Gradually lighting up a cigarrette, Paul's despair diminished to some extent. Having just vented every bit of frustration contained within for the last days was of little help. Distress remained all the same. He was an insensitive scum, that is what he was. "No you're not", Mick broke into his hushed stance. "I mean you are, you were on this ocassion, but you're not a scum in essence." "That doesn't justify what what I did. I hurt someone's feelings and so I understand her anger towards me, I earned it. It pains me, but it's fully deserved for my cowardice." Was he ever guilty of his actions. Knowing he caused much anguish bothered him greatly despite his habitually careless nature. Mick must have noticed this for he inquired: "Do you regret everything that happened? Meeting her, courting her...?" "Not at all", was Paul's earnest answer. "I'll never regret or deny everything we lived together. I just wish she would've never learned the truth." "You were actually thinking of carrying on with it? What about..." "No, don't even mention her. It's enough having to endure her constant questioning almost every day." "...She knows? Please don't tell me you confessed." "There was no need to confess, she figured it out on her own. Apparently she'd been observing me lately and speculated I looked different, not like my normal self. Then one day she looked at me and said 'Something happened in America, am I right? Something you dare not say.' The more I denied it, the more chaffed she got until she finally guessed and explained 'You slept with someone, that was it.' No matter how many times I said it wasn't true, she kept reassuring it and calling me an arsehole for cheating on her. And she's right, I hurt two persons most deeply..." "Two persons? Don't you mean three?" Paul was dumbfounded. "Three persons?" "You forgot Damon. You took Melissa away from him after all." "Now hold on..." "Come on, technically it's what you did. She was with him if not in a relationship, at least in some sort of romance, and you simply barged in with not a care of the consequences." "You picture me like a self-centered prick." "I'm just saying you only focused on her and you, nothing more. You're not the first one doing it and certainly not the last." "Do you think he already knows?" "No idea but for your sake and Melissa's, pray he doesn't. I can't imagine what could come about if he finds out, knowing him." Panic replaced his former thoughts. He ignored if Melissa had spoken to Damon since their return from America but if so, has she told him the truth? Have guilt and anger made her divulge their sin? "Don't tell him dearest, please don't. I hope you haven't. I don't care about me, I care about you, 'cause you may not be able to handle it..."
"I can't believe it, I honestly can't." Damon paced the room incessantly, resolute steps evidently manifesting his fury. Bemused, Jamie observed him from the sofa, unable to pacify his friend by any means. "Come sit down, you need to relax..." "I can't relax! Don't you see how I am right now?!" "I see it, that's why I'm telling you to sit and calm down. Nothing can be solved by screaming or insulting." Obediently Damon took a seat next to Jamie but his wrath persisted. "You're not understanding me..." "Yes I am, and I'm trying to help." "You don't know what it's like to fall in love with someone so much, willing to do anything for that person, then knowing some senseless wanker flirted with her skillfully and snatched her away in front of you. It's dreadful, let me tell you." Jamie responded defeatedly: "No, I can't imagine it", simply because he could do nothing more than being honest. "And of all people it had to be Paul! He's supposedly my mate, how dare he? And why did she have to respond to his intentions?! Couldn't she have refused knowing I made attempts to reach her?" "Can you blame her? I mean, it's Paul; no one can resist him, everyone likes him." "Jamie...please, I could use a little support here." "Seriously though, did she tell you straight away she slept with him during that whole time?" "She didn't have to. I was kissing her and at one point she mentioned him all of a sudden. When I asked her why she named him she went silent but started crying. She pretty much revealed it all that way." "Right." Damon lowered his face over his flat palms, recalling that dreadful moment over and over. He could not conceive it. That incomparable, enchanting girl seduced by some insensitive bastard who was no other than his own friend. How cold hearted must he have been to trample over his amorous hopes and attract her mercilessly. Didn't he know of his intentions? And what about Melissa? Did she not care of his sentiments? Was she so imperceptive she believed them trivial, when in truth they were more profound and genuine than she knew? "And I suspected it, you know, of them maybe having something. I remember I was talking to her once in New York and he approached us and out of nowhere walked her to the tour bus. It was rather rude of him to just get in our conversation and grab her away from me. Ever since if I saw them together I couldn't help feel jealous but I thought it was just paranoia. I still can't believe it did happen..." His voice trailed off at the mention of this last statement when at that instant his cell phone rang. Extracting it from his pocket and examining it, his lips formed a thin line. "Is it her?" Jamie asked. Damon continued contemplating the screen quietly. Sighing he pressed CANCEL. "Damon?" Jamie called him over. Seeing him looking at the close distance unblinking, Jamie wondered what on Earth was Damon thinking at such a moment.
