Imagining Us

Ch. 84- Tell me a story

Esi couldn't help but notice how Porte gripped the steering wheel as he drove. 

She'd asked him if he was okay countless times, and he reassured her that he was fine. She knew that he wasn't. There was something bothering him. Something had been bothering him for almost three weeks. That's the time that had passed since the tense moment they'd had in his apartment, and since then she'd felt like she was walking on eggshells around him. 

They'd been driving in mostly silence–she'd tried to initiate a conversation here and there to little avail. Esi felt as if her heart was breaking , and she couldn't stand the thought that one of her greatest fears might be coming through.

Porte drove onto the estate and brought the car to a stop. 

Esi noted that he didn't park in the garage which meant that there was no possibility that they'd be staying the night. That was just another worry to add to the growing list in her mind.

She could feel it, and she knew. 

Esi knew that she was losing him, and she knew exactly what she'd been losing him to.

It hurt that the possibility of a future with her was not enough. She felt like all the growth, all the loving, all of their plans were threatening to become undone.

"Give me your hand," she demanded softly. Esi saw his moment of hesitation, and she had to pretend that it didn't hurt her.

When had they gotten to this point? How had things become so unsure–so shaky–within a matter of weeks?

Were they never that strong to begin with? Had she romanticized too much?

He held out his hand, and she grasped it. Esi could feel the tension in his body.

She brought the back of his hand to her mouth and softly brushed her lips across it. Her gesture had meaning–it was meant to reassure him. It was something that he always did for her when she was stressed or just to remind her that he was there for her and with her.

There was silver glinting in his eyes when he looked up, and she could see that he was trying to maintain his composure. It was working for him–Porte was winning his fight, and Esi knew that she was losing hers. 

Dinner was now the furthest thing from her mind. 

Her stomach was rolling, and she felt nauseated. She didn't want to go inside that house with a fake smile and idle conversation when she felt like she could physically feel her heart shattering.

As she and Porte were walking up the pathway, they heard a vehicle drive in behind them. Instinctively, they turned to see who it was, and Esi heard Porte mutter under his breath.

"Let's go in," he insisted, as if that wouldn't make her more curious. Plus, it was the most words that she'd heard from him that day.

"What the hell,Teddy!" Porte hissed as the man greeted them at the door.

The man grimaced. "It seems to have been a–a last minute addition. Apologies, sir," he said repentantly. "If it helps, your father doesn't seem that pleased about it either."

She knew that his words were barely a comfort to Porte.

In the midst of her confusion, Esi acknowledged Teddy's greeting. She wanted to know who could've caused this reaction from these men.

Porte was ushering her through the door when she heard the voice. That voice that she knew sounded saccharine to anyone else, but was filled with purposeful vindictiveness.