Eros

Chapter 13: Shayla

Angie woke up with the sun, her face stuck with dried tears. She wiped them away until a yawn wakened her further. She rubbed the sharp sting from her fingertip and wondered how she got that black starburst there. It felt like a burn.

She shuffled to the bathroom, sucking on her miniature wound.

Turning this way and that in front of the mirror, she nodded with a wrinkle of her nose. "He shouldn't be with me anyway. Makes me feel worse about how I look more than I already feel!"

The phone rang, but Angie didn't bother to answer it. The maid would get it, anyway. Maria had quit the same night Eros came, rambling something about Pedro and says mazes in Spanish. Whatever that meant.

A soft sound tapped her door. "Shayla on the telephone for you."

"Shayla?" Angie coughed and flew out of the bathroom, picking up the phone. It had been way too long. Plus, she needed to scold her for cruel abandonment. "Hey, girlfriend! How have you been? How dare you decide to stay in Greece without me. Yes. Traitor!" She squealed and leaped to her bed.

"Tell me about him! Oh." Angie bit her bottom lip, taking a deep breath. She knew it! She knew she had been traded in for some man. "Oh . . ." She nibbled on her lip, her forehead wrinkled. So much for men. "Crap, Shayla, I'm so, so very sorry he dumped you. No, I gave your ticket to a hottie. Of course! Well, you weren't with me!" She sat up, glaring at her nails. "Of course! No, I'm not lying! You what?"

Angie rolled off her bed and grabbed a pen and paper, ready to jot down instructions. "Yeah, I remember that restaurant. Uh, I can't bring him. I—uh—you're going to hate me for this. Uh, yeah! Do you think I have no dignity? Ha! Well, I do. Yes, I told him to leave. Well, he had the nerve to kiss a girl in front of me."

She snorted and rolled her eyes as she dug her teeth into her fingernail. "No, we aren't going out. Well. Uh—." Shayla always had a way with making her feel bad.

Angie slid from her bed and sunk to the ground.

"Please, don't say that. I know what I am, okay? Okay, fine. Thanks for saying sorry. I don't think I can bring him tonight, Shay—I hurt him. Yes. I was really mean. I know. Okay, I'll see you around nine. Toodles."

Angie screamed and hurled the phone across her room. It landed harmlessly on her chaise lounge. She couldn't wait to catch up, although she should be mad at Shay for leaving her alone in Greece. She ran to the bathroom and brushed her hair. The smile widening over her face. She stopped and stared at her eyes. Her lips. Her nose.

"How could Eros stand me? How? I'm not pretty! I'm repulsive! I mean, look at me! I am fat!" Angie grabbed her hips and squeezed, thinking she deserved the pain from her nails. "Oh, Shayla, if only you knew. If only you knew."

Feeling forlorn of how she treated Eros, Angie found herself quietly walking through the garden. She remembered his kiss. Tears glossed her vision while she retraced her steps from last night. She could still hear Eros' soft voice in her thoughts. The roses he'd brought.

"The roses!" she cried, slowly going through the maze. It was hopeless. She wound through so many corners, she would never find them.

After searching for a very long time, she walked to the fountain and lowered onto the bench. Angie was beyond composed. She was a wreck. Her collar was soaked from her crying and her lips trembled. It was useless. The roses were forever gone. She had chewed off all her nails and her nose vibrated from her bawling.

"Oh, Eros. I'm sorry. I always do this. I always chase away good things because they never last long, anyway. Never."

She swallowed hard and noticed a few red petals chasing the swaying grass. The roses lay a few feet ahead, their blooms dark and twisted.