"Come on Damon, please answer." Melissa dialed the number once more. She had been trying to reach him constantly with no success and was exasperating over his refusal to take the call. He demanded an explanation and she was ready to give it but as long as he rejected her, that issue would be unresolved. Recalling his face when he found out her secret filled her again with remorse, convinced of the fact he was the only victim in this mess. There had to be a way to ask for forgiveness. She could not be able to live in peace knowing she hurt someone she was really fond of. In all this she reflected when in the periphery of her mind she believed to hear someone call her name. "Melissa..." Letting thoughts aside, she turned around and noticed Paul looking at her bewildered.
Of all the persons she could have encountered in the store, she had to bump into the one she least wanted to see. " Oh man, not you." "Seems fate brings us together dearest", he verbalized with heartfelt expression. "Stop calling me like that. What are you doing here?" "The same as you: wandering around. But that's not important. Thank goodness I found you 'cause I have to ask you something..." "I don't wanna talk to you..." "Melissa, it's a matter of life or death..." "Too bad." "Have you spoken to Damon?" Melissa raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Why do you wanna know if I talked to him?" "You know what I mean." "Actually no, I don't know." "Melissa please, I don't have much time", Paul exclaimed turning his head sideways. "You're afraid right? You're afraid he'll beat the shit out of you, which is what you deserve." "Don't say that, it's painful especially coming from you. But it's you who worries me, I want no harm to come to you." "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. And to answer your question, 'cause I'm leaving and I don't wanna see you: yes, I talked to Damon and no, I didn't tell him about our thing." "Ah thank God..." "There was no need to tell him, he figured it out on his own." "What...?" "Hey, there you are." A female voice startled both of them. Melissa noticed a woman approaching Paul from behind him. She instantly recognized her: it was the same from that day, the one who kissed him on her front door.
"Sorry, I got distracted in the jewellery section." "Oh...well it's alright, you didn't take that long", responded Paul making sure to show a pleasant face. As much as he wished to never have to go through the acquaintance process between those two, it had to be done, much to his dismay. "Listen, uh, this is my girlfriend Sabrina and this girl over here is Melissa...a friend of mine." How it hurt and petrify presenting the latter, aware of the effect it would inflict upon the former were she to discover this young one had been the lover he had during the past weeks. "Hello, nice meeting you." "Yeah, likewise", Melissa lied. That was when she analyzed her closely. Black hair, dark eyes, most probably in her forties. She wasn't particularly beautiful, at least not for someone as dashing like Paul, but her clothing denoted a woman of class, owner of her own self. She suspected her to be this way, living in such an elegant area. Seeing her with her boyfriend, a pair the image of poise, made her feel insignificant. What was she beside her? Did she really believe it possible for someone like her to be with a man like Paul? Was she indeed that naïve? She had to get out of there, the embarassment was too massive for her to bear. "Anyway, I should go now, I still have things to do. It was nice meeting you." "Yes, same to you", Sabrina responded kindly. "Bye guys, excuse me..." She walked hastily, with not a look back at the couple who saw her exit the boutique in a rush.
She slowly opened the door to her apartment letting herself in lazily, almost trance-like. Immerse in a sour turmoil, she had no one to confide to. Sure, Joannie offered support from a distance but it was not enough. A shoulder to cry would be of much help and no one was around to offer it. She was completely alone in this. Which is why in the solitude of the space, she allowed her emotions to engulf her, and the restrained tears finally flowed abundantly.
