Poison Rose

CH -14 Safe in your eyes

Liora glanced at the wall clock in the living room, the hands inching towards 8:30 PM. She looked at the door, then back at the clock, anxiety bubbling up inside her. Paula was nowhere to be seen.

Nervously, she tried to reassure herself. "Maybe today is just a busy day for her." She forced herself to keep watching TV, but the images on the screen couldn't get her attention. Although her eyes remained fixed on the TV, her mind was with Paula. "She'll come soon," Liora muttered to herself. "Nothing to worry about." She clutched the pillow she was holding to her chest, pulling her legs closer, and snuggling into the corner of the sofa.

With each passing minute, the ticking of the clock grew louder, echoing through the empty house. The once beautiful spring night seemed to grow hotter and more stifling. Liora could feel her heart beating faster. A bead of sweat started to drip down her back.

Liora took out her phone and looked at her contact list, which had only four names: her mother, Officer Park, Paula, and Caspian.

Liora pressed the button to call Paula, and the call went unanswered. She tried again, but still, there was no response. Panic started to settle in, and her heart raced even faster.

Should she call her mother? No, she couldn't! Her mother was away, and she didn't want to worry her. What about Officer Park? She had spoken to him on the way back from school, and he mentioned he had a night shift with his partner, surveilling the area. She can't disturb him when he is on duty.

There was only one person left in her contact list: Caspian.

She kept staring at Caspian's name, her finger hovering over the call button. The time difference between them was 7 hours, and he might be in school right now.

'What should I do?' Liora kept staring at Caspian's name when a message popped up.

"Good night, Ora!" It read.

A message from Caspian. For Liora, that message was like a drop of water in the harsh desert.

Liora pressed the call button. Her heart was pounding as the phone rang. It kept ringing, but there was no answer. Finally, it stopped, letting her lose her grip on the phone, which she held a few seconds ago in excitement. The drop of water she had found in the desert had evaporated under the heated sun. She sat, cuddling her legs and burying her head inside. The embarrassment engulfed her.

"Why did I call him? Will he think I'm clueless, not knowing when to call?" Liora berated herself. 'Please god, let the earth swallow me right away.' Liora's mind was filled with Caspian's judgment about her that she had forgotten about being alone at home.

The phone started to vibrate again. "Paula?" Liora lifted her buried face and looked at her phone. It wasn't Paula; it was Caspian. She quickly picked up the phone forgetting about the embarrassment she felt before.

"Caspian, my hero!" She exclaimed. She could barely contain her emotions. The worry faded away from her face, replaced by a bright smile full of hope and relief.

Caspian stood in a corner of a bustling cafe, holding a cold coffee in his hand. As he took a large sip, he heard Liora's voice through the phone, loudly exclaiming, "Caspian, my hero!"

He spat out the coffee in a sudden burst, spraying it like water from a pipe. The coffee splashed onto a passerby, drenching him like rainwater on grass.

He quickly tilted his cup, and more coffee spilt onto his shirt. He stood there, dripping and bewildered, as the entire cafe turned to look at him.

The passerby stopped, looking down at their now coffee-stained shirt and Caspian's shirt in disbelief.