Eyes That See Into Infinity

Chapter Seven

It was 8 am when my phone began to vibrate, with such violence, it scared the shit out of me. Jumping awake is not the preferable way to wake up. Neither is waking up at 8 am, but hey, no rest for the wicked. I scrambled for my phone, crossing my fingers that my hungover friend didn't hear it, and harshly whispered to whoever was calling,

“Hello?!”

“We have a problem” I suppressed a groan, as the familiar voice didn't even bother to say hello. It's been a couple of weeks since the whole 'music shop' scenario, and during those weeks, I've been working relentlessly, and apparently, nothing I do is perfect, or right for that matter, meaning that Jared is constantly nagging and moaning, about things that probably hardly anyone would notice.

“What now?” I asked, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

“I'm going on tour” I sat up immediately, my attention fully focused on his voice, which somehow sounds wide awake. I never really questioned how this man can enjoy mornings so much, when he hardly sleeps.

“What?”

“I leave tonight” I bit my lip.

“Oh..” was all I managed to say. I didn't know how to reply to this. Does this mean that my few weeks of hard work with Jared, discounting all of the years that I dreamed of gracing the stage, with a hidden hint of fear, have all gone to waste? Do I have to start from the bottom, to get to the middle, once more?

“E.? Look, I know it's not the best of times, but the Echelon always comes first. Listen, I have two options. I'm near your flat now, so I'll explain more when I get there” Before I could protest of having yet another early morning meeting, ending in a slight tiff with Alison, he hung up. I sighed, and slid out of bed, quickly shoving on a random pair of jeans, and tying up my hair, lazily. I wrapped a cardigan around me, and waited for the dreaded buzzing sound.

It didn't even feel like 10 minutes, when I heard it. It felt more like 2 hours. All I could think, or rather worry, about was what Jared's 'solutions' were. One of them was definitely putting this all on a hold, until we both completely forgot about it. That one had to be one. It just makes perfect sense. I'd be nothing more than a burden if he carries this on, and that's something that I've always dreaded becoming.

I let Jared up, not responding to his rather cheerful 'Hello!'. I heard a gentile knock on the door, and I opened it, still not saying a word.

“You okay?” Jared asked, as he folded up his coat, placing it on something nearby. I nodded, and braced myself for the inevitable, as I sat down on the couch, hugging my legs, as I held them close to my chest, as if to protect me. Jared sat next to me, and looked at me straight in the eyes, said no more questions, and went straight to business.

“So, as I said on the phone, I'm going on tour soon, and-”

“Save your breath” I suddenly interrupted. Jared stared at me, astounded.

“What?”

“I know where this is going to go. We're just going to give up, right? This was just a project, something to pass the time. Which is...a shame. Still, I guess you should leave, and we should try and forget about the whole thing...” I said, sadly. A light smile twitched on Jared's face. I looked at him, angry that he's finding this even the slightest bit funny.

“What?” I asked, my voice level, but my eyes narrowed.

“You honestly think I'm going to give up, as soon as something else comes up? E., if that were true, I would never get where I am. Come on, you should know that I don't start something, if it's never going to finish” I suddenly felt embarrassed, and a little bit guilty that I had immediately assumed that he was leaving me behind. Jared just smiled, carried on speaking.