One Night

The Truth in the Lies

*Savanna POV* 

I knocked on his door and waited. I checked the time. It was a little after four o'clock. I sighed and looked up, wanting to burn the door with my vision. I tapped my foot, anxiously. Why wasn't he answering? Was he even home? Is he avoiding me? I reached out to knock again, but decided against it. He would have answered by now if he was here. I sighed again, my hopes dashed, and turned. I took a couple steps towards the elevator. I heard the door being unlocked and opened. 

"Hello?" a British voice asked. I felt warm inside. I hadn't realized how much I missed hearing his raspy, deep, accented voice. I turned, smiling a little. His eyes got wide as he took me in, on his front door basically. His jaw dropped a bit. I fidgeted under his gaze. 

"Um, hi, Mr. James," I said, surprising myself by using his last name. We were more intimite than that, but it was already to late; I said his name. He closed his jaw, and stepped out completely in the hall, leaving his door cracked next to him. 

"Hello, Savy," he said, a small smile on his face. I felt a heat creep into my cheeks. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" 

"I wasn't sure if you got my email so I wanted to come here and thank you for what you've done for me," I said, putting my hands in my pockets. "Also, Sara wanted me to come check on you. She was worried." 

He nodded, glancing down before up to me again. 

"I, um, got your email. I would have answered it but I was busy and I didn't have time to reply. I appreciate you coming here to thank me in person," he said, his voice genuine, but I could tell something was up. His eyes...they looked distracted and defeated, like he gave up. On what though? Or who?

"I didn't even get to give you my full thank you speech," I said, jokingly. His mouth formed a little "o" and he motioned for me to continue. I swallowed. I didn't think he'd take that seriously, but oh well. He deserved a better thank you than the one I sent him earlier.  

"Thank you for letting me cry on you. Thank you for being there when I needed someone right away. Thank you for taking me home, and for helping to take care of me and for forcing Evan to leave. Thank you for Jo-" I stopped and kept going.  "Just thank you for everything, Christopher. I'm just so thankful for everything you've done for me." 

He smiled, his eyes a little teary. He cleared his throat. "I seemed to have forgotten to tell you this, but outside of the office, you can call me Chris. And you're welcome. I did what I knew you needed me to do." 

Did that include walking away? I pondered. I nodded. "I'm just glad that you were there," I said, stepping closer. I opened my arms. "Mind if I give you a hug?" 

He swallowed, his eyes flashing with what looked like fear, before they became emotionless. He nodded and opened his arms. 

I stepped forward and he engulfed me in his warmth. His arms were firm and they held me close, like I was going to disappear in his arms if he didn't hold on strong enough. He smelled of a bit of Marco Polo cologne and his firm chest was warm against my cheek. His shirt was soft and I held him close, knowing this was probably the last time I was going to hug him. I mean, it wasn't right, with me and Josh and what happened with me and Chris. After he squeezed me closer, he stepped back, putting his hands on my shoulders and forcing me to take a step back. I bit my lip, to keep from complaining. His eyes darkened and he looked away. 

"Thank you for com-" he started. He was interrupted by a soft, pur of a feminine voice. 

"Chris, how come you don't have any sc- Oh, hello!" a voice said, the face coming into view. She was pretty with light blue eyes and dark hair. She was in a pair of skinny jeans and was wearing "Live fast, die young" tank top that was white with black lettering that ended right above her belly button with grey heels. She stepped out of the condo and looked between us. "I'm Eli."