Engaged

Chapter 13: Just Today

So he's home now. 

And he came home early for me. Wow. I honestly love that he says that, even though I don't believe it. My intuition tells me to believe it, but there are the facts.

He's paired with Cecilia. They have a special, unbreakable bond that will draw them together, no matter what. He'll marry her. 

Once he marries Cecilia, he'll think of me as a memory. Someone he thought he loved, who helped pass the time until he realized how much he loved her. 

I bet he'll tell his kids about me. How I was hopelessly in love with him, and how he honestly believed he loved me back. He'll talk about how I was such a great friend. Then he'll talk about how he met their mother, and his eyes were opened, learning that what he felt for me was never love.

It was nothing.

He'll be the one that got away and I'll be the one that never let him go. He'll talk about how at first he swore it was a mistake, but soon realized the Elders were always right. 

I don't want to look him in the eyes and he finally realizes he doesn't want me anymore. It'll just be easier if he stops calling me. I need time to accept my fate. I guess it won't be all bad. 

I'll live alone in a city I can't pronounce, in an attic studio  apartment with lots of windows, where I can paint random people just passing by, going about their lives. I'll end up making them look bigger and more significant than they really are. Like in an alternate universe. Yeah, I'll do that. 

I'll adopt a cat, and name it Piffy. And once Piffy starts getting lonely, I'll adopt more, one by one until I have seven cats to keep me company to my dying day.

Then, when I die, they'll only know because my downstairs neighbors didn't see me for about a week, and my rotting corpse smell will infest the halls.

At my funeral, everyone in my building will be there and they'll all be at the alter, telling what a lovely old lady I was in a language I won't even understand. They'll reminisce one me forcing them to eat my baked goods, and taking any gift I decided to give them. 

Until then, I'll be sitting in the park feeding birds, watching everyone pass by. When I see people holding hands, I'll think, "they're such a lovely couple".

Who am I kidding? I don't want to be alone and I don't like cats enough to take care of so many at once. 

I was supposed to be on vacation from work, but I guess I'll show up in the middle of it. Maybe finish my vacation time later on in the year. I got up and went to bed, and fell into a fitful sleep.

I woke up to banging on my door, all the way downstairs. The time read five thirty. I tiptoed downstairs, so I could grab a weapon.

I don't know how my killer got up here, but I won't go down without a fight. If he was able to get up here. I bet the banging on my front door is to make me run and hide. 

I checked the peephole, butcher knife in hand. Is that Eli? I can't believe it. How did he get my address? I tried to check in on his memory, but he blocked me out.

How is he able to still do that? How was he ever able to do that, since we're not fated to each other? How can he block out my ability? Does that mean he knew I checked in on him earlier? I checked Nailah's memory bank, and sure enough, there she is, texting him my address. Traitor. I officially hate her. I quietly backed away from the door, not wanting to give myself away. 

"Tayla, I know you're there. I'm not leaving until you open the door," he called through. I would ask how he passed security, but he's an important member of society. There are very few places he doesn't have immediate access to.