zia; you pushed me away, remember? There's a difference between the one who left you and the one who was forced to leave you," she said weakly.
I smiled bitterly as I looked at her.
"You promised me that you wouldn't leave me. I was holding onto your promises, Eli, but it turned out that it was just a word that everyone overused," I said.
I saw Eli just look at me and never say a word, as if she were just waiting for my next sentence. But my coffee had arrived, so I took it and stood up, ready to go, but Eli's hand was fast enough to stop me.
"Let's talk, Zia. For heavens sake, let's clear this matter," she insisted.
I looked around, and a lot of customers were looking at us, so I returned to my seat and gave Eli a death stare. But just like she always did, she just smiled at me, unbothered by my death stare.
"So, what are we going to talk about?" I asked her.
"About us," she replied.
"Us?" I said.
"Us, about our misunderstanding. Don't you think that it's just a small reason to throw me out? to fire me?" she said.
"What do you want now?" I asked her.
"I still wanted to work with you, Zia. I know no one can handle your moods except me," she said.
"Did you just say that I am not easy to handle?" I said, surprised.
"God! Zia, I tell you almost every day that you are difficult to handle; you are difficult to love. You know that; why are you acting surprised now?" Eli replied.
I shook my head because this was the first time I saw Eli's face became serious.I wanted to laugh at the way she looked now, but I just stopped myself because if I did that, she might think I'm crazy.
"Why are you looking like that? What? Aren't you going to talk there? Are you just going to stare at me?" she said, while I could feel the annoyance in her voice.
"Let's talk there at my condo, because we might be mistaken that we're lovers here," was my answer.
I saw Eli stand up, and I didn't expect what she would do next because she grabbed my hand and carefully pulled me out of the coffee shop.
"Are you talking about lovers, right? Lovers do walk this way," she said at the same time she intertwined her left hand with mine.
I didn't do anything but follow her because when I looked at the people inside, almost all of them were looking at us, and I could see in their faces the teasing smiles.
And for the first time in my life, I was embarrassed in front of many people, but I couldn't be angry with Eli at this moment. I don't know why I feel so fragile tonight, or I just don't have the courage to be angry with her because my love for her is deeper than my anger.
